Recipe - Baileys Frozen Chocolate Chunk Mousse Cake

ESPRESSO CAKE
One fourth cup Ground espresso
One half cup Water
1 cup Cake flour (not selfrising)
One half teaspoon Baking soda
One fourth teaspoon Salt
4 tablespoon Unsalted butter
One half cup Plus 2 tablespoons
granulated sugar
2 lg Eggs
One half teaspoon Vanilla extract
One fourth cup Sour cream

CHOCOLATE CHUNK MOUSSE
5 ounce Bittersweet chocolate,
coarsely chopped
One fourth cup Plus 2 tablespoons milk
One fourth cup Granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
One half cup Bailey's Irish Cream
Liqueur, divided
6 ounce Mascarpone, softened
1 cup Heavy cream
One fourth cup Hazelnuts, lightly toasted
and coarsely chopped
4 ounce Bittersweet chocolate, cut
into 1/2inch chunks

GARNISH
Three fourths cup Heavy cream
2 tablespoon Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
1 tablespoon Confectioners' sugar
2 ounce Bittersweet chocolate,
coarsely chopped
Warm chocolate sauce

ESPRESSO CAKE: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat
to 350 F. Lightly butter an 8inch square cake pan. Dust the pan with flour
and tap out the excess. Place the ground espresso into a cup or small bowl.
Heat the water to boiling and pour it over the espresso powder. Allow the
grounds to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the coffee through a double layer of
cheesecloth. Measure One fourth cup of the coffee and set aside. In a large howl,
using a wire whisk, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Sift the
mixture onto a large piece of waxed paper. In the 4 1/2quart bowl of a
heavyduty electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter on
medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until creamy. Gradually add the sugar,
blending well between additions, and scraping down the sides of the bowl
when necessary. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add
vanilla and sour cream. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture and
beat until combined. Add the One fourth cup of espresso, and mix well. Add the
remaining flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake
for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides
of the pan and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out
clean. Remove pan from oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK MOUSSE: Put the chocolate in a food processor fitted with
the metal chopping blade. Process for 20 to 30 seconds, until finely
ground. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and salt. Cook over
medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves and
the milk comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the vanilla
extract and One fourth cup of the Bailey's. With the motor of the food processor
running, pour the hot milk through the feed tube. Process for 10 to 20
seconds, until the chocolate is completely melted. Using a spatula, scrape
the chocolate mixture into a large bowl and cool for about 5 minutes, until
tepid. In the 4 l/2quart bowl of a heavyduty electric mixer using the
paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone at mediumlow speed just until
softened. Gradually add the rest of the Bailey's, scraping down the side of
the bowl as necessary. Switch to the wire whip attachment, and beating on
medium speed, add the heavy cream. Increase the speed to mediumhigh and
continue beating 23 minutes, until soft peaks are formed when the whip is
lifted. Using a large rubber spatula, fold onethird of the whipped cream
mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold the remaining
whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold the toasted nuts and
chocolate chunks into the mousse.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Line an 8inch square pan with foil, leaving a 2inch
overhang on two opposite sides of the pan. Using a long serrated knife,
slice the cake horizontally into two layers of equal thickness. Place the
top layer, cut side up, in the bottom of the pan. Scrape the mousse onto
the cake layer in the pan. Smooth the top with a small metal cake spatula.
Place the second layer, cut side down, on top of the mousse. In the 4
1/2quart bowl of a heavyduty electric mixer using the wire whip
attachment, combine the heavy cream, Bailey's, and confectioners' sugar and
beat on mediumhigh speed until mediumstiff peaks are formed when the whip
is lifted. With a small metal spatula, spread the top of the cake with the
whipped cream. Sprinkle the chocolate chunks over the whipped cream. Freeze
the cake for 6 hours or overnight. Remove the cake from the freezer. Lift
it out of the pan, using the overhanging pieces of foil as handles, and set
it on a cutting board to temper for 30 minutes. With a sharp knife, trim
the four sides of the cake, then cut into eight 4inchby2inch bars. Serve
on dessert plates with warm chocolate sauce.
Posted to MMRecipes Digest by "John Weber" hdbrer@ibm.net on Apr 09, 98