Chocolate mousse torte

In German, the “Shokoladenmousse-Torte” isn’t as difficult to make as it is to pronounce the name. Simply put, it is a light sponge filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate ganache. Simpler than saying that is preparing it. And the very simplest, is eating and enjoying it!

German Sponge Torte with Chocolate Mousse

German Sponge Cake (Biskuitkuchen)

5 eggs ¾ cup sugar ¾ cup flour ¼ cup cornstarch 1 tsp. baking powder dash of salt grated lemon peel ½ tsp. vanilla

-Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside.

-Beat egg whites till foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until very stiff. In a separate bowl, beat yolks till thick and lemon-colored. Add vanilla and lemon peel to yolks. Fold yolks into whites then fold the other dry ingredients into the egg mixture, just until combined.

-Pour batter into a well-greased and floured obstorte pan, or other tart pan or pie plate (cover flat bottom of pan with waxed or parchment paper and then grease and flour edges.) Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly and turn out of pan. Makes 2 sponges.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

1/2 cup butter softened 3 egg yolks 3 egg whites 1/2 cup sugar 7 ounces of 70% good-quality chocolate or 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate and 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate 2/3 cups heavy cream 1 tablespoon vanilla extract pinch of salt                                                          

-Melt chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

-Start beating egg yolks in a small bowl on high speed for about 3 minutes, until thick and lemon colored. Slowly add the chocolate/butter mixture and continue to beat another 3 minutes on high speed until mixture is well blended. (If mixture is thick, set it aside. If it appears runny, refrigerate, covered for 5-10 minutes.)

-In a separate clean, mixing bowl, beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form.  Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until whites are stiff and glossy.

-Place about 1 cup of beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture and mix in completely to loosen the mousse mixture. Then add the remaining egg white mixture and carefully fold into chocolate mixture so that the whites are not deflated. You want to keep as much volume in the mousse as possible, from the beaten egg whites.  Allow mixture to set for 10 minutes in refrigerator while preparing the cream.

-Whip cream until soft peaks form then add vanilla. (You can use the same bowl as used for the egg whites - no need to rinse it out for the cream.)  Fold cream gently into chocolate mixture until mostly incorporated - a few remaining streaks of cream is fine.  You can use the mousse immediately, for this recipe or chill, covered, for a later use.

Chocolate Ganache:

3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream 1 cup 60% or semi-sweet chopped chocolate or chocolate chips dash of salt

1/2 cup toffee candy bits or sliced almonds to garnish

To make chocolate ganache:

-Place cream in a small saucepan and heat just until cream comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate pieces and without stirring allow to sit for 15 minutes. Then stir the chocolate into the cream with a whisk until all the chocolate is melted and ganache is very smooth. Let sit for 30 - 45 minutes until ganache has thickened to the point where you can pipe it from a bag.

To Assemble Torte:

-Spoon all but 1 cup of the completed mousse into the center of the cake’s indentation and with a spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth out the mousse to completely fill the indentation, evenly to the edges. Chill for 30 minutes, to firm up the mousse.

-Pour or spoon the cooled ganache over the top of the mousse layer and spread it out evenly with a spatula, with decorative swirls to within 1 inch of the edges.

-Spoon the remaining mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the mouse around the edges of the mousse layer to cover the exposed cake but not the fluted edges. Create a double zigzag design with piped mousse or any other design you would prefer.

-Garnish the top of the torte by sprinkling on toffee candy bar bits or slivered almonds.

-Chill until ready to serve or at least 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.

The sponge should still be pale when cooked but firm to the touch. Notice the indentation in the cake, waiting to be filled with the mousse.

Fill the indentation with the chocolate mousse spreading it all the way to the edges of the indentation of the cooled cake.

Spoon the thickened ganache onto the center of the mousse layer then spread it out to within 1 inch of the edges. Swirl the top of the ganache decoratively.

Pipe the remaining mousse decoratively around the edges of the cake covering the exposed cake but leaving the fluted edges unfrosted.

Garnish the top with toffee candy bits or toasted slivered almonds.

Chill until ready to serve. “Wunderbar” for the eyes as well as the tongue!

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**You can purchase an “Obstorte” pan here: Search on Amazon for Zenker-Non-Stick-Carbon-Steel-11-Inch

Or if you would rather, use any tart baking pan or a pie plate. The difference is, these will not have an indentation in the middle into which to place the mousse. In this case, with a straight edged tart pan, you can remove the cake from the pan or not, as you like, then mound the mousse on the top smoothing it out or leaving it slightly mounded on top. If using a pie plate, turn the cake out then leave it upside down. When the cake is cool, mound the mousse on the top of the bottom so you will have the slanted edges exposed, which are slanted, similar to the edges of an Obstorte pan.

**Try other fillings in the same cake (sponge) base. How does Lemon Curd with fresh blueberries sound or Vanilla Pastry Cream with raspberries? The flavor and shape of the cake is an excellent base for so many fillings.

The original, “Obstorte”, is this sponge with fresh fruit arranged on top, then served with whipped cream. Fresh strawberries is probably the most popular and appears in German restaurants, bakeries and cafes, especially in the spring. The name of this cake is Erdbeerkuchen, which means “strawberry cake”. You can find the recipe for that version on this blog at: https://www.persnicketypanhandler.com/blog/german-strawberry-cake-erdbeerkuchen?rq=German%20Strawberry