I want to start off by saying how much my parents mean to me. I have been able to enjoy my love of pastries and expand my knowledge of them because they have supported me through anything I choose. When there 25th anniversary party came and my parents asked me to make a special dessert for the party I was honored. My parents have been through great times and very bad times over the past 25 years and they have never lost any love for each other. I honestly believe they love each other more now than they did they day they said "I DO". For their special dessert I wanted to show that love through food.
The dessert I choose was a 2 layer chocolate sponge tower that had a filling of chocolate mousse and a filling of pastry cream that was flavored with Jack Daniel's Honey Whiskey. I platted the desserts with creme anglaise and honey whiskey flavored raspberry sauce. It has been a few months since I have been in the kitchen for baking so I was pumped to get started. Recipes to follow. For the Creme Anglaise and the Fruit sauce I just used a basic one from a cook book
Chocolate Mousse:
Dark Chocolate 1lb
Butter 9 oz
Egg Yolks 5 oz
Egg Whites 12 oz
Sugar 2.5 oz
Start by melting the chocolate and butter together. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Egg Whites 5 oz
Sugar 4 oz
Egg Yolks 3.5 oz
Cake Flour 3.5 oz
Cocoa powder 1 oz
Whip egg whites until foamy then add sugar whipping until soft peaks form. Whip the yolks until they are light and pale. Fold the yolks into the whites. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together, and fold into egg mixture. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes in a half sheet pan. Make sure center is dry. Remove from oven and let cool.
Pastry Cream
Milk 1lb
Sugar 4 oz
Egg yolks 2
Whole eggs 1
Cornstarch 1.25 oz
Butter 1 oz
Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp
Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey 3 shots
In a sauce pan combine the milk and some sugar and whiskey, then scald. Take the egg yolks and eggs and mix together. Combine the sugar and cornstarch then mix into the egg mixture. Once the milk is ready temper the milk into the eggs. Once the egg mixture is complete combined. Put back on the stove and cook stirring constantly until the cream thickens. Take off the heat and run the pastry cream through a sifter to remove any over cooked pastry cream. Cool completely.
There are two ways to assemble the cake. You can cut rounds out of the cake and make small personal desserts of you can take the layers of cake and assemble one big cake and then cut pieces. I choose to cut out rounds to make it easier for serving. Once you have the rounds spread a small amount of chocolate onto the bottom of the cake. Once that is cooled and set pipe the chocolate mousse onto the round. Take your second round and place over top the mousse. Then top the cake with a layer of pastry cream. Once this is done set the cakes in the fridge to cool and set up.
Platting the dessert (Optional): While the cake is cooling take the creme anglaise and create a small pool on the plate then take raspberry sauce and make small drops on the plate. Using a toothpick feather out the raspberry sauce to your desire. Once the cakes are done place in the middle and you are ready to serve.
I had the best time making this dessert. Not only was it for the people I love most it was so nice to get back into a kitchen and design a dessert and plate like I use to. I cannot wait to make a new dessert every week on this dessert adventure through my pastry books and my own recipes.
