I call it the Femia cake, after the birthday girl, and it is glorious. It is a tri-layer cake with a thick dark chocolate ganache on top, and a full 1.5 pounds of bittersweet chocolate baked in. I was inspired by this quadruple chocolate cake recipe, but wanted a plain cheesecake layer to give the palate a tart flavor to contrast with all that chocolatey deliciousness. The first layer is an extremely rich flourless rose-chocolate cake - have I mentioned before that I was diagnosed about a year ago with Celiac? - which is followed by a New York style cheesecake, then an adaptation of Julia Child's dark chocolate mousse recipe, and finally that decadent ganache. I spent a good hour fretting over what to do for decoration until I decided to set it off with a simple sprig of rosemary, which happened to be flowering in my garden at the time.
I had to work during the days preceding, so I only had evenings and early mornings to bake. I decided to go after this cake in three separate attacks.
Flourless Chocolate Cake Layer
The first was the flourless chocolate cake layer, which I made in a 9-inch round cake pan two nights before it was to be presented. The recipe is adapted from an Allrecipes entry.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs water
- 2 tbs rosewater
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbs sugar
- 9 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a round cake pan well with butter, set aside.
In a small saucepan, mix together the water, rosewater, salt and sugar. Heat while stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. It will smell lovely. Set aside.
Melt your chocolate by your preferred method. I like to do it in the microwave, but sometimes the double-boiler method is more practical, especially if your microwave is wacky. Cut up your butter into small pieces, then melt into the chocolate one piece at a time. Whisk in the sugar-water while it is still hot, then add the eggs individually, beating well after each addition. I used a hand-held electric mixer for this part.
Pour the batter into the cake pan. In a separate, larger oven-safe pan (I used a disposable aluminum roasting pan), place about 1/2 inch of boiling water and place on a middle-rack in your oven. Nestle the cake pan with your batter into the larger pan, carefully so that no water gets into your cake. This is a more gentle heating method, and the extra humidity in the oven will keep the top of your cake nice and glossy. Bake for 35 minutes, then remove to cool in the fridge overnight. The center may still look wet, but that's okay. It will firm up overnight.
Removing it the next day from the cake pan is a bit of a struggle, but can be accomplished by placing the bottom of the pan in hot water. It doesn't matter if your cake cracks, because you're just going to top it with another layer anyway!
Which brings us to the cheesecake layer! I made a simple, New York style cheesecake.
New York Cheesecake Layer
I am a particular fan of cheesecake. I love when it has just a bit of tart, and I usually accomplish this by adding lemon zest or sour cream. This time I went with both. The trick for this layer is to line a spring-form pan with parchment paper, negating the need for a crust. The edges do tend to brown, but the cake is trimmed at the end anyway to fit it all together, so that's alright.
Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/8 cup gluten free flour (or regular flour, if you prefer)
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using regular flour)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line your spring-form pan with parchment paper. This was a whole ordeal for me - it took me nearly half an hour to get it right. Trust in the weight of your batter, though. You don't need to get the parchment paper to be perfectly flat; physics will do that for you when you pour in your cream cheese mixture.
On low speed or by hand (if you're strong), combine cream cheese and sugar. Add the milk slowly, then the eggs, one at a time. Beat after each addition until just incorporated. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest. Make sure to wash your lemon before zesting it! Sprinkle in your flour and xanthan gum, if using.
Pour into prepared pan. Place a pan of boiling water into the low rack in the oven, and place your cake pan one rack above. The humidity helps the cheesecake to not crack, although this, again, isn't that important, since you're going to cover it with mousse. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off and keep the door closed. Keep it in there overnight, then refrigerate the next day. If you're in a hurry, you can cool it more quickly by placing it straight into the refrigerator, but it may crack and in that case, I would add an extra 5-10 minutes of baking time.
Once thoroughly chilled, remove from the spring-form pan and slide it onto the base layer. Trim the edges to match, then wrap the edges with wax paper or parchment paper, leaving a couple of extra inches on the top. This will support the mousse as it cools. I taped the paper together to keep it around the cake.
Dark Chocolate Mousse Layer
Dark Chocolate Mousse Layer
This was the most luscious, smooth and creamy mousse I have ever made. It is a bit more work-intensive than other recipes I have tried, but it was absolutely worth it for me.
Ingredients
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 6 oz unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup espresso
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2/3 cup + 1 tbs sugar
- 2 tbs rum (I used white, but dark is more appropriate)
- 1 tbs water
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Heat a large saucepan filled partially with water to a simmer. Set a metal bowl on top, and melt together chocolate, butter and espresso. Stir until smooth, then remove from the water bath and set aside. Keep the water at a simmer.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water and keep that to the side.
Find another bowl to fit in your water bath, so you can temper your egg yolks. Nestle the bowl in the water bath and briskly whisk in your egg yolks, sugar, rum and water for about three minutes, until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat and place the yolks directly into your ice bath. Continue to beat until they are cool and thick, then fold into your chocolate mixture.
In another bowl (this step requires a lot of dishes, sorry), add your egg whites and salt. Beat rapidly until they begin to foam, then gradually add in 1 tbs sugar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form - don't let it stiffen! - then add the vanilla.
Fold in a third of your egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest until just incorporated. If you aren't careful, your mousse will lose volume in this step. Pour the mousse on top of the cheesecake layer and chill for four hours in the refrigerator.
After chilling, remove the parchment or wax paper carefully. Now you're ready for the ganache!
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 9 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 1 tbs espresso
- 1 cup heavy cream
Allow it to cool slightly, then pour over your chilled mousse, starting at the center and circling out. Chill for an hour or so before serving. Garnish as you'd like - edible flowers are always impressive.
My lab group was so happy with this cake that the cake's namesake asked me to bake for the next birthday, as well, and the group is spotting me for the cost of ingredients. I'll also go gluten-free for that one! Who says gluten-free can't be indulgent?
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