Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake – Recipe provided by Pastry Chef Riccardo Magni
Riccardo Magni – a professional who has been active for over 20 years in the field of confectionery, chocolate and gelato, known in Italy but also abroad, co-author of the book "Reverse Fusion", published in 2016.
He began his professional career working in the family's confectionery laboratory, alongside his father, Pierpaolo Magni, another master of Italian confectionery. At the beginning, he alternated work in the production laboratory with a professional development program, participating in numerous training courses under the guidance of great teachers from the International Confectionery Schools: Ecole Lenôtre and Bellouet Conseil, France; Richemont, Switzerland; Cast Alimenti and Arte Dolce, Italy.
Accumulating a rich experience in the field and participating in various national and international competitions, he collaborated over the years with various well-known companies in the confectionery-chocolate field, from Italy and from other countries.
He was a member of the Swiss team, participating in the finals of the "Coupe du Monde Pâtisserie 2015 Lyon" competition, where he won second place, in the "Entremet glacé" category.
He has published and continues to publish articles in the most important magazines of the sector.
Currently, Riccardo Magni carries out much more complex activities: consulting and professional training for important companies in this sector, being involved in many projects worldwide, as well as teaching activities in renowned schools in the culinary sector, such as Cast Alimenti, Dado School Pomati, Chef's School Hong Kong, Arte Dolce Rimini, Con Gusto Gourmet Institute Milano, Hangar 78.
Chocolate and cherry mousse cake consists of the following components:
• Cocoa sponge cake
• Crispy Gianduia cream
• Fondant chocolate mousse (black)
• Cherries in syrup
• Chantilly vanilla and mascarpone cream
Cocoa sponge cake
Ingredients:
225 g – Egg yolk
195 g – Sugar
225 g – Egg white
60 g – Sugar
50 g – Melted butter
100 g – Flour
40 g – Cocoa 22-24%
Preparation:
Mix the egg yolk with the first part of the sugar.
Whip the egg white with the second part of sugar. Gradually incorporate the egg white foam into the yolk mixture.
Add and incorporate the melted butter and then the powdery parts, the flour and the sifted cocoa.
Spread the composition on a rimless tray 60x40cm, which you fix a stainless steel frame of 58x38xh4cm.
Bake for 5 minutes at 220°C.
Crispy Gianduia cream
It is made from 2 components: Crispy Granules from Soft Dough and Gianduia Cream.
Ingredients:
1. Crispy granules from soft dough:
120 g – Butter
120 g – Sugar
120 g – Almond flour
120 g - Flour with reduced gluten content
35 g – Shredded corn flakes
2. Gianduia cream:
260 g – Gianduia chocolate
55 g – Concentrated hazelnut paste (without sugar)
Preparation:
1. Prepare a tender-crispy mixture, from soft granular dough, as follows:
Combine all the ingredients, except the corn flakes.
Mix (partially) with the paddle, at medium speed, all the ingredients, until a granular composition has formed in the bowl of the mixer.
Spread the granular mixture on the tray and form, by hand, granules as homogeneous as possible.
Cool quickly, in a shock freezer, to stabilize the formed granules.
Bake at 150-160°C for 10-12 minutes. Cool down.
After baking, chop the obtained granules with a cutter or by hand and add the chopped corn flakes.
2. Prepare Gianduia cream so:
Combine the Gianduia chocolate with the concentrated hazelnut paste; bring the mixture to 35-40°C and homogenize the cream.
Combine the Gianduia Cream with the tender-crispy mixture and homogenize the composition.
Spread the crispy Gianduia Cream, in a homogeneous layer, inside a stainless steel frames 40×30 cm and cool.
Fondant Chocolate Mousse (Black)
Ingredients:
650 g – Liquid cream
680 g – Fondant chocolate 60% (dark)
550 g – Whipped cream
Preparation:
Bring the heavy cream to the boil. Add it over the fondant chocolate and emulsify the composition.
At the cream temperature of 36°C, add and incorporate the lightly whipped cream. Use.
Chantilly vanilla and mascarpone cream
Ingredients:
950 g – Liquid cream
250 g – Mascarpone
75 g – Invert sugar (can be replaced with honey)
2 vanilla pods
Preparation:
Extract and add the pulp (core) of the vanilla pod to the liquid cream.
Combine the cream, mascarpone and inverted sugar; mix gently until you get a composition with a creamy consistency and use.
Final product preparation and presentation
Mount the cake in 40×30 cm frame, over the already formed layer of crunchy Gianduia Cream, as follows:
– 1 layer consisting of 540 g of chocolate mousse,
– 1 layer of cocoa sponge cake (baked in a 60x40cm pan),
– 1 layer consisting of 800 g of chocolate mousse,
– 1 layer consisting of 500 g of cherries in syrup,
- 1 layer of cocoa sponge cake,
– 1 layer consisting of 540 g of chocolate mousse.
Cool in shock freezer, to stabilize the structure, up to a negative temperature.
Remove the cake from the stainless steel frame. Portion and decorate with vanilla Chantilly Cream and mascarpone, by pouring with the bag and the door.
For decoration use cherries (fresh or canned) and SETTINGS fine dark chocolate.
