"Marquis Au Chocolat" Recipe

Marquise Au Chocolat

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Cooling time: 2 hours

Chilling Time: overnight

CAKE LAYER

Melted butter (about 2 tbs)

1 Tbs. ground almonds (plus extra for dusting)

Two 3.5 oz bars of dark chocolate (60% cocoa content or more)

One 3.5 oz bar of Maya Gold (or good-quality orange flavored chocolate)

1 ¼ C. sugar

2/3 C. plus 1 Tbs. unsalted butter

pinch of sea salt

5 large eggs

MOUSSE

9  oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa content or more)

¾ C. confectioners sugar

¾ C. unsalted butter

5 large eggs, separated

2/3 C. whipping cream

cocoa powder for dusting

CREAM

1 C. whipping cream

3 Tbs. confectioners sugar

1 1/2  tsp. orange extract

plus fresh oranges for the garnish

Preheat oven to 350*

Brush the pan with melted butter and dust with the ground almonds, shaking off any excess.

To make the cake, melt the chocolate, sugar, butter, and salt in a large, heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, then remove from heat.

Whisk the eggs with the ground almonds and fold into the chocolate mixture.  Continue to fold until the mixture thickens.  Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for at least two hours before starting the mousse.

[But be careful where you set your mixing bowl down, especially if it's after midnight and you have 2 sleeping kids upstairs!]

To make the mousse, melt the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water.  [Just try not to eat it...]  Remove from the heat and add half the confectioners’ sugar, stir, then whisk in the butter.  Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.  Set aside.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks start to form.  Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar and continue to whisk until glossy.  Whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

Add one-third of the egg whites in a large bowl to the chocolate mixture and carefully mix to blend.  Gently fold in the remaining whites, alternating with the whipped cream.  Do not overmix, but ensure that the mixture is well blended.  Pour the mousse over the cooled cake in the cake pan and refrigerate overnight. [If it hadn't been 5am, I might have remembered to snap a pic of the "finished product" before chilling!]

Remove the pan from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving.  Dip a butter knife into boiling water, dry it, and slide it around the sides of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then gently smooth the sides of the mousse.

For the cream, whisk together the whipping cream, sugar, and orange extract together until stiff peaks start to form. 

Serve each slice with a dollop of the orange cream, and garnish with orange.

[enjoy]