Chocolate Mousse Cake

A chocolate cake is sitting on a white plate.

PRINT 1 seven-inch cake # of Servings:   8 Ingredients 1 recipe Chocolate Chiffon Cake 1 recipe Chocolate Charlotte Mousse 1 recipe Midnight Glaze Chocolate Shavings, as needed Special tools and equipment needed: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions:

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Chocolate Mousse Cake

A chocolate cake is sitting on a white plate.

This may very well be the ultimate chocolate mousse cake. A luscious Chocolate Charlotte Mousse is layered between three Chocolate Chiffon Cake layers topped with a Midnight Glaze and enveloped in chocolate shavings.  The mousse, although rich, is not overly so, and the chiffon cake complements it perfectly. The Midnight Glaze, made from Valrhona cocoa,…

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Midnight Glaze

PRINT Ingredients ½ cup + 3 tbl (2.2 oz / 62 g) confectioners’ sugar5 tbl (2.5 fl oz) water 2 tbl (1 fl oz) heavy cream, or crème fr¢iche1 tbl (0.5 oz / 14 g) butter, room temperature ½ cup – 1 tsp (1.6 oz / 45 g) cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona, sifted 1 tbl…

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Chocolate Chiffon Cake

PRINT Yield: 1 8-inch cake # of Servings: 8 to 10 Ingredients ½ cup (2.33 oz / 66 g) all-purpose flour ¼ cup + 2 tbl (1.30 oz / 37 g) cocoa powder, sifted ½ cup (3.5 oz / 99 g) sugar1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 2 egg yolks…

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Chocolate Charlotte Mousse

PRINT Yield: 1 qt. Ingredients 7.3 oz chocolate, 61% to 64%, wafers or broken up 13 ¼ fl. oz heavy cream, whipped to just soft peaks 3 fl. oz sugar syrup, hot4 large egg yolk Special equipment needed: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions

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Marble Pound Cake

Marble Poundcake with slices

As I hunkered down in the first months of the pandemic, I yearned for comfort foods. In the dessert category, this meant pound cakes. I have always had a thing for a slice (or two) of a good pound cake with tea in the afternoon. And they’re not bad for a simple dessert, with some…

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Chocolate Charlotte Mousse

A chocolate cake with a swirl of frosting on top.

This is one of my most treasured recipes from my time at Sign of the Dove, courtesy of the pastry chef who learned it while working in the pastry department at Michael’s or Chez Panisse in the 1980s.  It is luscious, chocolatey, creamy and works beautifully layered in cakes. The key to success with this…

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Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Chocolate cake layer on cooling rack.

Like all chiffon cakes, this Chocolate Chiffon Cake relies on vegetable (canola) oil making it lighter in texture than a butter-based cake. It is an excellent base cake that is moist and chocolatey, but still allows the richness of a mousse or buttercream filling to shine.  Read through the directions before proceeding as the chiffon…

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Midnight Glaze

A bowl of chocolate sauce on a wooden table.

This glaze, made from high-quality cocoa powder has an advantage over chocolate-based glazes in that it stays shiny and doesn’t become overly firm when refrigerated. For these reasons, I prefer it for cakes with soft interiors, such as dark or white chocolate mousse.    The quality of the cocoa powder matters greatly in this recipe. A…

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Honey Cardamom Pound Cake

Lemon pound cake on a white plate.

Honey holds a significant place as one of the main food symbols of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, signifying the hope for a sweet new year. This is why honey cake is a traditional dessert during the holiday season. Yet, the honey cake that many of us remember from our childhood wasn’t always a culinary delight;…

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