Gateau Marcel

Happy Monday! It has been a sunny, fun, and full weekend with one of my best friends here visiting the boyfriend and I. Now that the weekend is over I thought it'd be nice to start off the week here with a recipe for a chocolate mousse cake.

I made this Gateau Marcel on Saturday morning and we had it for dessert on Saturday evening (and then breakfast on Sunday morning and another slice for dessert last night, whoa!). I've made this cake three times now and I absolutely love it. It is quick to make, doesn't include so many ingredients, and tastes phenomenal. I made the cake early Saturday morning and chilled it for almost 12 hours and it tasted wonderful for dessert that night, but I think the texture was even better 24 hours later so you do have to plan a little in advance for this cake!

Gateau Marcel (adapted from Chocolat)
Makes 1 9-inch cake

225g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids and up
225g unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
150g pasteurized egg yolks
180g pasteurized egg whites
cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, and/or fruit for decorating

Start by preheating the oven to 175C and buttering your round cake springform pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double broiler/water bath. Set aside to cool for a few minutes once that is ready.

Whip the egg yolks and two thirds of the sugar in a bowl with your mixer until it is pale, light, and fluffy. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks until completely combined.

In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and last third of the sugar until you get stiff peaks. The meringue should be glossy and not fall out if you turn the bowl upside down. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture until there are no streaks of meringue left.

Pour half of the chocolate mousse mixture into the cake form and bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Store the rest of the mousse in the fridge.

Once the 25 minutes are up, take the cake out and let it sit until it is completely cool. Pour the rest of the mousse mixture onto the cake and keep it in the fridge overnight.

Before serving, sift some cocoa powder on top, cover the cake with chocolate shavings, or serve with some fruit or a coulis. Finally, run a knife around the cake to separate the cake from the pan before releasing the springform and serving.

And there you have it, Gateau Marcel!