We enjoy it at "La Poularde", in Houdan.
This cake starts the day before.
Cookie preparation: 20 mins. Cooking:15 mins. Preparation of the mousse:20 min; from Chantilly:a few minutes. Assembly of the Cake:30 to 35 min.
The first day, we make the biscuit and the chocolate mousse, the second day; we make the Chantilly cream with the coffee, we mount the cake and we ice it if we wish.
Proportions for 8 to 10 people:
Chocolate cookie:
Whole eggs, 100g caster sugar, 60g flour, 15g cocoa
Chocolate mousse:1 25 g dark chocolate, 2 egg yolks, 75 g softened butter, 4 egg whites, 75 g caster sugar, 15 g melted dark chocolate.
Coffee whipped cream:
1/4 l whipping cream, 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, 1 sheet of gelatin, 1 dl rum flavored sugar syrup.
The frosting: 100g chewable dark chocolate, a little water.
- Make the cookie: turn on the oven at low temperature (175°C- the 3) on a 25 x 30 cm baking sheet, with a 2 cm high rim, spread out a buttered and floured parchment paper. Thoroughly mix the flour and cocoa in a small colander and keep in a bowl. Pour the whole eggs and the sugar into the mixer, beat at medium speed; as soon as the eggs are firm enough, mix the cocoa flour vigorously. Then spread the cookie dough on the parchment paper in a layer about 15 mm thick, covering the entire baking sheet. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes. Lay a tea towel on a wire rack. Unmold the biscuit and let stand at room temperature.
- Make the foam: Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a bain-marie until smooth. remove from heat. Add the softened butter, stirring vigorously. Add the 2 yolks one after the other, to have a kind of solid mayonnaise. In a saucepan, melt the 15 g of dark chocolate.3 In a bowl, beat the whites. When they start to rise and become frothy, stir in the powdered sugar while continuing to whisk the eggs until they are firm and shiny, add and incorporate the 15 g of melted chocolate. Mix the whites with the chocolate mixture to have a nice homogeneous mousse. Pour it into a terrine to put it in the fridge.
- Make the whipped cream with coffee: in very little cold water, put the sheet of gelatin to soften and melt. Pour the whipping cream and coffee powder into the mixer, beat at medium speed and add the gelatine sheet. Stop as soon as you have a light Chantilly cream. Prepare a light sugar syrup and flavor it with rum.
- Building the cake: Cut the biscuit into 3 equal slices. Fill two piping bags with an opening of 15 mm, one with chocolate mousse, the other with coffee Chantilly cream. On a board, place the first slice of biscuit. Using a teaspoon or a brush, moisten it with rum sugar syrup. Then spread three sausages of chocolate mousse along the length of the biscuit, evenly spaced. Fill the void thus formed with a pudding of coffee Chantilly cream. Place the 2nd slice of biscuit, soak it in flavored syrup and do the same by inverting the colors, i.e. 3 puddings of whipped cream for one of mousse. Place the 3rd slice of biscuit. Press lightly, smooth all around with the spatula and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The cake should be very cold. To serve, cut it into neat slices using a knife dipped in hot water.5
Make the frosting: melt the dark chocolate in a little water. When it is very smooth, take out the very cold cake, pour the soft chocolate over the 3rd slice and, using the spatula, spread it briskly.
Recipe from Martine Jolly's book "Le Chocolat" a devouring passion at Robert Laffont.
