chocolate and raspberry mousse cake

What to do when a great cook invites you for dinner and you're supposed to bring dessert? Our hostess was Jess, this cute, smart, tattooed, vegetarian who has her own food related blog: la vida veggie. The blog that inspired me to create this one. 

I knew she would be planning our dinner in advance, carefully prepping the ingredients, making sure dinner would be a memorable one, so I could not underestimate my dessert plans. 

I had many ideas for a great ending to our meal, but nothing was really grabbing me. But then, looking through my culinary books, I found the most decadent piece of heaven that would be perfect for a cold night with friends: a chocolate mousse cake. The cake is a deep dark chocolate torte that is mixed with butter and egg whites for an airy consistency. Later in the process, fresh flash frozen raspberries are added to the mixture. For best results you will need to start making this the day before you want to eat it and chill it overnight.

The recipe is from a book called Market Vegetarian by Ross Dobson, an Australian chef that makes vegetarian dishes look like porn for veggie people. 

He says: "Everyone needs a good chocolate cake recipe, and this could be the one you've been waiting for! Each time I make this, the texture around the edge is a little different to the time before, but it always has the same rich flavor with just a hint of tartness from the raspberries."

chocolate and raspberry mousse cake:

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

14 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken up

1 stick plus 7 Tbp unsalted butter, cubed

6 eggs, separated

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 superfine sugar (granulated sugar after a nice spin in the food processor)

Put the raspberries on a tray or baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the chocolate and the butter in a large, heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water (being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl come into contact with the water). Slowly melt, stirring, until the mixture is smooth and silky, then remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks with flour for 1 minute until thick, making sure there are no lumps. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir well to combine. In a separate, grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric or manual whisk until they form soft peaks. Sprinkle the sugar over the whites and beat until you have a glossy shine. Use a large spoon to fold the whites into the chocolate and flour mixture. Do this in two batches, working quickly and without overbeating. Add the frozen raspberries and stir.

Pour the mixture into a 9 inch, lightly buttered springform cake pan, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Put an oven-proof plate on top of the pan to cover it without touching the cake, and bake for an additional 1o minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, leaving the plate on top, and let it cool completely. When cool, put the cake in the fridge and leave overnight. Remove from the fridge 3 hours before serving it so that it comes to room temperature. Serves 10-12