Death by chocolate pt 2

12 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
See part 1

Directions

Place 1½ cups heavy cream in the well chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a well chilled balloon whip. Whisk on high until peaks form, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Whisk 3 egg whites in a large stainless steel bowl, until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form, about 2 to 2 ½ minutes. Add a quarter of the whipped cream to the chocolate and whisk quickly, vigorously, and thoroughly, then add to the egg whites. Now add the remaining whipped cream. Fold all together gently but thoroughly. Refrigerate chocolate mousse until needed.

TO PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE LAYER, coat a 9 by 1 ½ inch round cake pan with 1 teaspoon of butter. Flour the pan with 1 teaspoon of flour, shaking out excess. Pour the Simply the Best Brownie batter into the prepared cake pan, spreading evenly. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake the brownie until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the brownie from the oven and allow to cool in the pan at room temperature for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a cake circle and Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the brownie from the refrigerator and cut in half horizontally. Keep the brownie at room temperature until needed.

TO PREPARE THE GANACHE, heat 1 ½ cups heavy cream and 3 tablespoons butter in a 2 ½ quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.

Place 22 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Keep at room temperature until needed.

TO PREPARE THE MOCHA MOUSSE, heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place 14 ounces semisweet chocolate, 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, the water, instant coffee, and 2 tablespoons cocoa in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap. Heat for 6 to 7 minutes, remove the film wrap, and stir the mixture until smooth. Keep at room temperature until needed.

Place 5 egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high until soft peaks form, about 1 minutes. Continue to whisk while gradually adding 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk until stiff, about 30 seconds.

Whip ¾ cup heavy cream in a well chilled stainless steel bowl until stiff. Fold ¼ of the egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture, then fold in the whipped cream. Now fold in the remaining egg whites. Keep the mocha mousse at room temperature.

TO ASSEMBLE DEATH BY CHOCOLATE, place a closed 9 by 3 inch spring form pan on a baking sheet. Set the top half of the chocolate brownie inside the pan, top side up. Ladle 1 ½ cups of the ganache into the pan over the chocolate brownie. Trim the cocoa meringue with a serrated knife so that it will fit tightly into the pan. Place the trimmed cocoa meringue, top side up, inside the pan on top of the ganache, pressing down gently on the cocoa meringue to eliminate air pockets.

Spoon the mocha mousse on top o the cocoa meringue, spreading evenly. Place the remaining brownie half, bottom side up, on top of the mocha mousse.

Chill the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes or refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove the cake from the freezer and cut around the edges to release from the spring form pan. Pour the remaining ganache over the cake and use a cake spatula to spread the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the ganache.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with the chocolate mousse.

Pipe a circle of stars (each touching the other) along the outside edge of the top of the cake. Continue to pipe out circles of stars until the top of the cake is covered. Refrigerate the Death By Chocolate for at least 4 hours, and preferable 12 hours before cutting and serving.

Prepare the Mocha Rum Sauce (the sauce can be prepared just prior to service or several hours in advance). To serve, cut the Death By Chocolate into the desired number of servings. Heat the blade of a serrated slicer under hot running water before slicing into the cake. Repeat this procedure after cutting each slice. Before placing the cake slice on the 10 inch diameter places, flood the base of each plate with 3 to 4 tablespoons Mocha Rum Sauce, then place a piece of Death By Chocolate in the center of each plate. Serve immediately.

continued in part 3

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