Crumb the Cake

I am not a cake decorator. Not even close, but I just learned a trick I wish I'd known long ago. Crumb the cake.

I decided to make a shaped cake (without a mold) for a 5 year old friend's birthday.  I had an idea and went with it, but until I was 90% I was sure I was going to have to rush to the store and start over by making a FLAT rectangular brithday cake, but it turned out surprisingly well.

Its the shape of a 5, but the circular part of the 5 continues to swirl up and around into a hill.

So here's the trick: Bake, cool (overnight is best), shape/cut the cake, then make a batch of thin frosting. Use this frosting to glue the cut pieces to eat other and then frost the cake. At this point it will look horrible b/c all of the crumbs will get caught up in the frosting. Don't stop. It will be okay! Let the cake dry for an hour or so. Make another batch of frosting the consistency you like (I made butter cream) and spread it on. The first layer of frosting will keep the crumbs and you'll end up with a nice smooth (non-crumby) finish. Decorate.

Since I had about 1/2 a cake left over, I crumbled the remaining cake up and turned it in to the road. I also made a pile of dirt (chocolate cake crumbs) in the corner, so I didn't have to be so careful about being tidy while applying the road. If I dropped some, I just swept it over to the corner with a pastry brush and added a dump truck when I was finished!

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse

My favorite dessert of all time is chocolate mousse.  I have tried to find a good chocolate mousse at a restaurant for the past 6 years or so.  Nothing has been what I was looking for.  My pudding with cool whip recipe is a good substitute, but lately I've wanted the rich, thick, creamy chocolate mousse that I remember from restaurants when I was growing up.  So I have done some research and found a recipe that I think will be good.  I'm going to try it this weekend and I'll update the review after.

Ingredients


8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water, divided
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

Directions

1.In a microwave or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. If you use a microwave, melt in intervals and stir after each minute.  Cool for 10 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice and stir until cooled, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.