I recently had a slice or two (it was three slices, but not in one sitting) of the most delicious chocolate mousse cake from Citarella in New York City. I couldn’t stop dreaming of this dessert, so I set out to create my own. Each element of this caramel chocolate mousse torte is from former recipes I’ve posted on Project Pastry Love. I thought it should have a crunchy textured layer, so I made a chocolate cookie crust as the base from my chocolate peanut butter pie post. I used David Lebovitz’s caramel chocolate mousse as the featured star of this production, and brought it on home with a blanket of rich chocolate ganache. Last week I attended a cookie decorating party, and learned a cute trick of creating whimsical hearts using two types of icing and a toothpick (thanks Liz!). Using this technique I made 4 hearts, and like a well thought out tattoo, each one represents something special in my life (Aron, Cameron, Wesley, and this most delicious torte).
Here’s how it’s done. Bake a chocolate cookie crust in an 8-inch springform pan.
Once it’s cooled top with half of the caramel chocolate mousse.
Top that with some chocolate ganache.
Smooth on the remaining caramel chocolate mousse.
Finally, finish with a layer of the rest of the glossy chocolate ganache. While the ganache is still liquidy pipe out dots of white icing around the top. Take a toothpick and run it through the middle of each dot to create hearts.
Chill the torte in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Enjoy a slice with a side of whipped cream and someone you love.
- 1/2 cup (100 g) Granulated Sugar
- 3 TBS (42 g) Unsalted Butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream, divided and at room temperature
- 6 oz. (170 g) Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp Powdered Gelatin
- 4 Large Eggs, separated
- Heaping ¼ tsp. Flaky Sea Salt
- 1 cup (4 oz or 113 g) Chocolate Wafer Cookies
- 2 TBS (28 g) Unsalted Butter
- ¼ cup (2 oz or 56 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped or in chip form
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 4 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 tsp. Sunflower Oil
- 1 to 2 TBS Hot Water
- Pour sugar in a medium-sized saucepan and spread it evenly around. Cook the sugar over medium-heat without stirring. Using a pastry brush, brush the insides of the saucepan with water to push the sugar crystals back in. Watch the sugar closely. When it becomes amber in color (325 degrees F.) take it off of the heat. Quickly whisk in the butter pieces. Once incorporated, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and whisk. If there are any large caramel bits, put the saucepan over low heat for a few minutes and stir until melted. If that doesn't do the trick completely, then strain them out. Finally, stir in the chocolate pieces until smooth and glossy.
- Pour the mixture into a clean bowl and set aside to cool. Once the caramel/chocolate mixture has cooled it's time to activate the gelatin. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface of the cream. Set aside for 10 minutes to bloom. Once bloomed, heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 10 seconds. Use your fingers to make sure that all of the granules have totally dissolved. If not, heat a few seconds more. Once the gelatin/cream mixture is ready then stir it into the caramel/chocolate mixture. Finally, whisk in the egg yolks until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites, along with the sea salt into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites until it is fully incorporated and there are no white streaks.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with oil spray.
- In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafer cookies until they become fine crumbs. Dump the crumbs in a large bowl, and set aside.
- Melt together the chopped chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl that has been placed over a saucepan with simmering water. Once fully melted and combined, remove the chocolate/butter mixture from the heat and pour over the cookie crumbs. Stir to together.
- Press the cookie crumb mixture onto the bottom of a springform pan, making sure to go up the sides a bit. Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Once baked, set the cookie crust aside until fully cooled. The crust will firm up during this time.
- Place your chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for one minute. Finally stir the chocolate/cream until it becomes smooth and glossy (about 2 minutes). If the ganache seems studded with chocolate bits then set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and stir until every bit has melted. Be sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Set aside, stirring occasionally. The ganache is ready to use when it is cooled, but still liquefied.
- In a medium bowl mix the powdered sugar and sunflower oil together. Stir in the hot water, a little at a time, to reach a desired consistency. The icing should be able to be piped easily, but not too runny. Pour it in an icing bottle, or piping bag until ready to use.
- Take the springform pan with the cookie crust and spread half of the mousse over top. Use an offset spatula to smooth it out and create and even layer. Pour half of the ganache over the mousse, and smooth it out. Spoon the remaining mousse over the ganache layer, and smooth it out. Finally, top with a smooth layer of the remaining ganache. While the ganache is still soft and liquidy, pipe out white icing dots around the edge of the torte. Take a toothpick and run it through the dots to create hearts. Chill the torte in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight. Carefully unmold the torte from the springform pan. With an offset spatula, smooth around the sides to clean it up. When ready to cut, dip a sharp knife in hot water, dry off, and then cut into the torte. Repeat with each slice. Enjoy!
- Medium-sized saucepan
- Candy thermometer
- Pastry brush
- Mixer with whisk attachment
- Rubber spatula
- Food processor
- 8-inch springform pan
- Offset spatula
- Icing bottle, or piping bag
- Toothpick
- Standing mixer or handheld mixer with whisk attachment
- Baking sheet
- *Always have a bowl of ice water nearby when making caramel in case you burn yourself.
- *To clean stuck bits of caramel from the bottom of your saucepan, fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil. This should melt the caramel.
