Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Cakes



I made these cakes on the same day as I made the cheesecakes. I thought these were better, but Joe and Ran loved the cheesecakes more. However, when Joe took all of these to his hospital team, many of them preferred these. Logically speaking though, one is a hazelnut sponge cake topped with luscious chocolate mousse and the other is a creamy cheesecake with blueberries, so not really in the same categories...




I've been in a whirlwind of baking, taking orders, and obsessively tracking the weather for natural sunlight to take my photos. The weather here has literally been alternating day-to-day of sunshine or sleet/ice. I think my moods are confused and I just haven't felt like writing anything, anywhere. I've felt more like reading a book or taking artsy food photos or making comfort foods.

Then Joe told me to snap out of it because there were people on his team who were eagerly waiting for me to post this recipe. So I sighed and decided to suck it up and be productive again.


Bee tee dubs, I'm on Pintrest! And I really like it. It's fun to organize things in boards and look at pretty pictures. I feel like I've learned so many nifty craft and DIY ideas in the last month. People are so, so clever. 

I also love my 'Resolute' category. I used to think inspirational quotes were nice but never thought twice about them. But since they're always flying all over the Pintrest interwebs, I started a category for the ones that inspire me. And believe it or not, they actually help. Every now and then, I look at them and they help keep me on track for my goals in life :) 

As for this cake, it's delicious. It's a vanilla sponge cake with some ground hazelnuts replacing the regular flour. I was at a loss for what kind of frosting to use, and then thought a simple ganache would be great. I made equal amounts of chocolate and cream and stirred them together, but even after chilling for hours, the ganache wasn't firm enough for my liking. So I whipped it up a bit and turned it into the mousse that I use for my special occasion chocolate cake. The result was heavenly. I simply dipped the tops of each cake in the mousse, and then shamelessly licked the bowl clean. Yum!




Hazelnut Sponge Cake


1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hazelnut flour (finely ground hazelnuts)
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, separated, room temperature (best separated when cold)
6 full tablespoons plain, full-fat yogurt
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F and place cupcake liners in your cupcake pan.
Cream butter and half of the sugar in a mixer until very pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). 
Add egg yolks, one by one, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. 
Add extracts and mix well.
Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture, on low speed, until just incorporated. Add yogurt on low speed.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes).
Fold the whites into cake batter, gently. 
Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake about 16-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 
Immediately remove from the cupcake pan and let them cool before adding topping.


Mousse Topping


4 oz. milk chocolate chips

4 oz. heavy cream

Place the chips in a heat-proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and then pour the cream over the chips. Let it sit for about 2 minutes and then stir with a spatula until well combined. Store in the fridge for about 2 hours until chilled. 

Then remove and beat with an electric beater until stiff and fluffy.

Dip each cupcake in the mousse and enjoy! 

Comments

  1. Nice recipe. And I like what you did with the mousse - great idea. Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loevly! Your changes to the recipe sound perfect. Glad those coworkers loved them.

    ReplyDelete

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