Chocolate Overload Cake

CAKE

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water/coffee/espresso (use whichever you prefer – note, the batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans, and flip over onto wire racks. Cool completely. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

MOUSSE

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, and place over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler). Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add in the espresso powder. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, 1 by 1, beating with a whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, and continue to beat. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters until it begins to foam and thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.

Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then, delicately fold in the whipped cream. Take care not over work the mousse, but make sure you blend in the cream well. Place the mousse on top of the first layer of cooled cake while it’s still in the springform pan. Add the other cake layer. Add the other half of the mousse to the top layer. Flash freeze the cake for 1 hour and then cover with clear wrap to let it freeze for 3 more hours or overnight.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM:

Note: You can refrigerate it if doing it ahead of time. If not, make it the day you’ll be eating the cake.

Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil, and place a larger bowl filled with the chocolate over it. It will melt gently. Once it’s melted, pull the chocolate off of the heat and let it cool to lukewarm (set aside). Meanwhile, beat the butter until completely smooth. Add cocoa powder and beat in. Sift the powdered sugar directly over the bowl and beat that in. Next, in goes the vanilla and the melted chocolate. Mix together, and place a crumb coating on the cake. Refrigerate or freeze the cake for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then, add another coat of frosting.

If you want to do a lot of decorating with his frosting, I suggest making another half portion of this frosting or doubling it.

ESPRESSO GANACHE

Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat it until just BEFORE it boils. Place the chocolate in the cream, and remove from heat. Stir the mixture until smooth. Stir in the espresso powder and rum or vanilla extract. Allow the ganache to cool for about 15 minutes before pouring the mixture on top of the buttercream.

Save the rest of the ganache for decorations (if you whip the ganache when it’s cold, you can pipe a beautiful decoration) or save it for something else.

Please note that this recipe contains raw eggs, as authentic mousse au chocolat does.

CAKE: adapted from the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa container
MOUSSE: adapted from Tyler Florence on Food Network
BUTTERCREAM: from the Daring Baker’s Dobos Torte
GANACHE: adapted from allrecipes.com “Chocolate Ganache” recipe