A CHOCOLATE MIRROR

A lot of people have asked me these days on which dessert my choice would fall this year. A dessert to celebrate my birthday, I mean. And down to think about what alchemy of flavors and colors and shapes I would have blocked my hands and my eyes. Reading and listening to the many comments and curiosities, I smiled quietly because I knew that, even this year, I certainly would not have found the time to treat myself to a dessert. I invent many of those impediments not to do it ... But, just this year, I didn't have to struggle too much in the search for sudden tasks... As soon as I heard that somewhere around me, a lovely girl would celebrate her birthday on the same day as me, I didn't think about it so much. I decided that I would make a dessert, but for her. 

She who I knew wanted so much to taste that sort of Sacher of which someone had spoken so much. And so incredibly described, so much so as to dream and dream of having one on which, probably, blow out a candle. And so it was. A lake of brilliant chocolate and a sort of bouquet of sweet flowers with nothing golden to wish her magical years to come and sweet dreams to come true. I hope that the warm mirror of chocolate has lit up her eyes even more and stretched her lips in a tender and satisfied smile.

For a band of 28 cm

6 medium eggs

180 g flour 

180 g sugar

180 g dark chocolate 

180 g butter

12 g baking powder

Grease and flour a mold of 28-30 cm in diameter. Liquefy the chocolate in the microwave at low power. Separately, melt the butter and then add them stirring gently. Pour the egg yolks into the bowl of the stand mixer with 135 g of sugar, taken from the total and whip them foam. Then, beat the egg whites until stiff with the remaining 45 g of sugar. Sift the flour with baking powder. Add to the whipped egg yolks, the mixture of chocolate and butter and, then, the sifted flour. Make the mixture fluid by adding a spoonful of meringue without special precautions. Instead, the remaining meringue should be added gently, working from top to bottom. Turn on the oven at 175-180°C. Bake the cake for about 35-40 minutes until the test of insertion of the stick reveals a perfect cooking.

For the custard

150 g fresh

cream 100 g milk

50 g egg yolks

60 g sugar

Heat the cream and milk with 30 grams of sugar and bring almost to a boil. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 30 grams of sugar, add half of the cream and hot milk and stir. Finish the preparation by pouring the remaining part and cook up to 82-85 ° C. Pass the cream through a sieve.

For the chocolate mousse 

340 gr of custard (as above)

225 gr of 70% chocolate 

450 gr of semi-whipped cream 

two pinches of Maldon salt

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie without exceeding 50°C. Allow to cool slightly, add salt and then pour the custard on it, mixing well with a spatula. When the cream has reached about 35°C, add the cream.

For the brilliant glaze of Faggiotto

175 g of water

150 g of fresh cream 

225 g of caster sugar 

75 g of unsweetened cocoa 

8 g of gelatin in sheets of 2 g

Hydrate the gelatine in ice water. Combine the cocoa, water, cream and sugar in a saucepan. Mix with a whisk until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Boil over low heat until the glaze reaches 103°C. Extinguish. Drop to 70°C and add the squeezed gelatin. 

Dessert preparation

Use a circular band about 28-30 cm in diameter. Line the base of the tray with a sheet of acetate and also insert acetate in bands inside the circular band to make the edge smooth. Cut out three discs from the chocolate sponge cake. With the help of a piping bag and a smooth spout lay a layer of mousse on the bottom very regularly. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes and place a disc of sponge cake. Veil with good apricot jam and layer a layer of mousse. Repeat these operations ending with the third biscuit disc. Place in the freezer until the cake is completely hardened. Remove the cake from the freezer. Remove the band and acetate. Place the cake on a bowl with a sheet of parchment paper at the base. When the icing has reached about 40°C, pour over the still frozen cake and decorate as desired.