Inside the Chocolate Mousse Cake

If a restaurant's best-selling dessert isn't chocolate, something went wrong. Same thing for bakeries, catering companies, pretty much every place that sells sweets. My Chocolate Mousse Cake with Organic Berries is definitely my #1 seller. Here's what it looks like under the hood.

I start with silicone molds, though I've done this with regular aluminum cake pans for years and those work great as well. A rich chocolate torte -- a cousin of the Sacher Torte -- is baked and set aside.

I give the tortes a thin layer of bittersweet ganache, made with 70% dark chocolate. A higher percentage means more cacao and less sugar, and I find 70% to be a great ratio. It's more expensive, but worth every penny.

Next come the organic berries, gently pressed into the ganache so they hold well. This will be important in a coming step.

I make the mousse (people always comment "it's so light!") and fill each mold about halfway. It's important to spread the mousse up the sides all the way around in order to have a smooth edge clear to the bottom, which at this point is actually the top.

Lastly, I invert the cake with ganache and berries onto the mousse and gently press it in, smoothing out the edges with a spatula. It's clean and easy because everything is stuck together. This upside-down construction allows for a smooth surface all the way around. From here the cakes are frozen. This is key -- I'll explain why in a moment.

The frozen cakes are unmolded and inverted so the smooth surface that was the bottom is now the top. A mirror glaze is poured on -- hot -- so if they're not frozen they'll melt into a disastrous mess. The cold cake gently sets the hot glaze after it's been poured, and then several finishing touches are added.

It takes a while to put together with 8+ unique components (most of the garnishes are hand-made), but it's 100% worth it. This is not an everyday cake so it needs to be special!

To see if the flavor and texture meet your expectations you can give the cake a try HERE. Enjoy!