Chocolate Mousse Cake

A recipe clipped from an Atlanta newspaper years ago. Please use good quality chocolate (Hershey's baking chocolate is a no no). And you'll need a 9 x 3 inch springform pan (the kind you'd use for making a cheesecake).


Chocolate Mousse Cake

Ingedients:

7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 pound butter

7 eggs, separated (for older recipes such as this, I buy only large eggs and pick out the smallest ones from

the box; have found that today's eggs are much bigger and there's more white which makes the mousse

less chocolately. I have, if the eggs seem to have lots of white, used only 6 whites)

1 cup sugar (divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)


1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar


Melt chocolate and butter.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar for 5 minutes

Stir in warm chocolate/butter mixture

Beat egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar and cream of tartar until stiff (I usually beat egg whites until
foamy and then add cream of tartar and gradually beat in sugar)

Stir a small spoonful of whipped egg whites into chocolate mixture then gently fold remainder of egg whites into chocolate/butter mixture

Pour 3/4 of this chocolate/eggwhite mixture into 9 inch springform pan. Cover the remaining 1/4 and refrigerate.

Bake at 325* for 35 minutes . Remove from oven and cool completely. Remove outside ring of springform pan. Top will be cracked and crumbly looking but not to worry.

Take the remaining mousse from fridge and gently spread over top of cake. Refrigerate while making frosting.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered or confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff. Don't overbeat or you'll have the beginnings of butter. Spread frosting over top of cake.


You can decorate cake with chocolate leaves. Wash and dry stiff leaves (holly, for example). Melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips with a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of honey. Spread warm mixture on leaves. Set on plate. Place in fridge until cool. Carefully peel leaf away from chocolate.

Coming Soon...Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chicken Breasts with Diced Aromatic Vegetables and Cream

Loved the movie, Julie and Julia and the book, My Life in France by Julia Child. and am hating the book written by the Croutons with Wonder Bread blogger who blogged about doing all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year.

This chicken recipe (involving, of course, butter and cream) was requested and straight from Julia Child...here is Supremes de Volaille a l'Ecossaise. Read entire recipe before beginning.

Dice neatly to make 2/3 to 3/4 cup:
1 medium carrot,
1 to 2 tender celery stalks
1 medium white onion

Cooked the diced vegetables slowly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 5 tablespoons of butter for about 10 minutes in a covered casserole. Vegetables should be tender, but not browned. (heavy covered fireproof casserole that will hold four supremes)

4 supremes (boned chicken breasts trimmed of icky bits (that's me...not Julia))

Rub the supremes with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
Roll each supreme in the butter and vegies then cover with a buttered parchment or waxed
paper that is buttered on one side (buttered side to touch the supremes)

Place in preheated 400 degree oven.

After 6 minutes, press top of supreme with finger. If still soft, return to oven for another minute. When meat is springy to touch, it is done.

Remove supremes from pan and put on warm platter and cover while making sauce.

Sauce:

In pan in which chicken and vegies cooked, pour

1/4 cup beef bouillon (I use Campbells...uh oh...maybe I shouldn't have been snippy about
Wonder Bread croutons)
1/4 cup port or dry white vermouth

Boil over high heat until liquid is syrupy.

Stir in

1 cup whipping cream (or creme fraiche if available)

Bring to boil again and boil until cream has thickened slightly.

Off heat, taste for seasoning. Add salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon juice if needed)

Pour sauce over supremes, sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with little steamed or boiled potatoes.


(You could make ahead and then very gently reheat).