Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake With Cashew Brittle Recipes

Steps:

• Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line with parchment, and butter parchment. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt.
• With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
• With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold into yolk mixture in 3 additions. Fold in flour mixture in 2 additions until almost incorporated. Fold in butter. Pour into pan.
• Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto rack. Remove parchment, and turn right side up.
• Make brittle: Bring sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, and cook until pale amber, about 12 minutes total. Stir in butter. Remove from heat, and stir in cashews. Pour onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool. Coarsely chop.
• Make mousse: Melt chocolates and butter in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, stirring occasionally. Cool 20 minutes. Keep water simmering.
• Combine yolks, sugar, and salt in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until thick and cool, about 7 minutes.
• Whisk cream, creme fraiche, and vanilla until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold chocolate mixture into yolks. Fold in cream mixture, and then 1 1/2 cups brittle. Cover, and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 1 hour.
• Make ganache: Fill a bowl halfway with ice water, and set aside. Combine chocolates and salt in a heatproof bowl. Bring milk, cream, and butter to a boil. Pour over chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Reserve 1 cup ganache at room temperature. Place bowl with remaining ganache in ice water, and whisk constantly, scraping bowl, until ganache is set but not solid.
• Make syrup: Mix liqueur and vanilla.
• Assemble cake: Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of cake to create a flat surface, and shave off just the slightest bit of cake around edges so that it fits inside an 8-by-3-inch springform pan without touching sides. Cut cake in half horizontally. Cut both layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer in pan. Brush with 1/4 of the syrup. Top with 1/2 cup ganache and 1 cup mousse. Repeat with cake, syrup, ganache, and mousse. Spread 1 cup reserved ganache over top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
• Run an offset spatula around edges of pan, and remove sides. Garnish with berries and, if desired, Cashew-Brittle Hearts.

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Set aside to cool a little.
• Whip the cream with an electric mixer on high for about a minute. Turn the mixer to low while adding the sugar, then turn back to high and whip to stiff peaks.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a pitcher and add the vanilla.
• Next, temper the eggs by adding a little of the melted chocolate. Then pour the eggs back into the bowl of melted chocolate and stir to combine. Fold in three-quarters of the whipped cream (refrigerate the remaining whipped cream for serving). Spoon the mousse into serving glasses or bowls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Serve the mousse with dollops of whipped cream and garnish with grated chocolate and gummy worms.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make the brittle: Bring sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, and cook until pale amber, about 12 minutes total. Stir in butter. Remove from heat, and stir in cashews. Pour onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool.
• In a food processor, finely grind the brittle. Place brittle in heaping teaspoons on a nonstick baking mat, and flatten each into a thin round. Bake until melted, about 5 minutes. Press a 1- to 2-inch heart-shape cutter into center of each round while brittle is still hot. With cutter still in place, pull away sides of melted brittle. Remove cutter. Let cool slightly, until bendable. Lift heart from baking mat with a spatula, and bend slightly at center of heart. Let cool completely.

Steps:

• MAKE THE CHOCOLATE GENOISE:
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Lightly butter bottom of 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper.
• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Beat whole eggs, egg yolks, oil, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla in bowl until tripled in volume, using electric mixer at medium-high speed.
• Add flour all at once, folding until just combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly.
• Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
• MAKE THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:.
• Place chocolate in microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave on medium (50% power) for 1 minute; stir.
• Microwave 30 seconds more or until chocolate is softened; stir until smooth.
• Add Godiva Liqueur, oil and vanilla, stirring to combine.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Beat heavy cream in bowl until soft peaks form, using electric mixer at medium-high speed.
• Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture.
• ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:.
• Loosen genoise from pan, using a knife.
• Remove side of springform pan; carefully remove paper.
• Cut cake horizontally into two equal layers.
• Place one layer cut side up in bottom of springform pan.
• Spread half of the mousse on cake.
• Place top layer on mousse and spread with remaining mousse.
• Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or until mousse is set.
• MAKE THE GANACHE:.
• Place chocolate, corn syrup and vanilla in bowl.
• Heat heavy cream in saucepan over medium heat to a simmer.
• Pour over chocolate mixture.
• Let stand 30 seconds.
• Stir until smooth and let cool.
• MAKE THE RASPBERRY SAUCE:.
• Puree raspberries in food processor.
• Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into small bowl.
• Stir in sugar and Chambord.
• Refrigerate sauce until needed.
• TO SERVE:.
• Spread side of cake with ganache, reserving 1/3 cup.
• Drizzle top of cake with more ganache, using a fork.
• Garnish with raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries, and a sprig of mint.

Steps:

• Make the chocolate génoise:
• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Dust the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
• 2. Whisk together the flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
• 3. Fill a pot one-third full with water and bring to a simmer. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the mixer stand and, using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until the mixture triples in volume and forms a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted, about 8 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture. Fold in the melted butter. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
• 4. Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, until it has pulled away from the side of the pan and the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Unmold the cake on a rack and cool completely, right side up.
• Make the milk and dark chocolate mousses:
• 5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat 2 1/2 cups (580 grams) of the heavy cream to soft peaks. Scrape half of the whipped cream into a medium bowl. Cover both bowls and refrigerate.
• 6. Put the milk and dark chocolate in two separate medium bowls. Bring the remaining 1 cup (232 grams) cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup (116 grams) of the hot cream over the milk chocolate and the remaining 1/2 cup (116 grams) over the bittersweet chocolate. Gently whisk the milk chocolate until it is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk the dark chocolate until smooth.
• 7. Let the chocolate mixtures cool for 10 minutes. Fold the milk chocolate mixture into one bowl of whipped cream. Fold the dark chocolate into the remaining whipped cream.
• Make the sugar syrup:
• 8. Combine 1/4 cup (59 grams) water and the sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the syrup cool to room temperature.
• Assemble the cake:
• 9. Using a serrated knife, slice the cake horizontally in half. Cup a strip of parchment paper to line the inside of a 9x4-inch cake ring. Line the mold with the strip and place it on a serving plate. Place a 9-inch cardboard cake round in the bottom of the cake ring. Place the bottom cake round, cut side up, in the ring. Brush the cake generously with the sugar syrup. Scrape the dark chocolate mousse onto the cake and smooth it into an even layer. Top with the second cake round, cut side down. Brush the cake generously with syrup. Scrape the milk chocolate mousse onto it, smoothing it into an even layer. Chill the cake for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
• 10. To unmold the cake, lift it off the plate, holding it with your palm against the cardboard round. Using a hairdryer or warm damp towel, briefly warm the cake ring mold. Lift off the ring mold and peel off the parchment strip. Allow the cake to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.