Chocolate Mousse Entremet

Such an extravagant treat needs a touch of gold. It’s only appropriate. Chocolate mousse entremet is my favourite of all my favourite chocolate desserts. This is a deceptively light but incredibly rich dessert. A single serve will guarantee to keep chocolate craving at bay for a while. It’s not something that I indulge often, which makes it special when I do.

There are 5 components to this entremet; chocolate sponge, chocolate syrup, chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce and chocolate glaze. I love every component in this entremet. I will definitely try to use some of these components for my other entremets in the future.

The recipe below for the chocolate mousse component makes a huge amount of chocolate mousse. I have yet to experiment with making a smaller quantity of chocolate mousse, so I’m not sure how it will work out if we halve the ingredients.

I used a 70mm diameter x 34mm height 6 cavities half semi-sphere silicon mould which I brought from ebay. It’s the same type of mould that you use for British marshmallow tea cakes. The main reason why I use a semi-sphere mould is that the dome shape makes glazing a lot easier. I have made these chocolate mousse entremet using a 70mm diameter round cake ring before, and I found it difficult to glaze along the sides.

The tip to making this chocolate mousse entremet is to use a good quality 70% dark chocolate that you like to eat on its own. This chocolate mousse entremet is only going to be as good as the chocolate that you use.


Chocolate Mousse Entremet
(Adapted from Desserts by Pierre Herme)

Makes 6 numbers of 70mm diameter semi-sphere cakes

Chocolate Sponge
20 grams Dutch-processed Cocoa
20 gram all-purpose flour
16 grams cornstarch
3 large egg whites
100 grams caster sugar
5 large egg yolks
40 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

To make chocolate sponge:
Preheat oven to 180C conventional (or 160C fan-forced). Line 30cm x 20cm cake pan with baking paper.

Sift and combine cocoa, flour and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add 50 grams sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form and egg whites are glossy. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk egg yolks and the remaining 50 grams sugar until pale and creamy.

Add one-third of whipped egg whites into egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly using a spatula. Fold in the flour mixture, followed by cooled melted butter. Add remainder of the whipped egg whites and fold to incorporate completely.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cake has risen slightly and feels springy to the touch. Remove from oven. Turn sponge straight from oven onto a sheet of baking paper. Peel off baking paper from the bottom of the sponge. Cover with baking paper, then a tea towel. Set aside to cool completely.

Chocolate Syrup
50 grams caster sugar
10 grams Dutch-processed cocoa
110 ml water

To make chocolate syrup:
Combine sugar, cocoa and water in a saucepan, stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, bring the mixture to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Chocolate Mousse
500ml heavy cream
300 grams 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 large eggs, room temperature
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
125 grams caster sugar
45 ml (3 tablespoons) water
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted, and finely chopped

To make chocolate mousse:
Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk cream to medium peaks. Set whipped cream aside in the fridge while we work on the rest of the chocolate mousse.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over, not touching, simmering water. Stir occasionally to assist the melting. When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and set aside until it cools to 45C.

Meanwhile, place yolks and eggs in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to the boil, swirling pan occasionally to dissolve sugar. Continue to boil until the temperature reaches 115C. Remove pan from heat. Whisk eggs on high speed, and start pouring the syrup in a thin stream into the egg, take care to avoid the spinning whisk. Continue to whisk until the eggs triple in volume and cool to room temperature.

Fold a third of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate using a hand whisk. (Note: You can be quite rough with folding the cream into the chocolate at this stage. The melted chocolate might start to clump together. Just keep mixing until the mixture comes together and is well combine.) Using a spatula, work as delicately as you can, fold in the rest of the whipped cream until combined, followed by the egg mixture. Finally, fold in the toasted almonds.

It is best the use the mousse now while it is still soft and spreadable.

Chocolate Sauce
60 grams 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
125 ml water
60 ml heavy cream
25 grams sugar

To make chocolate sauce:
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and set aside while you work on the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze
80 ml heavy cream
100 grams 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
20 grams unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, softened at room temperature
105ml (7 tablespoons) of chocolate sauce, warm or at room temperature

To make chocolate glaze:
Note: Make the glaze only after you have assemble and freeze the chocolate mousse cake.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from heat and pour hot cream over the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Allow to sit for 1 minute to let the chocolate melt slightly, then stir slowly in a small circle starting at the centre of the bowl, stirring gently in a circular fashion, gradually increasing the size of the circle. Continue to stir until all the chocolate has melted. Measure the temperature of the mixture, which should be at 60C. If it's too cool, place bowl over simmering water, and remove from heat once the temperature reaches 60C. If it's too hot, allow to cool to 60C.

Stirring gently, blend in butter and the chocolate sauce. Once again, check the temperature of the glaze, which should be between 35C to 40C at which the glaze attains prime pourability. Use glaze immediately.

To assemble:
Spoon or pipe chocolate mousse into the cavities of a 70mm diameter x 34mm height half semi-sphere silicon mould, leaving a gap about the same thickness of the chocolate sponge. (You can use small cake ring if you wish.)

Cut out 70mm diameter round sponge with a cookie cutter. Brush sponge generously with chocolate syrup. Place sponge over the mousse and press down lightly. Wrap the mould well with plastic wrap and freeze until completely frozen (at least 6 hours).

Remove the chocolate mousse cakes from the mould. Place cakes on a cooling rack set on a baking tray. Working very quickly, and in a confident and smooth motion, pour glaze over frozen chocolate mousse cakes. (The glaze will set very quickly and there is no going back to fix up areas that is not covered in the glaze as I found out the hard way.)

Allow the chocolate mousse cake to thaw completely before serving.