BON APPETIT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

BON APPETIT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE image

Yield 12-16 slices

Number Of Ingredients 17

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Crust:
3 Cups Chocolate Wafer Crumbs, you know, the famous ones.
1 Stick unsalted butter melted
Filling:
1 Pound semisweet chocolate - (I've had great luck with Callebaut)
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
4 egg whites, room temperature
Chocolate Leaves: (they're a pain but look really cool)
8 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 T solid vegatable shortening
Camelia or other waxy leaves with 1/8" stems
Topping:
2 Cups Heavy Cream (yes, more cream, we're not talking diet here)
Powdered Sugar - to taste
1/2 t Pure Vanilla

Steps:

For Crust: Combine crumbs and butter. Press on bottum and up sides of 10" springform pan. For Filling: Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Let cool back to 95 degrees F. Add whole eggs and mix well. Add yolks and mix until thoroughly blended. Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. In a large bowl, pour in chocolate. A little at a time, add some of the egg whites and fold, then some of the whipped cream, and fold. Keep alternating into chocolate until all cream and eggs whites have been incorporated. Pour the mousse (thats what you have now) into the crust and let chill in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 6 hours. For Leaves: Melt Chocolate with shortening in top of double boiler. Spread thin layer on shiny side of the leaves. Dont let it drip on the underside or you wont be able to pull the chocolate off. Let rest on some parchment and place in refrigerator until firm Whip Remaining 2 Cups of cream until firm and add powdered sugar to taste and add a bit of vanilla. Not too sweet works best. Assemble: Loosen crust on all sides with a sharp knife and remove the springform. Spread all except 1/2 cup of the whipped cream over the top. Pipe remaining cream in rosettes in center. Gently peel off leaves from chocolate starting at the stem end. Arrange in overlapping pattern around rosettes, Cut pie in wedges with sharp knife.