Gluten Free Orange Mousse and Chocolate Cake:

Equipment:

• For the cake: Round cake pan 15cm (d) x 7.5 cm (h), sides and bottom lined with parchment paper.
• For the orange mousse: cake ring sized 12cm (d) x 3cm (h), bottom is sealed with plastic wrap and lined with a strip of acetate.

Recipe:

For the chocolate cake:

For the orange mousse:

For the orange chocolate ganache:

For the chocolate syrup:

For the clear glaze (optional, for glazing the mousse):

For the whipping cream:

Preparation instructions:

For the chocolate cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 175C, static heat (fan mode off), placing the baking rack at the lowest level inside the oven.
2. In a medium sized bowl thoroughly mix all of the dry ingredients: almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda, and set to the side.
3. In a large sized bowl, thoroughly whisk together the sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, cocoa powder, oil, milk and eggs.
4. Add in the dry ingredients’ mixture to the bowl with the liquid ingredients, and thoroughly whisk to a smooth batter without any lumps.
5. Pour the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Place the pan on a cooling rack and wait 15 minutes before unmolding the cake.
7. Place the cake directly on the cooling rack, and allow it to cool down completely. This recipe, using the cake pan size listed here, will yield a cake that is 6.5cm tall. After the cake has cooled down completely, slice it to a thick layer that is 3.5cm tall, to maintain a good proportion of the final dessert.

For the orange mousse:

1. In a small bowl or a plastic cup, thoroughly mix together the gelatin with water, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, until the gelatin has fully absorbed all the liquid. You can make this process quicker by using cold water.
2. For the crème anglaise: In a small saucepan, mix together the orange juice, heavy cream (1), egg yolks, and sugar.
3. Cook the mixture over low heat to allow the sugar to dissolve, and stir constantly (it is recommended to use a heat proof silicone spatula), while checking the temperature with food thermometer.
4. Once the temperature hits about 70C, add in the gelatin mixture and continue cooking. The gelatin will melt, and the mixture should be cooked further, stirring constantly, until the temperature reaches 82C.
5. Take the saucepan off the heat, and add the orange liquor. Allow the mixture to cool down to about body temperature (36C)- it should take a few minutes if placing the saucepan on heatproof cold counter, while stirring constantly.
6. Beat whipping cream (2) on low speed, just until all the small bubbles forming at the beginning have disappeared and the cream has slightly increased in volume.
7. Pour the crème anglaise to the bowl with the whipping cream, stirring constantly, until the mixture is fully combined. Note that if you notice some lumps at the bottom of the saucepan, do not allow them to be mixed in.
8. Pour the mousse to the prepared cake ring- you should be using about 230g of mousse (there would be some leftovers), as the final height of the mousse should be 3cm. Transfer to the freezer to set it completely for at least 3 hours.

For the orange ganache:

1. In a medium sized bowl, melt the dark chocolate and heavy cream.
2. Mix together to form the fanache, and add in the orange zest and orange liquor.
3. Set to the side at room temperature to set.

For the chocolate syrup:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, and sugar and pour in the boiling water. Mix well and add the milk.
2. Set to the side until use.

For the clear glaze:

It is recommended to make the glaze after the cake was iced with the ganache, just when you’re about to place the mousse on top of the cake.

1. In a small bowl or a plastic cup, thoroughly mix together the gelatin with water (2), and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, until the gelatin has fully absorbed all the liquid. You can make this process quicker by using cold water.
2. In a small saucepan, cook on low heat the sugar, glucose syrup and water (1).
3. Mix only until the sugar fully dissolves, and then stop mixing and allow the mixture to reach the temperature of 105C.
4. Take off heat, adding the lemon juice and gelatin mixture, and mix just until the gelatin has fully melted.
5. It is recommended to strain the glaze into a separately pouring glass, and it should be used when it reaches the temperature of 30C.

Assembly:

1. Place the chocolate cake on a serving plate, and soak it with the syrup.
2. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the ganache- there no need to this is precise manner.
3. Prepare the contraption for glazing the mousse: thoroughly wrap a metal canister with plastic wrap, and place it inside a shallow dish which will collect all the dripping of the excess glaze.
4. Place an offset spatula on top of the canister.
5. Release the mousse from the cake ring and the acetate, and place it so that the bottom part (which is smoother and nicer) will now face upwards, on top of the offset spatula.
6. Once the glaze has reached the temperature of 30C, gradually pour it on top of the mousse- start with the sides, then glaze the center. You may gently tilt the mousse using the spatula to help distributing the glaze.
7. Using a knife, clean the excess drippings of the glaze from the bottom of the mousse.
8. Transfer the glazed mousse over the chocolate cake and place it in the center.
9. For the finishing touch, beat the heavy cream and sugar to a piping consistency. Transfer to a piping bad with a small open star piping nozzle, and pipe small border between the chocolate cake and the mousse.