Last night my eldest Son Simon and his lovely girlfriend came over for dinner, I was so looking forward to it as things are particularly difficult at the moment as my best friend of 28 years was told that her cancer is terminal and this is breaking my heart, again it confirms to me that life is short and extremely fragile and that you have to live every day as best you can, grab opportunities when they come, be the best that you can be and try everything and anything, so spending time with my gorgeous Husband, fabulous Children and my very special friends is very very important to me, never miss the opportunity to tell someone that you love them !
I decided to make this gorgeous cake for dessert and it followed what I like to call my ‘coming home to Mum dinner’ of ragu and focaccia, its a family favourite and it always reminds me of family, coming together, love and laughter, it is a very special dinner to me. The dessert didn’t quite turn out how I had expected, it was a lot firmer that I had hoped, I wanted a soft mousse finish, this may be due to my fridge being to cold or the amount of gelatine, but I did follow the recipe to the letter, so next time I may reduce the amount of gelatine or maybe try it without any at all. What I can advise is, if you have a tried and tested mousse recipe that you love, just try it with that and still add the Ferrero Rocher. I will report back and amend the recipe if I come up with anything new.
It is still however a really lovely dessert, its rich, grown up and you only need a very little slice, served with an espresso at the end of a meal it is a little slice of heaven. The recipe says to use a 19cm tin, this gives you a very high sided dessert, but if you prefer a larger, lower dessert, just use a larger tin. As I always say, make the recipe your own!
Just a couple of tips, I will be adding a little booze next time, Baileys would be gorgeous in this and a little gold leaf on top would make this a fabby Christmas party dessert!
Buon appetito.
Note : The top picture was the one that I found on Pinterest, it was so lovely that I just had to use it, all other photo’s are my own.
Serves 10-12
For the Mousse Cake
220g plain chocolate digestives
75g butter, melted
3 teaspoons gelatine powder
600 ml double cream
300 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling-pin
6 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, to decorate
Cocoa, to dust
For the whipped chocolate Ganache
150 g dark chocolate
1/2 cup thickened or heavy cream
Grease a 19 cm round Springform pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper. Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
Place both the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted then cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, bring 1/4 cup cream to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Soak gelatine in 2 tbsp. cold water for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add to hot cream and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
Using an electric mixer, whisk remaining cream to stiff peaks. Working quickly, add chocolate and gelatine mixture to cream and whisk for 1-2 seconds or until chocolate is 1/2 incorporated. Using a spatula, gently finish folding in. Add the crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates and gradually fold into the mousse.
Spoon over the base of the cookie mixture. Smooth out the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Lightly dust with cocoa powder.
To make the whipped ganache: Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow the ganache to cool completely and whip to a stiff consistency.
Fill up a piping bag with a large star nozzle and pipe ganache around the cake. Top with Ferrero Rocher Chocolates.
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