Individual Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse Cakes

The cake, which was inspired by Pastry Affair’s (actually) flourless chocolate rum cake, came out dark, dense, moist, and not too sweet. By itself it’s very intense, but topped with the absolutely dreamy, boozy, mascarpone-based chocolate-frangelico mousse (which, if you can’t tell, I was SO happy with), and drizzled with a little chocolate ganache it was perfect. Rich, chocolaty, indulgent – just the sort of thing to impress a date… or to eat too much of by yourself when you’re feeling needy.

Individual Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse Cakes

Makes 4 individual cakes; each cake can easily be shared by 2 people.

For the cake:

•  6 oz. high quality chocolate with at least 75% cocoa content, roughly chopped (I used a blend of Lake Champlain Chocolate’s Sao Thome bar (70%) and African Blend bar (80%)
• 1 stick salted butter, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. rum
• 6 TBS flour
• 6 TBS high quality cocoa powder (I used Lake Champlain Chocolate’s organic cocoa)
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Set prepared pan aside. Add the chocolate and the butter to a small saucepan and heat over very low heat until fully melted, stirring the whole time. Set aside and let cool slightly.
2. Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow, at least 3-4 minutes. Stir the rum into the chocolate mixture, then slowly fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula so that the batter rests evenly in the pan (it won’t spread much). Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with only a few moist crumbs attached. Set cake aside.

For the frangelico chocolate mousse:

• 1/4 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 TBS sugar
• 5 TBS frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
• 1 1/2 oz. dark chocolate (I used LCC’s Tanzania bar (75% cocoa))
• 1 TBS butter

1. Whisk together the mascarpone and heavy cream. Sprinkle with the cream of tartar, then beat until cream has stiffened enough to hold soft peaks. Sprinkle with sugar, and whisk in. Beat in the frangelico one TBS at a time.
2. Over very low heat, melt together the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan, stirring the whole time. As soon as it is fully melted, remove from heat, and let cool slightly.
3. Pour warm chocolate over the whipped cream. Whisk in to incorporate. Mousse should be thick and spreadable. Refrigerate until needed.

For the chocolate ganache:

• 2 oz. dark chocolate (I used LCC’s Tanzania bar (75% cocoa))
• 2 TBS heavy cream

Add the dark chocolate and the heavy cream to a small saucepan and heat over very low heat, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and set aside

To assemble:

• 1 recipe chocolate-rum cake (above)
• 1 recipe frangelico-chocolate mousse (above)
• 1 recipe chocolate ganache (above)
• 2 TBS chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Use a biscuit cutter to cut four 2-inch rounds out of the cake – save the extra pieces for snacking. Place the four cake rounds on four plates, and divide the mousse amongst the four plates, spreading it evenly on top of the cake. Place cakes in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow mousse to firm up slightly. Remove from freezer, and drizzle with the ganache (rewarmed slightly if necessary). Sprinkle with the toasted hazelnuts, and serve!