Picture this: a rich, brownie-like chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse, whipped topping and garnished with even more chocolate. Sound divine? It is! Italian meringue gives the mousse a light, fluffy texture without the addition of gelatin. If you can include dairy in your dessert, substitute whipped cream for the nondairy whipped topping.
- Portion size 12 servings
- Credits : Canadian Living Magazine
Ingredients
Chocolate Brownie Cake:
Chocolate Mousse:
Italian Meringue:
Method
Chocolate Brownie Cake: Grease 9-inch (2.5 L) springform pan; line bottom and sides with parchment paper. Set aside.Halve vanilla bean lengthwise; using tip of sharp knife, scrape seeds into heatproof bowl. Discard pod or save for another use. Place bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water; stir in coconut milk and chocolate. Heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
In bowl, beat together eggs, sugar and salt until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chocolate mixture and matzo cake meal. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven until crackly on top and cake tester inserted in centre comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.
Italian Meringue: Meanwhile, in saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 cup water; bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer reads 245 to 250 F (118 to 121 C) for firm-ball stage, or when 1 tsp hot syrup dropped into cold water forms firm but pliable ball, about 9 minutes.
Meanwhile, in stand mixer, beat egg whites on medium until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Increase speed to high; beat in syrup in thin, steady stream. Beat mixture until cooled to room temperature and side of bowl is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Chocolate Mousse: In heatproof bowl over saucepan of gently simmering water, whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale, thickened and almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Stir in chocolate. Remove bowl from heat; fold in Italian meringue. Pour over cake in pan; smooth top. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 6 hours.
Makeahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Remove side of springform pan; using damp offset spatula or knife, smooth mousse around edge if necessary. Whip whipped topping until soft peaks form; spoon over mousse. Garnish with shaved chocolate.
Tip from The Test Kitchen: The clear sugar and water mixture for the Italian meringue may not look hot, but looks are deceiving. It can burn skin badly, so handle with extra care. Long oven mitts are a great idea when making this syrup.
Nutritional facts per each of 12 servings: about
- Fibre 3 g
- Sodium 55 mg
- Sugars 46 g
- Protein 8 g
- Calories 420.0
- Total fat 19 g
- Potassium 251 mg
- Cholesterol 159 mg
- Saturated fat 11 g
- Total carbohydrate 55 g
%RDI
- Iron 21.0
- Folate 13.0
- Calcium 4.0
- Vitamin A 8.0
