Chocolate Mousse Cake with Chocolate Leaves

Being the youngest of four made birthdays often and plenty around our house. My mom would let us request our cake choice each year and without fail almost all of us would choose Chocolate Mousse Cake! It is by far the most moist Mousse you will ever have (now say that 3x - "Most Moist Mousse, Most Moist Mousse, Most Moist Mousse")! bahahahaha!

Enjoy! It's a chocolate lovers dream!

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Chocolate Leaves
from my mother's kitchen

Cake (can prepare a day beforehand):
7 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 lb. unsalted butter
7 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Secret Ingredient (prepare an hour before serving):
Dr. Oetkers Double Chocolate Mousse Mix (you can find this by the jello)
1/4 cup milk (I used non-fat milk)

Whipped Cream Frosting (prepare an hour before serving):
1/2 pint whipping cream (1 cup)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Leaves (prepare a day prior to serving)
24 non-poisonous leaves such as rose leaves
4 oz. semisweet chocolate

• Preheat oven to 325* F
• In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Gradually beat in warm chocolate mixture and vanilla.
• In another large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tbsp. at a time and continue beating until stiff.
  
• Fold egg whites carefully into chocolate mixture.
• Pour batter into ungreased 9" x 3" springform pan.
• Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool and you can cover and refrigerate up to 1 day prior to serving.

An hour before serving:

• Mix up the Dr. Oetkers mix in a mixer and pour into the fallen center area of the cake (you'll think this looks funny, but the mousse mix fills it in perfectly).
• Whip up all of the whipped cream ingredients **I tripled this part to ensure it frosted the cake fully.

Chocolate Leaves - prepare the night prior to serving!

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  
• Wash and dry the leaves you've found.
• Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler - or use a metal bowl sitting on top of a sauce pot with boiling water. Both work just fine!
  
• Gently take a spatula and cover each leaf on the front side. Once complete, place in the freezer.
• Right before serving, pull the leaves out and pull the leaves from the chocolate by gently pulling the leaf's stem.

ENJOY!