Flourless Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Mousse Dome Cakes

eyedocbakes

“A balanced life is chocolate in both hands.”

This is why I made brownies and chocolate cakes for breakfast. Sounds about right.

But really though – I recently learned to make mousse and it is amaaazing. Mousse is so light and fluffy and it almost makes you feel like you didn’t just eat a whole cake. For the record – these are mini dome cakes, so it’s all good!

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

(This makes the base of the cakes and the extras make for ooey gooey brownie goodness just on their own)

4 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar (separated into two halves)

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup cornstarch

Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments, mixing in between until melted. Melt butter in microwave in separate bowl in 20 second intervals. (Butter will melt quickly!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk egg whites in stand mixer with 1/2 cup sugar until soft peaks form. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.

Mix together chocolate, butter, and cornstarch in a bowl, and then mix in the egg yolk/sugar. Fold in the egg white/sugar into this mixture. Pour into baking pan prepared with non stick spray or parchment paper.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. It’s ok if the brownie is cracked when you take it out – it will be very soft because there is no flour. Let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove from refrigerator and cut out rounds to match the size of your dome bases. (I used something like this mold for the cakes).

The leftover brownies can be cut into squares and refrigerated for eating later 🙂

Strawberry Mousse

1 box of fresh strawberries ( to make about a cup of strawberry puree)

2 tbsp. cold water

2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Blend strawberries into puree in food processor. Boil with sugar in saucepan on medium heat while stirring. Remove strawberries and allow to cool completely. Place gelatin into water in small bowl and allow to bloom about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk heavy cream in stand mixer to soft peaks.

Strain strawberry juice from puree into large bowl. Place gelatin mixture into strawberry juice and stir until thickens. Next fold cream into strawberry gelatin until well combined.

Spoon the mousse into the domes and cover with brownie bases. Place into freezer and freeze well!

Remove cakes from molds and prepare chocolate. Normally you might pour a chocolate ganache over the cakes, but I wanted some crunch to complement the softness of the mousse; so I used dark chocolate candy melts. Melt those in the microwave – allow the chocolate to cool just a bit, then spoon over cakes. I placed a strawberry on top, and then refrigerated overnight.