Mousse-in-the-Middle Cake
There's a surprise in the middle of this golden butter Mousse-in-the-Middle Cake - a center of chocolate mousse filling!
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 3/4 cups Bakers' Special Sugar* or granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, or a few drops of bitter almond oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoons Instant ClearJel (optional, but it gives the cake a great, moist texture)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup milk
* We love to use Bakers' Special sugar for cakes; its extra-fine texture makes it very easy to cream with the butter, thereby producing a lighter cake. However, use granulated sugar if you prefer.
Filling
- 1 pint whipping or heavy cream
- 1 (4 ounce) box chocolate mousse mix
Dark Chocolate Glaze
- 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
- 1 cup (about 6 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt and flavorings until fluffy.
- Beat in the oil, then the eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is very fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, Instant ClearJel and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture alternately with the milk, beating until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Lightly grease and flour both halves of the filled cake set, and divide the batter between them. (You may also prepare this cake in two regular 9 x 2-inch round cake pans.)
- Bake the cake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool the cake for 15 minutes before removing it from the pans.
- Filling: Follow the directions on the package to prepare the usse.
- Divide the mousse between the two halves of the cake, then invert the top half over the bottom half (you're forming a tunnel for the filling here).
- Dark Chocolate Glaze: In a small bowl in the microwave, or a small saucepan set over low heat, prepare the glaze by melting together the cream and chocolate. Drizzle it over the cake.
Source: The King Arthur Flour Company newsletter
