Chocolate cake with mint mousse

The surprise in the middle is a failed White chocolate mousse with mint. Remember how I told you then that Nestle white chocolate chips are no good for melting? Well, guess what. Ghirardelli white chocolate chips are no good either. At least not for making a nice, fluffy, feather-light mousse.  But they make a great sturdy cream that can be used as cake filling. To put together this cake I used “The Chocolate cake!” recipe for the cake layers and frosting and the White chocolate mousse for the filling.

Recipe

Ingredients for the cake

• 3  cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups caster sugar (or use food mixer to cut regular sugar finer)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup  cocoa
• 1 1/2 cup  unsalted butter
• 4  eggs
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup sour cream

How to make:  Mix all the ingredients in a food mixer and beat slightly until they are all well blended. Pour the mix in a buttered pan and cook at pre-heated 350F or 180C over for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cake cool and separate it into two layers. I used a cake layer cutter. Alternatively, you can use two silicone pans or pans with detachable bottoms. If you do, each layer needs less time to be done, about half an hour.

Next, prepare the filling.

Ingredients for the filling

• 8-9 ounces Nestle or Ghirardelli chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg white
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (Nigella likes 1/4)
• 6 fresh mint leaves, optional

How to make: Melt the white chocolate in bain marie. Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes. Use a mixer to beat the heavy cream with the egg white and the extract. Stop when you get a soft, fluffy consistency. Take a big spoonful and fold it in the chocolate. Then, fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Now the secret with the Nestle or Ghirardelli white chocolate chips is that they are not meant to be melted and they will harden as soon as they are combined with the heavy cream resulting in a creamy and slightly crunchy texture that will hold well as filling.

Spread the filling on top of the first layer of cake. Then, add the second layer on top and cover the whole cake with the frosting below.

Ingredients for the frosting

• 6 ounces bitter (or semi-sweet) chocolate, melted in microwave oven
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1  tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to make: Mix all the frosting ingredients using a food mixer with a whisk  in this order: slightly cooled off melted chocolate + butter+syrup + vanilla extract + sour cream + confectioner’s sugar.  You can add drops of hot water or more confectioner’s sugar if needed to make the mix thick enough but also soft enough for spreading.