Thursday, January 20, 2011

French Fridays with Dorie - michel rostang's double chocolate mousse cake


I think we might as well start with the best part...the picture of this oh so yummy chocolate mousse cake.  This is a very interesting recipe that we made for French Fridays with Dorie this week.  You make the cake batter and then you cook 1/3rd of it.  You then have multiple options, as this cake can be served cold, warm or baked and chilled.  And, there are different cooking directions for each way to serve it.  Dorie said her favorite way was baked and chilled, so that's the way I went.  I'm going to have to try cold too (since you don't cook the second layer of batter in that version and I would guess it has a totally different taste.)  With the baked and chilled version, after you bake the first 1/3rd of the batter and let it cool, you then add the rest of the batter and bake it again and then refrigerate it.

The cake turned out great, even though I still only have a 9" springform pan and the recipe called for an 8" (I just haven't been able to find an 8").  I decided to increase the recipe by 25% to make up for the bigger pan.  The other little issue I had was my springform pan, without the bottom, is a slight bit warped.  Since you cook this cake in the springform, without the bottom, some of the batter seeped out of the pan.  It wasn't too much and didn't affect the taste of the cake.  The cake had a deep, chocolate flavor, almost like a sophisticated brownie.  The batter has espresso in it, so there is an undertone of coffee in the cake (which sometimes made me wonder if the cake was a tad bit burned on the bottom...until I finally realized it was the coffee flavor coming through).  Served with vanilla whipped cream, it is definitely too good to pass up.

I must confess, that with all the options on how to make this cake...I read and reread the recipe about 20 times, trying to decide which version I would make.  I finally went with what Dorie said was her favorite, but am looking forward to making the other versions too.  When I have the right size, unwarped springform pan!  Wondering what versions of the recipe my other fellow FFWD participants made?  See them here.


23 comments:

A.W. said...

Looks very inviting, Steph. Will definitely try this tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I also had some seepage with the baked crust! And, I understand your springform pan woes. Wouldn't you know it, right after I bought my bigger pans, I found an 8-inch springform pan in a random store when I wasn't even looking for it! Great post!

Susan said...

Hi, Steph - I tried the uncooked top version - it's in the refrigerator now, so I'll post it tomorrow. Although it tastes great - which I know from all the batter that seeped out, I really feel like this is my first Dorie disaster! Yours looks great! Stay tuned!

Mardi Michels said...

Looking good! I am surprised at the height you got given your pan size. I had the right sized one but it was FLAT. Still tasted good though.

Anne-Marie said...

Always enjoy your posts. I hope to try this recipe next week. Lots of travel so I haven't been in the kitchen much. When I try it I'll refer to your post. You're always so helpful with tips and observations! Thank you!

Elaine said...

It looks so good and I really like your description of the cake.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Ooh, your cake looks so fabulous with those gorgeous cherries! YUM!

Jayne said...

Your cake looks so delicious!

Cher Rockwell said...

Honestly, I am longing for those cherries the most. But - we did serve this warm and it was very, very good. I used an "intact" 8" springform and still had leaking issues (but that is probably the fault of the pan that I had under the pan).

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Just beautiful, Steph! :)

Steph said...

Great job! I'm curious to try the baked verison, I made the cold and loved it!

Betsy said...

Steph, it looks perfect in spite of the seepage. I had it warm and then the next day chilled. Seems like most of us baked it. Can't wait to read a post from someone who just chilled the top layer. Looks lovely with the cherries!

Ann (napangel) said...

Your cake looks delicious, Steph! I skipped this one ... for no other reason than I didn't have time last weekend. I might give it a go tomorrow. I don't have an 8-inch springform either, but I do have an 8-inch pan with a removable bottom. I wonder if that would work?

Lara B Knight said...

Looks wonderful - I have sat the last two weeks out!

Anonymous said...

Looks great! I wish mine had been half that photogenic.

Christina said...

Love your picture. Makes me want to try it again.

Kathy said...

Glad you liked the cake…it looks delicious! Love your photo with the cherries! I don't understand why Dorie would suggest to bake it without the bottom. Reading all the problems people are having with the seepage I would opt to use the bottom. If your interested Amazon has 8 inch springform pans.

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

I love all the options too , and i chose Dories fav coz i dont like the idea of eating raw egg batter , but that really doesnt stop me from eating batter any way , lol!
I was looking for cherries too to serve with this cake but they werent around this time:-)
ur pics are sooo pretty!

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Anonymous said...

This cake would be great with cherries and cream. Your cake seems to have worked out well, regardless of the pan size/shape.

Jacque said...

Mmm, that looks so decadent! especially with the whipped cream. Nice work!

Unknown said...

Glad you liked this recipe. It did not work so much for me...yours does look delish!

Anonymous said...

Hello, again! I wanted to let you know that I've awarded you a "Stylish Blogger Award" via my blog! Congrats!

Cher Rockwell said...

Steph - YC beat me to it! But I just wanted to let you know that I threw a "Stylish Blogger Award" your way as well... Great minds think alike, I guess!