Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

A dark chocolate cake layered with two layers of bittersweet and milk chocolate mousse.

First the brownie base

Make a brownie using a brownie mix.

Dump the brownie mix in to a bowl.

1/3 Cup Water...

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

And 2 Eggs.

Mix it ..

Pour it in to a 9 x 13 pan .

And bake it 350 degree F for 25 minutes.

Once it is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool at room temperature.Making brownie from a brownie mix is that simple !!

Once the brownie is cool, take it from the baking pan.

Gently peel off the parchment paper..

Cut the cake in to circles using a ring mold or a glass rim.

Press and twist !!

Cut few 11 x 4 inch strips of parchment paper.

Wrap a parchment collar around base of each cake.

And secure it with a tape and set aside.

You can make till this a day ahead, if you want to break up the labor of this recipe.Place it in a baking pan and keep at room temperature.

Now let's make the bittersweet chocolate mousse

You will need :  Bittersweet chocolate, Egg yolk, Heavy cream,Sugar,Light corn syrup, Water, Vanilla extract.

Put the mixing bowl and the beater in to the freezer for few minutes.

Add 2 PT of  cold heavy cream in to the mixing bowl.It whips better this way.

Start whipping it immediatly on the highest setting.

Keep whipping until the cream is stiff.

A soft peak is perfect.Do not over whip or it will start to curdle.

Like this .. AND WE DONT WANT THAT !!

Transfer it in to a bowl and refrigerate.

Pour 4 egg yolks in to the mixing bowl.

and beat them until they are light yellowish and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar in to a heated pan.

Pour 2 Tbsp Water

2 Tbsp of Light corn syrup

Cook until large bubbles are formed, for about 1 minute.

Carefully pour the hot syrup in to the eggs..

and mix it gently..

Place a bowl over a sauce pan of boiling water.

Add 7oz of bittersweet chocolate chips in to the bowl.

Stir it gently until its all melted.

Add it to the mixture, mixing gently.

 Add 1 tsp Vanilla extract.

  

 1/8 tsp Salt

And finally fold the whipped cream in to the mixture.

 Then strain the mixture in to another bowl.

 See the chocolate coming out !! This will take some time ..But you will be glad that those small chocolate bits didnt end up in your mousse.It still would have tasted good.Straining will simply give a smooth texture for the mousse.

 Transfer the mousse in to a large pastry bag with a round tip.

 Pipe the mousse in to each paper collar.

Refrigerete for about 20 minutes.

Now we will make the milk chocolate mousse

Continue the same process with the milk chocolate.

The milk chocolate mousse is much thinner than the bittersweet chocolate mousse
So you can skip two time consuming steps
 1. Straining
 2. Using pastry bags.

 Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to pour it on top of the bittersweet chocolate mousee

 And stick it in the freezer atleast 4 hours.

After 4 hours gently peel off the parchment paper.You can either put it back in to the freezer after removing the parchment collars.Transfer it to the refrigerator and keep it  for atleast 2 hours before serving.This will give you a soft brownie base.

This dessert is heavenly !!

 And if you are looking for something simple this Valentine's Day, try the milk chocolate mousse..

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!

RECIPE (Adapted from marthastewart.com )

Servings : Makes 15

Brownie

• Make a brownie in a 9 x 13 pan using a brownie mix
• Cut it in to circles using a round cutter.
• Wrap the paper collar around each cake.

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

 Ingredients :

• Heavy cream - 2 PT
• Egg yolks - 4
• Sugar - 1/4 Cup
• Light corn syrup - 2 Tbsp
• Water - 2 Tbsp
• Bittersweet chocolate - 1 Cup
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/8 tsp

Direction :

• Beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks and refrigerate.
• Beat the egg yolks .
• Heat sugar ,light corn syrup and water for 1 minute.
• Add sugar to the egg yolks.
• Melt the bittersweet chocolate.
• Add it to the egg mixture.
• Fold the heavy cream.
• Add vanilla extract and salt.
• Transfer it to a pastry bag and pipe it in to the paper collar and refrigerate.

Milk Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients :

• Heavy cream - 2 PT
• Egg yolks - 4
• Sugar - 1/4 Cup
• Light corn syrup - 2 Tbsp
• Water - 2 Tbsp
• Milk chocolate - 1 Cup
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/8 tsp

Directions :

• Beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks and refrigerate.
• Beat the egg yolks .
• Heat sugar ,light corn syrup and water for 1 minute.
• Add sugar to the egg yolks.
• Melt the bittersweet chocolate.
• Add it to the egg mixture.
• Fold the heavy cream.
• Add vanilla extract and salt.
• Using an ice cream scoop or pour it on top of the bittersweet chocolate mousse and freeze it for 4 hrs
• After 4 hrs remove the paper collar.Put it back to the freezer.
• Put it in to the refrigerator section 2 hrs before serving.

Iced Coffee

ICED COFFEE - It's a complicated thing !

Don't pour the brewed coffee into a glass full of ice and call it ICED COFFEE.

You get a perfect iced coffee when you follow the cold brew method .

Here goes the recipe for everyone who is addicted to Iced cofffee !!

Begin with dumping 1/3 cup of ground coffee (not instant coffee) in to a jar.

Pour in 1 1/2 cups of cold water ..

Give it a good stir.

And let it rest at room temperature overnight.

Next, strain it a number of times through a fine mesh sieve or a cheesecloth.

You can stock this in the fridge.It will last for a month.

Now when you need iced coffee, grab a glass and fill it to the top with ice.

Pour in equal parts of coffee and water .

And add a splash of milk. If you have half and half in your fridge, add that.

Add 1 Tbsp of Sugar and stir to combine.

And this is how you make a good ICED COFFEE .

Now here is the another variation of iced coffee : EISKAFFEE (GERMAN ICED COFFEE )

You will need a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Place the icecream scoop in a wine goblet or a tall drinking glass and pour equal parts of coffee and water into it

Cover it with a mountain of sweetened whipped cream.

And finally sprinkle it with some chocolate chips or krokant. Krokant is a hard sugar candy which is very similar to chikki.

And here is another variation - VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE

Fill a glass with ice.

Add 2 or 3 Tbsp of sweetened condensed milk.

And pour equal parts of coffe and water.

love love love vietnamese iced coffee!!

Another variation of iced coffee : THAI ICED COFFEE

Bring to boil 1/2 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of Sugar.

Smash two cardamom pods and add it to the milk.

Fill a glass full of ice and 1/2 cup of chilled coffee concentrate.

Strain the milk and pour it slowly in to the coffee glass.

 *Like!*

ICE CAFE (ISRAELI ICED COFFE)

Throw equal parts of milk and coffee concentrate cubes in to a blender.

And blend till smooth.

Add 2 or 3 Tbsp of  chilled coffee and blend it till they are nice and smooth.

So smooth and delicious!!

And finally COLD COFFEE (INDIAN ICED COFFE)

Add some crushed ice in to a blender.

Pour 1 cup Milk

1 Tbsp Instant Coffee powder.

2 Tbsp Sugar..

And blend till smooth and frothy.

What a great way to start the day !

  THE END

 This is how I rank these recipes.

1. COLD COFFEE
2. REGULAR ICED COFFEE & THAI ICED COFFEE
3. VIETNAMESE COLD COFFEE 
4. EISKAFFE
5. ICE CAFE

RECIPE

COFFEE CONCENTRATE (adapted from smittenkitchen.com)

Ingredients :

• Ground coffee - 1/3 cup
• Water - 1 1/2 cup

Directions :

• Mix the ground coffee and water in a jar and keep it at room temperature overnight.
• Strain it twice through a fine mesh sieve or a cheese cloth.
• Chill it in the fridge.

ICED COFFEE (adapted from smittenkitchen.com)

Ingredients :

• Coffee concentrate (chilled) - 1/2 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Ice - to fill the glass
• Milk - 1/4 cup (Adjust to taste )
• Sugar - 1 Tbsp (Adjust to taste )

Directions :

• Fill the glass with ice
• Add equal parts of coffee conetrate and water.
• Add milk and sugar.
• Give it a stir and serve it with a straw.

EISKAFFE (adapted from food.com)

Ingredients:

• Coffee concentrate (chilled) - 1/2 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla icecream - 1 scoop
• Sweetened whipping cream - to cover top of glass
• Chocolate chip or krokant - to sprinkle on top

Directions :

• Place a scoop of ice cream in the glass.
• Add coffee and water .
• Top it with whipping cream
• Sprinkle it with chocolate chips or krokant.

VITNAMESE ICED COFFEE (Adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients :

• Coffee concentrate (chilled) - 1/2 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Sweetened condensed milk - 3 Tbsp
• Ice - to fill the glass 

Directions :

• Fill the glass with ice
• Add Sweetened condensed milk
• Add water and coffee
• Stir to combine.

THAI ICED COFFEE (Adapted from steamykitchen.com)

Ingredients :

• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1 Tbsp
• Cardamom pods - 2
• Ice - to fill glass
• Coffee concentrate (chilled) - 1/2 cup

Directions :

• Heat milk with sugar and cardamom.
• Fill the glass with ice
• Add coffee concentrate.
• And finally slowly add milk in to it .

ICE CAFE (Adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients :

• Coffee cubes - 5
• Milk cubes - 5
• Sugar - 2 Tb sp
• Chilled coffee - to blend the coffee till it is smooth.

Directions :

• Freeze coffee with sugar in an ice tray
• Freeze milk in an ice tray
• Blend it together with chilled coffee in a blender till smooth. 

COLD COFFEE (Adapted from manjulaskitchen.com)

Ingredients :

• Cold milk - 1 cup
• Instant coffee powder - 1 Tbsp
• Sugar - 2 Tbsp
• Crushed ice - to fill a glass

Directions :

• Blend everything together in a blender till smooth.