Chocolate Orange Mousse Cake

Well what can I say, my favourite things all in one cake, chocolate orange, chocolate sponge and chocolate mousse! Some might think I made this for myself but actually I made it for Anna my sister inlaw’s birthday and of course when she couldn’t eat it all herself I helped!

It’s very rich but hey you don’t have to have a big piece, you can share it around if you are the generous type. I managed to keep a double piece in the fridge after everyone had gone to indulge a second time… sorry Anna, I know it was your birthday! 

It’s an easy basic sponge mix with a French style mousse filling. You can easily make it the day before serving as it will hold well in the fridge for a day or two covered.

Ingredients for chocolate sponge

125g butter
125 sugar
125 SR flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degrees centigrade.
Line an 8 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Place butter & sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk or good old fashioned wooded spoon until light and fluffy.
Add one egg at a time and whisk in between both additions.
Sift in flour and cocoa into butter mixture and fold in with a metal spoon.
Add milk and fold together ingredients.
Spread sponge in cake tin and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out of the sponge clean.
Once cooled remove from the tin and slice through the centre so you have one half for the bottom of the cake and the other half for the top.

Ingredients for Chocolate Mousse

150g dark chocolate (70%)
 5 eggs separated
25g softened butter
65g castor sugar
zest of one orange

Method for Mousse

Before making the mousse, line the cake tin you used for baking the sponge with cling film, enough to come up over the sides of the tin all round.
Put one half of the cake in the bottom of the tin on top of the cling film and leave the other half for the top. Now prepare the mousse
Whisk egg whites until fluffy.
Add one spoon of sugar at a time to egg whites and whisk each time to form a stiff meringue consistency.
Beat meringue mix until it is thick and elastic. 
Add egg yolks to meringue and mix.
Melt the chocolate gradually in the microwave or over a double boiler (chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water).
Beat softened (not melted) butter into the melted chocolate.
Fold gently half of the meringue mixture into the chocolate with a metal spoon or spatular.  
Add the orange zest to the mixture.
Fold in the remaining meringue into the chocolate mix.
Pour the mousse on top of the sponge in the tin and then place the second half of sponge on top of the mousse. 
Bring the cling film up and cover the top of the sponge to prevent it from drying in the fridge. 
Leave cake to set in fridge for a few hours. 
Pull on the cling film to remove cake easily from the tin, dust with cocoa powder and garnish with orange rind or slices.