MOZART CAKE

Steps:

• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, gradually adding granulated sugar.
• Next, mix in the egg yolks one at a time, just enough to combine.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and cornstarch; gradually & gently fold into the egg mixture to combine - be careful not to deflate the egg whites by overmixing.
• Line a large nonstick springform pan with parchment paper and fill with the batter.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F (175 C or gas mark 2) for 30 minutes - it will only rise up partway.
• Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup of the cream in a small pan over medium-low heat, then stir in the milk chocolate until it melts and is smooth(takes about 5 minutes.)
• Remove pan from heat and let cool for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Finely grate the bittersweet chocolate using a microplane grater and divide into two portions.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups of the cream until stiff peaks form.
• Stir chopped nuts and half (one portion) of the grated chocolate gently into the cooled melted chocolate mixture.
• Gently fold together the whipped cream and the cooled melted chocolate mixture until just combined.
• Remove ring from springform pan and carefully slice the cake into three even (very thin)layers using a large serrated knife.
• Place one cake layer on a large plate, spread with 1/3 of the chocolate ganache, then top with another cake layer, another layer of 1/3 of the ganache, followed by another cake layer.
• Spread the remaining chocolate ganache mixture all over the top and sides of the cake.
• Chill for 2 hours.
• Knead the marzipan(with enough powdered sugar to make it sweet if unsweetened) until well blended and soft like playdough, this takes about 5-10 minutes by hand (optional: you may use food coloring paste to dye the marzipan green if desired.)
• Place marzipan between two sheets of wax papper and roll out into very flat circle, about the size of your springform pan.
• Set a plate on top of the marzipan and use the plate as a guide to cut out a perfect circle; then cut circle into 16 triangles.
• Set the marzipan triangles in a spiral around the top of the chilled cake, pressing down slightly so they stick - there should be very narrow gaps between each triangle - if desired, curl up the pointy tips decoratively first.
• Coat the sides of the cake with some the remaining grated chocolate (save just a bit to sprinkle on top later).
• Beat the remaining 3/4 cups of cream with the vanilla sugar to taste until stiff peaks form.
• Shortly before serving, garnish cake with swirls of the whipped vanilla cream, the remaining chopped nuts, and sprinkle any remaining grated chocolate on top.