Chocolate Mousse Cake

Well, life has been exhausting and busy for the past week. Working has lost its magic and right now, a job is JUST a job. Also learnt the value of money and shall resolve to not spend money like water from this day. I now know how to make most of the drinks in Starbucks (some, anyways) and have been posted as cashier four times. It is one hell of a job because you cant afford to make mistakes.

I baked a Chocolate Mousse cake last Wednesday. I love mousses and have always been meaning to make a mousse cake but my first attempt months back went awry because someone thought she could get away with not putting gelatin in the mousse *shifty eyes*. But hold your horses, this IS a chocolate mousse cake and I DID make it without any gelatin in the mousse! Having said that, this cake does require a lot of eggs. But it was all worth it in the end. 

The dark brown part is chocolate mousse while the lighter brown is chocolate sponge. I highly recommend the cake part because I am not very good with sponges and yet, this one turned out pretty awesome. The whole cake was light, spongy and fluffy. Nothing got overbaked or underbaked. Perfect-o! The mousse on the other hand, can be smoother and silkier. Perhaps I shall try a better brand of whipped cream the next time?

Chocolate Mousse Cake

A:
25g cocoa powder
75ml milk/water (Milk ran out, so I used water)
100g egg yolk
75 ml oil
90g high ratio flour (Substituted with sifted flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder

B:
120g egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (Omitted this altogether)
110g caster sugar

Chocolate mousse:
1 egg + 140g egg yolks (Put less yolk, more whites)
160g caster sugar, 40ml water (Sugar may be reduced to 130g)
500g dark chocolate, melted
600ml whipping cream

Chocolate coating:
100ml whipping cream
100ml water
160g caster sugar
100g piping jelly
45g cocoa powder
2 tsp gelatine (dissolved in 20ml water)

1. Preheat oven at 180C. Line a 9'' round cake tin with parchment paper.
2. To make cake batter, whisk together A until well-combined. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk B until stiff peak. Combine A with B and pour into cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow cake to cool before cutting into two.
4. To prepare the mousse, whisk eggs until thick and glossy. At the same time, boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot syrup into eggs in a steady stream while eggs are beaten. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk cream until stiff peak. Fold 1/4 of cream into melted chocolate and fold back chocolate into remaining cream. Fold in egg mixture.
6. To prepare the chocolate coating, boil cream, water and sugar. Add in piping jelly. Stir in cocoa powder. Strain mixture. Add in gelatine mixture. Cool until slightly thickened before pouring over cake.
7. To assemble the cake, place first half of cake onto a into a 9'' loose-base tin. (I did not have one so I just put in on a cake pan and blocked the edge with parchment paper.) Spread 1/2 of the moussse. Repeat with second layer of cake and mousse. Chill. Spread chocolate coating. Chill before serving.

*note: If you happen to not have piping jelly (like me), you may make it yourself.

Piping jelly:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn flour
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons caster sugar

Mix liquids and flour together. Boil. Add in sugar. The liquid will become jelly-like and translucent.