Currently: 11.20.08
Jeffery's birthday was this week and I made him Triple Chocolate Mousse Cakes again this year. It's the second time I have made these and last time I had an issue with the cake being dry so I made sure to take steps to ensure moistness. This included using oil instead of butter (as seen on Food Network) and adding a simple syrup infused with coffee liqueur to the cakes after they have been baked (also seen on TV.) It worked. I also decided two test two different mousse recipes to see which mousse reigned supreme.
It's not the prettiest cake... it's got a face only a mother could eat. I was rushed and running out of time so I didn't give them as much attention and care as the previous year. One mousse recipe is from the original Martha Stewart source, and the other mousse recipe was from Cooks Illustrated (they don't offer their recipes for free - boo!)
The Cooks Illustrated recipe by far surpassed Martha's in all areas. It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the Martha recipe had solid chunks of chocolate that resolidified when you incorporated it into the whipped cream, which, if I would have read all the recipe all the way through before making it, would have been strained out when I was supposed to have passed the mousse through a medium sieve. That would have greatly improved the texture, but who wants that extra step? Lame! The Cooks Illustrated recipe on the other hand produced a beautiful, homogenous mousse with no sieving required. The differences were striking, but I have to admit the taste of both were totally glorious. I have also decided that the next time I make these I am not making two different kinds of mousse. It's just too much work for something I can't even really distinguish.
If anyone wants the Cooks Illustrated recipe just pop me a line and I will email it to you since I can't link to it.
