Chocolate-n-Orange - a marriage made in heaven and Mousse`-n-Cake is the second !!!
The combination of orange and chocolate was first introduced to me by Baskin-n-Robbins....their Chocolate Orange Ice Cream was to die for !!! The flavour duos have never looked back in our lives ever since !!
It was dad's birthday, and I, as usual wanted to try something new....something I've never done before, but with his favourite flavours so it had to be chocolate-n-orange and nothing else.
Birthdays are occasions when I invariably end up pushing my threshold by trying something new....a new technique...a new recipe or a new ingredient. (Though the rule says go with the tried and tested to avoid goof ups :P )
For me this cake was all about technique. I loved the very concept of treating the cake like a bow for the mousse` rather than layering the mousse` in the traditional way.
Recently I had come across Donna Hay's Chocolate Lemon Meringue Pie and I have adapted the same technique for this recipe.
It was a lot of fun scooping the cake out from the centre - a very satisfying feeling for some strange reason....probably because I was vary and anxious of scooping it a little too much; and KJ had a field day gobbling up all the scooped out cake crumb !!
Hope you enjoy reading this and baking it as much as I did !!
Ingredients For the Chocolate Cake:
100 g Flour
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
A Pinch of Soda-bi-carb
40 g Unsweetend Cocoa Powder
120 g Powdered Sugar
150 ml Oil
100 ml or 1/2 cup of Orange Squash
Directions
1. Grease and dust an 8inch round baking dish2. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda-bi-carb and reserve.
3. Separate the eggs. Add vanilla essence to the yolks.
4.Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C for 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Add the powdered sugar in batches and whisk till resembles a meringue (glossy mixture).
6. Now gradually add the oil and mix for 1 minute.
7. Fold in the flour mixture in the egg mixture gently but quickly till well incorporated.
8. Lastly add the orange squash to the batter and mix well.
9. Pour the cake batter in the baking dish and bake for 35 minutes at 180C.
10. Remove the cake from the oven. Transfer on the rack and let it cool a bit.
11. While it is still warm, place an inverted plate (I used a saucer) on the cake, making sure it is centred and cut around with the knife.
12. once there is a clear demarkation, remove the inside of the cake...scoop it out gently, with a spoon.
13. the thickness of the walls should be about 1-1.5 cm and the base should be about 1inch thick for the mousse` to hold in.
If you are doing this for the first time, it will be a good idea to use a ruler, especially to know the depth of this cake bowl.
14. Keep aside and let it cool down completely.
Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse`
2 Eggs
3 tsp Gelatin dissolved in 1/4 Orange Squash
300ml Milk
7 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
200g Cream
1/4 cup Orange Squash
Directions
1. Mix gelatin in orange squash in a heavy bottomed pan. Leave aside for 5-7 minutes. Heat on very low flame to dissolve it. Do not let it boil. Keep aside.
2. Separate the eggs.
3. Mix milk, sugar, cocoa and egg yolks in another heavy bottomed pan on medium to low heat. Keep stirring continuously so that the cocoa doesn’t burn over. Once the custard coats the back of the spoon remove from fire and let it cool down to room temperature.
4. Add gelatin and mix well. Make sure gelatin is completely blended in the custard. Add the orange squash. Mix well again, using a hand beater/ blender.
5. Chill in the freezer till only thick. Make sure it doesn’t start setting.
6. Once the custard is chilled and thick add the cream and beat well. (Preferably use a hand blender).
7. Chill again till thick.
8. While you set the cream-custard mix to chill again, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over whisk.
9. Now add these egg whites to the thick cream-custard and whisk for incorporate properly.
Assembling the Mousse`- Cake:
Once the mouse is ready (step 9) pour the mousse` in the cake bowl (hollowed cake)and let it set in the fridge for atleast 4 hours, though I prefer overnight or 8 hours.
Once properly set, decorate as you like and serve chilled.
Note:
Do not put it in the freezer for setting. Always set mousse` in the fridge. The freezer can form crystals on the mousse` which will spoil the dessert.
You could do the same thing with just chocolate: chocolate cake and chocolate mousse` or try to contrast flavours if you like.
Happy Baking !!
Birthdays are occasions when I invariably end up pushing my threshold by trying something new....a new technique...a new recipe or a new ingredient. (Though the rule says go with the tried and tested to avoid goof ups :P )
For me this cake was all about technique. I loved the very concept of treating the cake like a bow for the mousse` rather than layering the mousse` in the traditional way.
Recently I had come across Donna Hay's Chocolate Lemon Meringue Pie and I have adapted the same technique for this recipe.
It was a lot of fun scooping the cake out from the centre - a very satisfying feeling for some strange reason....probably because I was vary and anxious of scooping it a little too much; and KJ had a field day gobbling up all the scooped out cake crumb !!
Hope you enjoy reading this and baking it as much as I did !!
Ingredients For the Chocolate Cake:
100 g Flour
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
A Pinch of Soda-bi-carb
40 g Unsweetend Cocoa Powder
120 g Powdered Sugar
150 ml Oil
100 ml or 1/2 cup of Orange Squash
Directions
1. Grease and dust an 8inch round baking dish2. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda-bi-carb and reserve.
3. Separate the eggs. Add vanilla essence to the yolks.
4.Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C for 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Add the powdered sugar in batches and whisk till resembles a meringue (glossy mixture).
6. Now gradually add the oil and mix for 1 minute.
7. Fold in the flour mixture in the egg mixture gently but quickly till well incorporated.
8. Lastly add the orange squash to the batter and mix well.
9. Pour the cake batter in the baking dish and bake for 35 minutes at 180C.
10. Remove the cake from the oven. Transfer on the rack and let it cool a bit.
11. While it is still warm, place an inverted plate (I used a saucer) on the cake, making sure it is centred and cut around with the knife.
12. once there is a clear demarkation, remove the inside of the cake...scoop it out gently, with a spoon.
13. the thickness of the walls should be about 1-1.5 cm and the base should be about 1inch thick for the mousse` to hold in.
If you are doing this for the first time, it will be a good idea to use a ruler, especially to know the depth of this cake bowl.
14. Keep aside and let it cool down completely.
Ingredients for the Chocolate Mousse`
2 Eggs
3 tsp Gelatin dissolved in 1/4 Orange Squash
300ml Milk
7 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
200g Cream
1/4 cup Orange Squash
Directions
1. Mix gelatin in orange squash in a heavy bottomed pan. Leave aside for 5-7 minutes. Heat on very low flame to dissolve it. Do not let it boil. Keep aside.
2. Separate the eggs.
3. Mix milk, sugar, cocoa and egg yolks in another heavy bottomed pan on medium to low heat. Keep stirring continuously so that the cocoa doesn’t burn over. Once the custard coats the back of the spoon remove from fire and let it cool down to room temperature.
4. Add gelatin and mix well. Make sure gelatin is completely blended in the custard. Add the orange squash. Mix well again, using a hand beater/ blender.
5. Chill in the freezer till only thick. Make sure it doesn’t start setting.
6. Once the custard is chilled and thick add the cream and beat well. (Preferably use a hand blender).
7. Chill again till thick.
8. While you set the cream-custard mix to chill again, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over whisk.
9. Now add these egg whites to the thick cream-custard and whisk for incorporate properly.
Assembling the Mousse`- Cake:
Once the mouse is ready (step 9) pour the mousse` in the cake bowl (hollowed cake)and let it set in the fridge for atleast 4 hours, though I prefer overnight or 8 hours.
Once properly set, decorate as you like and serve chilled.
Note:
Do not put it in the freezer for setting. Always set mousse` in the fridge. The freezer can form crystals on the mousse` which will spoil the dessert.
You could do the same thing with just chocolate: chocolate cake and chocolate mousse` or try to contrast flavours if you like.
Happy Baking !!
Gauri, I demand an encore... every 20th. At least.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! What an idea...You make me forget all my words after going thru your post!!
ReplyDeleteLike always, looks absolutely fantabulous...sure tasted even better!!
Keep baking...keep rocking!!
Love :)
That looks incredible and sounds delicious! I wonder if there's a way to bake the cake up so it's already bowl-shaped. May not be possible without a special mold, though--either bought or rigged up somehow.
ReplyDelete