Worth every last one of the eleventy gazillion calories.

We had a "thing" to attend last night at the Museum of Art. (Don't ask how I get roped into these things.)

The event was held in the atrium and for the first hour you were free to wander around, looking at the paintings and sculptures and pretending to understand what the Hell the artist behind "Dust Mop Breastfeeding Her Young" was trying to say. Afterwards, the bar opened and the exhibits closed (One supposes the Dust Mop doesn't wish to feed Whisky Sours to her young) and the revels began. More on that later.

Now, the part that had my heart going pitter-pat was dessert (dinner was pretty OK, but given the crowd size, it's nearly impossible to make enough foodie-grade edibles AND keep them warm for service...still, I've choked down far worse and the cliché ceviche in a martini glass was pretty damned good) which was a simple chocolate mousse cake. The assiduous reader of this blog will know I tread warily in the matter of desserts. Desserts rarely lend themselves to my eyeballing approach. Go too far over/under on the flour and you have a colossal mess on your hands. Yes, sure, you may find some categories of desserts which lend themselves to camouflaging this culinary handicap (anytime you are served poached pears, you may be 99.99999999999999999999999999999% sure the cook is a raving foody with just this weakness), but invariably if you wish to impress with your sweets, you will have to take out the implements of weights and measures.

Which is fine in this case, because this is so damned simple (for a dessert) that it'll have you giggling.

Anyway, as I was having this dessert, I was deconstructing it in my head. It was actually totally uncomplicated...a base of ganache, layer of chocolate mousse, layer of ganache, etc., etc., topped with a last layer of ganache and white chocolate curls. Ta-da. "Ain't nothin' but a thing." Naturally, given that there was an open bar, I omitted to find the pastry chef and press him (or, of course, her) for the recipe. The best we can do is use my regular recipes and try to ape the results.

Ganache

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli 60% or Valrhona, although with Valrhona, you'll have to chop it into shards yourself)
1 cup heavy cream (if at all possible, avoid that ultra-pasteurized $#!+)

Put chocolate in a medium bowl. Scald the cream over medium heat (i.e. when there are tiny simmering bubbles along the edge of the cream) in a small pan.

Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate. Lightly shake the bowl down on the counter to knock out any bubbles created by the cream-into-chocolate action. Allow to sit for 1 minute. With a silicone (or rubber, if you must) spatula, s-l-o-w-l-y stir the two together, making sure you're scraping clean the sides of the bowl. Go slow, you don't want to aerate the ganache. Stir until all the mixture is smooth and then keep going for about a minute.

Let the ganache sit at room temperature until it cools but remains pourable. (This is key) It can also be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Mousse

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs, separated*
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
White chocolate shavings or curls for garnish

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler). Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, 1 by 1, beating with a whisk until incorporated. You want the chocolate mixture to be cool enough not to scramble the yolks, but warm enough to minimize any wee ferlie beasties microbializing. Put aside.

In another bowl (ideally a copper bowl) beat the egg whites until JUST foamy. Add the cream of tartar (you can skip it if using copper) and continue to beat. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff, non-droopy peaks form. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. DO NOT BEAT DRY. If you do, you'll have to start over.

Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl until it starts foaming up. Add the rest of the sugar and the vanilla. Continue to whip the cream until it holds soft (i.e. droopy) peaks.

OK. Steady your nerves and here is the hardest part.

Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. You just spent a lot of time getting all these things nice and airy so don't mangle it like a hamfisted idiot, stirring like it's a punishment, knocking all the damned air out. GO EASY. (Here's a demo, for the folding impaired.) Then, gently (there's that word again!) fold in the cream. Do not overwork the mousse.

Assembly

Get a 1 large or 4 small springform pans. Spray a nonstick spray and then line the bottom and sides of the pan(s) with parchment paper. You reallllllllllllllllllllly don't want anything to stick. Pour enough ganache to cover the bottom. Fill with mousse and smooth it level. Pour a final layer of ganache. Sprinke with white chocolate bits, chill for about 2 hours. Unmold slowly. Done.
NOW. If you want to be super-impressive, you'll alternate a zillion different layers of ganache and mousse...but the law of diminishing returns applies here. I mention it in the interests of full disclosure, but I'll never do that. If there's any leftover mousse or ganache you may pipe it all pretty on top of the cake, but this is also above-and-beyond the strict call of duty.

The nice thing is that this all lends itself to recipe multiplication, in case you have a large-ish horde descending upon your household, provided you have the refrigerator space.

So there.

-J.

P.S. This is a crazily rich dessert, so don't feel obligated to serve great honkin' slabs of this.

*RAW EGG WARNING! RAW EGG WARNING! RAW EGG WARNING! RAW EGG WARNING!
Be careful with raw eggs, due to the slight risk of salmonella or other similar nasties. To minimize the risk, use only fresh, organic eggs which have been properly refrigerated, are clean (give them a quick wash to make extra sure), and are graded AA and have intact shells. Avoid contact between the yolks, whites and shell. If you have a compromised immune system, make the damned poached pears and leave me with a clear conscience. And you've been warned so don't sue me.