Chocolate mousse cake

Chocolate mousse cake is an exceptionally delicate, light-as-air cake with an almost mousse-like texture – hence the name “mousse”. The name perfectly captures its light, almost melt-in-the-mouth consistency. The whipped egg whites folded into the batter are partly responsible for this wonderful lightness, while the rest is… down to a fantastic recipe ;). Don’t let the bain-marie put you off – it’s precisely what gives the cake its extraordinary, soufflé-like delicacy. I served the cake with raspberry sorbet – it’s genuinely hard to imagine a better combination!

Ingredients for the chocolate mousse cake:

• 300 g dark chocolate
• 50 g milk chocolate
• 175 g butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 8 large eggs, separated
• 100 g light muscovado sugar
• 100 g caster sugar
• a pinch of salt

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Line the base of a 23 cm round cake tin with baking paper. Wrap the outside of the tin twice with aluminium foil – the cake will be baked in a bain-marie.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add both chocolates, finely chopped, stir into the hot butter and leave for 2 minutes. After this time, stir until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool slightly.

Place the egg yolks and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat until the mixture is very pale and fluffy (the recipe author compares the consistency to mayonnaise). The mixture should fall from the whisk in a thick ribbon. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and beat briefly. Add the cooled chocolate sauce and, still using the whisk attachment, beat until combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add 3–4 tablespoons of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly to loosen it. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in very gently, just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in a bain-marie* at 180°C for 50–60 minutes. The finished cake should be baked through and dry on top, while remaining light, mousse-like and moist in the centre. Remove from the oven, place on the worktop, remove the bain-marie and leave to cool completely. Then carefully release the cake from the tin by running a thin knife around the edges.

Serve the cake dusted with icing sugar, with a dollop of sour cream and raspberries, or with raspberry sorbet – absolutely delicious!

*A bain-marie involves placing the cake tin inside a larger tin or ovenproof dish and pouring in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cake tin. The cake is baked in the presence of steam, creating very high humidity. This allows it to bake evenly throughout, including in the centre, prevents it from cracking after baking and helps it retain its delicate, mousse-like texture.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: ‘How to be a domestic goddess’  by Nigella Lawson.