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Chocolate Truffle Cake

1. The Chocolate Spongecake

1 teaspoon butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon sifted flour
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sifted unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 12 x 18 inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour the paper; set aside.

Beat the egg yolks with 1/3 cup of sugar, adding it one tablespoon at a time, in an electric mixer on medium high speed. Add the salt and the vanilla. Beat until the mixture becomes light and lemon colored, about 5 minutes.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the cream of tartar and the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar one teaspoon at a time, and continue to beat until the mixture forms a soft meringue. Fold one quarter of the meringue into the yolks to lighten them. Gently fold in another quarter of the meringue. Sift 2 tablespoons of the cocoa over the mixture and fold in. Alternately fold in the remaining meringue and cocoa in two batches of each. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake for about 25 minutes, turning the pan after 15 minutes for even baking. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the pan on a cake rack for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the cake with confectioners sugar. Remove the cake by covering it with a baking sheet and turning it over. Gently peel off the paper and allow the cake to cool completely.

To mold the cake, use a round 2 quart bowl about 4 1/2 inches deep. Line the bowl with 2 long strips of plastic wrap crosing them in the center and leaving enough over the edge of the bowl so that it can be brought up to cover the entire cake. Cut a lengthwise strip of the cake 1 inch wider than the depth of the bowl. Cut this strip of cake in half crosswise. Line both sides of the bowl with the two strips, gently molding them to the sides. The cake should extend about 1 inch over the top of the bowl. This will leave the bottom and two triangular areas of the bowl uncovered. Cut pieces from the remaining cake to fit these areas, leaving enough cake to cover the top when the mousse has been added. Fit the strips as closely together as possible, overlapping slightly if necessary. Cover the cake and the bowl and set aside.

2. Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Mousse

A) Hazelnut Praline:

When toasting the hazelnuts for the praline, double the quantity and reserve half for the hazelnut meringue.

1/4 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

To toast the hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the nuts in a cake pan until the skins become loose and the nuts turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.Shake the pan from time to time to ensure even browning. As soon as the nuts are done, pour them on a clean tea towel. Cover the nuts with the towel and rub between your hands to loosen and remove the skins. Coarsely chop the nuts.

To prepare the praline, lightly butter a 4 inch square area on a baking sheet and set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir the sugar, water and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stop stirring and increase the heat until the syrup boils. Dissolve any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Swirling often, cook the syrup until it becomes a dark, golden brown, about 6 to 12 minutes. Watch the caramel very carefully; once it begins to colour it should be swirled constantly. Remove the caramel from the heat. Add the chopped nuts and stir until they are evenly coated. Pour the praline onto the buttered baking sheet and quickly spread it to fill the 4 inch area. Cool about 20 minutes.

To make praline powder, chop the praline with a knife, then pulverize it into a coarse powder in a food processor with the metal blade or in a blender. If using a blender, work in 4 batches to prevent the praline from becoming oily.

B) Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Mousse:

1 recipe Hazelnut Praline
14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in 1 inch pieces (Callebaut preferred)
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs, separated
A pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons strong coffee, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream

Chop and pulverize the praline. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heavy 2 quart saucepan, stirring frequently. Set aside. While the chocolate is cooling, combine the praline powder, egg yolks, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the praline and yolks constantly until they feel warm to the touch, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the pan and beat the yolks in an electric mixer on medium high speed for 3 minutes. Combine the rum, coffee, and vanilla in a measuring cup. Add half the rum and coffee flavourings to the yolks, one teaspoon at a time, blending well after each addition. Reserve the remaining flavourings. Continue to beat until the yolks lighten in colour and fall from the beaters in a thin ribbon, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites into soft peaks. Add the sugar one teaspoon at a time, whisking constantly until the whites are just shy of the stiff peak stage. Set aside.

Fold the melted chocolate and butter into the yolks. Gradually fold in the remaining rum and coffee, then fold in the egg whites. Set aside.

Whip the cream in a clean bowl to the soft peak stage. Fold this into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse into the cake lined bowl, smoothing over the top. Cut the remaining cake to fit over the mosse and set into place. Trim the edge of the cake wih scissors to make it level. Bring up the plastic wrap to seal and refrigerate 12 hours.

3. Hazelnut Meringue

2 teaspoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons sifted flour
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
A pinch of salt
2 egg whites, at room temperature (reserve yolks for ganache)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons sifted unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Lightly butter two baking sheets or jelly roll pans. Line with parchment, and butter and flour the parchment.

Pulverize the hazelnuts with one tablespoon of sugar and the salt in a food processor or blender. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer at low speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, increase speed to medium, and beat to soft peak stage.Increase speed to high and carefully add the 1/2 cup of sugar one teaspoon at a time. Neat to a stiff meringue. Sprinkle the toasted nuts over the meringue and sift the cocoa on top. Fold in gently. When the cocoa is almost incorporated, fold in the vanilla.

Spoon half of the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a #7 round tube. Pipe the meringue into dtrips 3/4 of an inch apart running across the width of the sheet. Repeat for the remaining meringue. Bake each sheet 30 minutes, refrigerating one while the first is baking. Turn halfway through baking for even browning. Allow to cool completely on cake racks, then cut meringue into 1/4 inch pieces. On a humid day, store meringue pieces in a plastic bag.

4. Chocolate Ganache

Make the ganache at least two hours before assembling the cake. To unmold the cake, peel back the plastic wrap, cover the cake with a cardboard circle or serving plate and invert. Remove the bowl and lift off the plastic wrap. Gently press in the bottom edge of the cake with your fingers to give it a more rounded look. Set Aside.

2/3 cup heavy cream
A pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean cut in half
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate. in one inch pieces (Callebaut preferred)
2 egg yolks, chilled
2 teaspoons dark rum

1 1/2 teaspoons sifted unsweetened cocoa, for decoration.

Combine the heavy cream, salt and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. While the cream is heating, melt thee chocolate in a heavy saucepan, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

Strain the crean through a fine sieve into a small mixing bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the melted chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Beat the ganache in an electric mixer on medium speed. When it starts to thicken, add the rum one teaspoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat to the soft peak stage, about 3 minutes.

To complete the cake, use a palette knife to spread an even coating of the ganache over the surface. Gently press handfuls of chopped meringue into the ganache, covering evenly. Dust cake with sifted cocoa.

Truffle cake should be refrigerated and cut when chilled.