Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake Gluten Free
(Adapted from Gourmet Traveller)
I love chocolate, cake and mousse, so when I came across the recipe, it almost seemed silly to not make it! I had to adapt the sponge to make it gluten free. Now normally, I’m not for subjecting those that don’t need to be gluten free, to gluten free versions of things, but in some baked goods, you can’t tell the difference and they can even be better!
This does get a little involved and you’ll need to start it a day ahead.
Chocolate Sponge
4 eggs
½ cup caster sugar
80g plain flour, sieved
40g Dutch-process cocoa
25gm butter, melted
Chocolate Mousse
150g each chocolate (55%) and dark chocolate (70%)
600ml thickened cream (at room temperature)
¾ titanium-strength gelatine leaf, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes
80g glacé orange, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
40g roast hazelnuts, coarsely chopped, plus extra, sliced to serve
Chocolate Ganache
85ml pouring cream
40g each chocolate (55%) and dark chocolate (70%)
10g softened butter
Orange-sherry Syrup
40g caster sugar
Finely grated rind of ½ orange
50ml dry sherry
Method
For chocolate sponge, preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 22cm spring form tin. Whisk eggs on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (6-8 mins). Meanwhile, stir sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan over high heat to dissolve, then bring to the boil. Pour hot syrup into egg mixture and whisk on medium speed until mixture cools and forms thin ribbons (6 minutes). Sieve over flour and cocoa, fold in, then fold in butter. Pour into the tin and bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (20-25 minutes). Stand in tin for 5 mins, turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Halve cake horizontally with a serrated cake knife and set aside, cut-side up.
Meanwhile, for orange-sherry syrup, bring sherry, sugar and orange rind to the simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cool, brush generously over sponge, place one sponge half in a baking paper-lined 22cm spring form pan and set aside.
For chocolate mousse, melt chocolates in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, simmer 40ml cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, remove from heat, squeeze excess water from gelatine and add to cream, stirring to dissolve, then cool to room temperature. Whisk remaining cream to soft peaks in an electric mixer, then, whisking continuously, add chocolate mixture and gelatine mixture and whisk until chocolate is half-incorporated (do not over-whisk). Fold in with a spatula to fully incorporate. Fold through half the glacé orange and hazelnuts, pour over sponge in prepared pan, smooth top and sandwich with remaining sponge. Refrigerate until set (4-6 hours or overnight).
Meanwhile, for chocolate ganach, bring cream just to the boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Place chocolate in a bowl, add cream and butter, stand until chocolate melts (2-3 mins), then stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside, stirring occasionally, until starting to thicken (10-20 mins).
Remove cake from pan, place on a wire rack over a tray, spread ganach over cake with palette knife. Refrigerate cake until semi-set (5-10 mins). Serve topped with remaining orange and hazelnuts, with ice-cream and extra orange and hazelnuts to the side.
