3.06.2012

EASY Chocolate Mousse Cake

Happy Tuesday loves!

Hope your weeks are off to a fabulous start!  I had a much needed relaxing weekend--most weekends I plan to relax, but somehow end up busy.  This weekend, however, I actually said "NO, thank you!" to a few friends' invites to go out on the town and was happy I did.  I fell asleep by 10 pm each night and really needed the sleep!  I've had the last two days off and it's been nice to sleep in a bit and get some things done!  Today, I am finally sharing the recipe for the chocolate mousse cake I made for our Valentine's Day dessert (see post here).


So without further adieu..here goes!  When it comes to cooking (or life in general), I think there are times when it is important to take your time and work on something for hours, days, or even weeks at a time.  I also think there are times when it is important to take a short cut and give yourself a break! On Valentine's Day, this is what I did!  I had accepted a half day subbing job at the last minute for the morning of February 14, which left much less time to get all my Valentine's tasks done (Bryce's "52 Things I Love About YOU!, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, and Dessert).  That being said, I decided it was time to take some shortcuts, but still pour a lot of love into my dessert.

Bryce is a chocolate lover, so I knew something rich and decadent was necessary.  I had made an easy chocolate mousse years ago, but had since, lost the recipe.  I decided to search Pinterest to find a new easy recipe.  As I was scrolling through the search results, I ogled over pictures of gorgeous layered chocolate mousse cakes.  Some had layers of white, milk, and dark chocolate mousses, others had layers of cake, cream, and mousse.  I was smitten by these cakes and knew I had to figure out an easy way to create one of my own.

First I found an easy chocolate mousse recipe, here, from the Stone Soup blog.

Ingredients
3 oz dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
10 fl oz whipping cream
1 T confectioner's sugar
1 t vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

All of the cake ingredients!

Directions
1. Place about 1 inch water in the base of a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat.

2. Place a heatproof bowl on the saucepan and check to make sure the base isn't touching the water.  Add the chocolate chunks and leave for about 5 minutes to melt, stirring occasionally.

This is such a good trick for melting chocolate, which I had never learned before!

3.  Meanwhile, whip cream with confectioners sugar and vanilla until soft and fluffy (making sure that it is not too firm).

Soft and Fluffy!

4.  Add the chocolate to the cream and fold through.  Refrigerate.

Chocolate Added

Folding it In!

Ready for the fridge!

*This chocolate mousse really was easy--the toughest part was whipping the cream, just because my arms got tired!*

And now for the SUPER easy parts!

In the meantime...I baked an easy Betty Crocker boxed cake mix.  Once that was finished baking and cooled, I cut two large pieces.  I decided that the best way to present this dessert was in individual wine glasses.  I put a piece in the bottom of each glass and used my fingers to mold it into the bottom.  I then used a wet paper towel to clean and crumbs left on the inside of the glass.

1st Layer:  Box Mix Chocolate Cake

Next, I added in the mousse:

2nd Layer:  Homemade Chocolate Mousse

Once I got to Bryce's I added the third layer:  Cool Whip Lite!

3rd Layer:  Cool Whip Lite

As a final touch, I garnished with red lip sprinkles and mini chocolate chips!

Kissy Lips and Chocolate Chips to Garnish!

This dessert was a huge hit with Bryce.  For me, it was a bit rich, and I'd like to experiment using milk chocolate with the recipe in the future.  I also think you could mix it up with different delicious layers, like a peanut butter cream or fruit filling.  Finally, it was definitely more than we could eat--we only ate about half of it, so I'd say this recipe could easily feed 4-6 people!

Are you a chocoholic?  Do you believe in taking shortcuts when cooking or always going the full homemade route?

And now for a few side notes...

Check out the Sundresses and Smiles Facebook Page, by clicking here!  I've really been working to spruce up the page and have added a "What I'm Reading..." photo album with books I've read lately and a few lines sharing what I thought about them.  I'm hoping for it to be an Open Forum, where YOU, my readers, can comment with book suggestions and your own opinions about the books.  So head on over, check it out, and like it!

Finally, don't forget I'm trying to reach a goal of 500 followers by my first blogoversary, March 15--just NINE days away!  I've been so busy lately that I haven't been as active with the blog, but I still think I can attain this goal.  Spread the word and if you're a usual reader that hasn't yet followed, go ahead and do it!  If you're new, and like what you see, follow!  If I make this goal I will put together a special giveaway for my blogoversary!

Have a terrific Tuesday!