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Chocolate Genoise: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Butter, or spray with a non stick spray, two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and
line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
Sift
the flour with the salt and cocoa powder.
In a heatproof
bowl (preferably stainless steel) whisk together the eggs and sugar. Place the bowl over a saucepan of
simmering water. Whisking constantly, heat the eggs and sugar until
lukewarm to the touch (this will take about 3 - 5 minutes). Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to
the bowl of
your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer). Beat on high speed until the egg
mixture has cooled, tripled in volume, and looks like softly whipped cream (the batter
will fall back into the bowl in a
ribbon-like
pattern). (This will take about 3-5
minutes.) Beat in the vanilla extract.
Then
sift about
one-third of the
flour mixture over the whipped eggs and gently
fold in using a
spatula. Fold in half of the remaining flour, and then
fold in the rest.
Take about 1 cup (240 ml) of
the batter and fold it into the hot butter. (This lightens the butter.) Then,
with a spatula, gently
fold the butter
mixture completely into the egg batter. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans
(about 340 grams in each pan), smoothing the
tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Bake until the cakes shrink slightly from the edges of the pans and the tops
spring back when lightly pressed (about 15 - 18 minutes). (A toothpick
inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.) Cool completely in their
pans that have been placed on a wire rack. To remove the cakes from their pans, run a small knife around
the edges
to release the cake. If not using right away, the cakes, well wrapped,
will keep two days in the refrigerator or they can be frozen for a
couple of months.
Soaking Syrup:
Place the
water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil
for about one minute or until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool
to room temperature. Stir in the Grand Marnier (or orange juice). The sugar
syrup can be made, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of
weeks.
Chocolate Mousse: In a
heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel), set
over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let
cool slightly.
In the
bowl of your
electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer or wire
whisk), whip the heavy cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Then whisk or fold about one quarter of
the whipped cream into the melted chocolate. (Do this quickly so the chocolate
does not seize (become grainy).) Then gently fold or whisk the rest of the
whipped cream (in two to three stages) into the chocolate. Place the chocolate
mousse in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip.
Place one cake layer (top of the cake facing down) on a
9 inch (23 cm) cake
circle and then
place on a
cake turntable
or your serving plate.
(See video for demonstration.)
With a pastry brush, moisten the cake with some of the soaking syrup. Next,
evenly spread the raspberry jam over the cake. Pipe the chocolate mousse in
concentric circles on top of the raspberry jam. (If there is any leftover
Chocolate Mousse place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. It will be used to
garnish the top of the cake.)
Next, brush the top side of the second
layer of genoise with the soaking syrup. Then place the cake layer, top side down, on
top of the filling. Gently press the top of the cake to compact. Brush the top
of the cake with soaking syrup. Smooth the
sides of the cake with a spatuala. Cover and refrigerate several hours, or
preferably overnight, until firm. (This will ensure that the Ganache will not lose its shine when
the cake is stored in the refrigerator.)
Chocolate Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium
sized heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan
over medium heat. (Can also heat the cream and butter in the microwave.) Bring
just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow
to stand, without stirring, for a few minutes. Stir gently (as you do not want
to incorporate air into the ganache) with a spoon or whisk until smooth.
Place the
cake on a wire rack, and put the wire rack on top of a large baking sheet (to
catch any excess ganache that drips from cake.) Then pour the Ganache over the
top of the cake. Working quickly, spread the Ganache with a metal spatula or
knife, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake. (This
will create an even coating of ganache.)
(See video for demonstration.) Place the cake in the refrigerator
until the Ganache has set (about 30 minutes). Then place any leftover Chocolate Mousse in a piping
bag fitted with a star tip (I used a Wilton 1M). Pipe swirls on top of the Chocolate Ganache. The
cake can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for several days. Bring to
room temperature before serving. Well wrapped, this cake can also be frozen for
about one month. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Serves about
12 - 14
people.
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