The Chocolate Afterlife
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
1 cup cold cream
6 ounces dark (semisweet) chocolate disks
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup of sugar
Directions
In a cold mixing bowl whip cream to soft peaks and set aside.
Fill sauce pan 1/3 with water and bring to a simmer.
Add chocolate to a metal bowl where the bottom sits in pot up to two inches creating a double boiler.
Stir chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Do not overheat chocolate. Set aside.
Put the egg, egg yolks, and pinch of salt in another metal bowl and whisk off the heat until light. Slowly add the sugar to the eggs while whisking. Then put the bowl on the double boiler and increase temp to a rapid simmer. Whisk egg mixture constantly for about 3-5 minutes until a pale yellow color, very fluffy, and hot to the touch. Remove move from the heat and whisk to cool. It should be thick and should hold a ribbon shape.
Whisk about a quarter of the egg foam into chocolate to lighten. With whisk briskly fold in remaining foam. Then fold in whipped cream Take care to keep light. Then let mixture cool and set in refrigerator for 2 hours.
The Chocolate Afterlife
Devil’s Food Cake
Ingredients
ðg1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
ðg1 1/4 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
ðg1 1/4 cups hot water
ðg3 cups all-purpose flour
ðg1 – 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
ðg1 teaspoon baking powder
ðg1 teaspoon baking soda
ðg2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
ðg4 large eggs
ðg1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
ðg1 cup sour cream
Directions
Step 1
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter paper. Whisk together cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.
Step 2
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat, and transfer to a mixer. Beat on medium-low speed until cooled, 4 to 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla and cocoa-powder mixture. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined.
Step 4
Divide batter between pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack, peel off parchment, and let cool completely.