Glorious dark chocolate cake with chocolate mousse

A birthday party (for my little cuddly boy) was the perfect excuse to bake a proper, rich, dark and moist chocolate cake, one of those cakes that will fill you with a sense of well being and satisfaction.
You cannot buy happiness but you can buy (or make) a chocolate cake which is a cake like no other; it has the power to awake all your senses, to calm you down if you feel unsettled and immediately instill peace when needed.
Basically a good piece of chocolate can transform your day!
This "heavy duty" cake is made by chocolate sponge filled with a creamy chocolate mousse and covered with more chocolate on top. I have added a hint of orange essence and extra chocolate curls and chunks because if you have to sin let's sin in style!
In other words this is a good cake to indulge on a special occasion!
- Prep Time : 50 minutes
- Cook Time : 40 minutes
- Yield : chocolate
Ingredients
- eggs - 2
- self raising flour - 250 g
- butter - 90 g
- orange essence - 1 tbsp
- vanilla essence - 1 tbsp
- sugar - 150 g
- milk - 200 ml
- unsweetened cocoa powder - 4 tbsp
- For the filling:
- egg - 1
- knob of butter
- dark chocolate - 100 g
- whipping cream - 250 g
- to moisten:
- the juice of 2 oranges
- sugar - 2 tbsp
- water - 100 ml
- For the chocolate icing and decoration:
- dark chocolate - 100 g
- a knob of butter
- icing sugar - 3 tbsp
- whipping cream - 50 g
- cocoa powder + extra chocolate and freezed dried raspberries (optional) - 1 tbsp
Instructions
Whip the eggs with the sugar
Add the melted butter, the orange and vanilla essence, the cocoa and the flour. Stir well and add enough milk to make a smooth and semi-running mixture then pour it in a round greased baking tin. Cook at 180C for about 40 minutes.
Make the chocolate mousse by melting the chocolate with a knob of butter over a saucepan of simmering water
Let it cool down then add the yolk and 250 ml of whipped cream and stir well. Whip the egg white and gently incorporate it to the mixture
Take the cake out of the oven, let it cool down and slice it into 3 discs
Squeeze the oranges, add 2 tbsp of sugar and the water and stir well. Pour it over the 3 discs of sponge
Spread the mousse on one disc then put another disc on top of it. Spread the remaining mousse over the second disc and cover with the 3rd disc.
Put 100 g of chocolate in a bowl with a knob of butter and melt it over a pan of simmering water, then spread it over the top of the cake
Sprinkle with chocolate curls and chunks of chocolate. Mix the remaining 50 ml of whipped cream with the cocoa powder and the icing sugar and with a piping bag decorate the cake all around. I have sprinkled it with freeze dried raspberries for extra colour.
Not bad hey!
Orange with chocolate is such a delicious and sophisticated combination and I’m sure it was a big hit! I love the mousse – and I could just sit and eat that all day 🙂
I ate too much of this! It is definitely moreish! Thank you for hosting Mark!
Che delizia, così cioccolatosa e morbida, non so cosa darei per assaggiarla in questo momento! Sei bravissima, complimenti! Buon week-end!
Wow wow wow that looks GORGEOUS! Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve pinned this post and have scheduled to tweet shortly 🙂 Hope to see you linking up again soon! 😀 x