Chocolate Cake with Avocado Peanut Butter Frosting

Things have happened.  I have thought about my blog come back on and off for the past year.  Where have I been?  Nowhere in particular that forced me to stop blogging.  I just fell of the wagon and never got back on.  Now a lot has happened and I don't know where to start.

I was impregnated.  Grew a baby.  Now, we have little Birk Oliver!

He can't eat food yet, but it sure will be fun when he can.  I am quite enjoying him being the adorable baby that he is, so I am in no rush.  

So, that was one big thing that happened.  The other...Scot and I have crossed over to the vegetarian world.  We have always been so close.  But now we are closer.  We basically don't eat meat anymore.  For all practical purposes, we are vegetarians.  For the unpractical purposes, I talk Scot into eating bacon with me zero, once, or twice a month.

The thing is...Scot is a much better vegetarian than me.  He would probably never eat meat again if it weren't for me.  Something I would have never predicted when I met 21 year old Scot.  Little Birk will now grow up vegetarian.

What is worse, we feel guilty eating any animal protein (kidding about the worse thing).  Not that it stops us.  We have done little things like replacing our milk with almond milk.  Thinking more about whether dairy is necessary for different dishes.  We have experimented with vegan favorites like chia seeds instead of eggs, coconut oil, non-dairy milks, etc.

What I am trying to say is...please don't be scared away!  I am still a true foodie.  Cooking vegetarian is easy.  Cooking vegan is actually fascinating.  I am still mostly human.

This year for Scot's birthday, he tasked me with the impossible.  Make him a cake that is healthy so that when he eats a piece everyday for the week following...he doesn't feel AS guilty.  What does healthy mean?  Vegan.  And no white sugar or flour.  So gross, basically.

I told him I couldn't do the refined flour/sugar thing.  It is your birthday not national diabetes awareness day.  But I almost achieved the goal.

I ended up making a chocolate cake.  It is sweetened with maple syrup.  The fat comes from an avocado.  Flour is of the whole wheat variety.  It was a solid chocolate cake.  I underbaked it on purpose and it was anything but dry.

For frosting, I made an avocado frosting.  This has been on my radar for about 5 years.  Replace the butter in frosting with an avocado.  I was most excited to have a beautiful green frosting.  This limited the additional flavor additions.  I ended up going with peanut butter and avocado frosting since it would leave the green.  I would imagine a chocolate avocado frosting would be delicious too, but not green.  Since I used freshly ground peanuts, my frosting was not as smooth as the original.

The frosting recipe is a recommendation at best.  And it has the one nasty, illegal ingredient:  powdered sugar!  Hopefully we survive.

In true foodforscot fashion, I made this late at night.  So enjoy the horrible photos!  But seriously, Scot did very much enjoy his birthday cake.  He ate the entire thing, except the one piece I had on his birthday.  It is really everything Scot is about in cake form.

PS:  Scot is the father.

Chocolate Cake with Avocado Peanut Butter Frosting

adapted from The Diva Dish

For cake:

1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 avocado, mashed

1 cup almond milk

¾ cup maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

handful of chocolate chips (optional)

For Frosting:

1 avocado, mashed

1-2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp almond milk

½ cup peanut butter (I used freshly ground)

For Cake: Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients until combined. Make sure avocado isn’t lumpy (it will probably be a little lumpy, just saying).

Add wet to dry and mix until incorporated.

Pour into a greased 8-inch cake pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (check every few minutes after 20 until done).

Once cake is done, remove from oven and let cool completely.

For Frosting: Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.

Spread frosting on cake and sprinkle with some chocolate jimmies!

(Servings: 6-8, Prep time: 30 min., Bake time: 30 min., Frost time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste): 6/10
Scot (taste): 8/10
Effort: 1/5
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I was home for my little sister's graduation party.  She graduated from high school.  She used to be 3 years old.  Now she is 18.  It makes no sense how these things happen.  

I am 9 years older than this little sister.  9 years!  Which is exactly how long I have been in post-"high school" school.  Therefore, we graduated together this year.  Me from all school forever.  Her from high school.  This was something I always thought about once I decided to go ahead and do the 5 year grad school program.  

Anyways, growing up, I was really a second mom for her.  Not in like a loving, caring kind of way.  In more of a bossy kind of way.  I picked out her outfits.  I did her hair.  I fed her.  All of these things were non-negotiable.  She never once complained or argued with my decisions.  That is the glory of 9 years separation.  It is not too much older, where we didn't even know each other.  But old enough where ANYthing I said goes.  Having a little sister slave was a wonderful, wonderful thing.  

During her pre-teen/teenage years, she was a mild inconvenience for me.  Although she was probably 400 times better than I was when I was a teenager, she still had a 'tude.  She sometimes didn't like the outfits I picked out.  She said things like "that is really more your style than mine".  Ughs!  She texted while we were having important conversations.  I should say:  she actually never wasn't texting someone from the age of 14-17.  She had boyfriends.  Ew.  She had the nerve to actually have opinions on things.  WHO does she think she is?

Now, she has grown into quite the lady.  She lost most of her 'tude.  I have gained back some of my older sister respect.  She listens to my fashion opinion.  She still texts like a crazy person and likes boys, which is super gross, but I will take what I can get.  And now, she has graduated into official adult-ness.  Tear.  

For her partay, my sister and I made 200+ mini cupcakes and spelled out her name with them.  Scot designed the layout and figured out with x many white cupcakes, y many brown cupcakes, this is the optimal design.  The two cupcakes flavors were Snickerdoodle and Cookies N' Cream.  The snickerdoodle cupcakes are a cinnamon cupcake with a vanilla buttercream and a mini snickerdoodle on top.  The cookies n' cream cupcakes were a chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese frosting (with oreo crumbles mixed in) and an Oreo on top.  We wanted the colors to be opposite so that is why we laid the cookies flat on top of the cupcake.  This is also allowed imperfect piping.  I was not a fan of the Cookies N' Cream cupcakes.  I mostly didn't like the chocolate cake part.  But these Snickerdoodle cupcakes were spot on.  Delish.  

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

from Annie’s Eats (cupcakes, frosting, cookies)

For the cupcakes:

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

11/2 cups cake flour, sifted

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

13/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

11/4 cups milk

For the frosting:

20 tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar,

sifted 1/8 tsp. salt 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:

1 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)

2 tbsp. sugar (optional)

Mini snickerdoodles (1/2 of recipe below)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; whisk to combine. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each three quarters full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes (8-10 minutes for minis). Allow to cool in the pans about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle a pinch of the cinnamon-sugar on top of each frosted cupcake. Garnish with mini snickerdoodles.

(Servings: 60 ish Minis, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 1 hr., Difficulty: Easy)

Mini Snickerdoodles

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz.) granulated sugar, plus 3 tbsp. for rolling dough

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon, for rolling dough

Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until well combined, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat again until combined, about 30 seconds. Add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

In a small, shallow bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon for rolling the dough. Stir or shake well to combine. Working with a little dough each time, roll the dough into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Use a drinking glass with a flat bottom to gently flatten the dough balls (butter the bottom of the glass before starting, and dip it in sugar between cookies if it begins to stick).

Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the center are soft and puffy, 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2-3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Servings: 120, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 1 hr., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  9/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  4/5

Dishwashing Effort:  4/5

PW’s Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

I have hives.  And I thought this would be the best way to lure you into this cake.  I am not sure what is giving my hives.  Possible options:  grass, gluten, lettuce, graduation, sunlight, PIL.  Ha!  Jk!  I seriously have no idea what my problem is.  But it is very inconvenient.  I did get a mild sunburn.  Which isn't that rare for me at the beginning of the summer when I reveal my translucent skin to the world.  I barely peeled and only just a little on my shoulders.  Apparently you CAN get hives from too much sun.  Dumb.

I made this cake for a friend's birthday.  It was kind of a last minute decision.  I wanted to make something really easy and quick.  Which is exactly why I wanted to share this recipe and my experience with it.  It is SO simple to throw together.

Now, is it the BEST chocolate sheet cake ever?  Ummmm.  I actually haven't had many chocolate sheet cakes in my life.  Plus, I argue that this is borderline brownie.  But Scot and I really enjoyed eating this.  BTW, it is pretty big.  So we enjoyed it for about a week.  I love that this only uses one dish for mixing (for the cake and the frosting).  The frosting is made from powdered sugar, so it hardens similar to an icing.  And is delicious.  I also like how you don't have to wait for the cake to cool before pouring the frosting over the top.  It is just such a low maintenance and no fuss cake to throw together.  And considering how easy it is to make, I think it is way good and so worth it.  

PW’s Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

by Pioneer Woman

For the cake:

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

1/4 teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

1/2 cups Buttermilk

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

For the frosting:

1/2 cups Finely Chopped Pecans

1-3/4 stick Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Note: I use an 18 by 13 inch sheet cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

(Servings: 20, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:  

Shanon (taste):  7/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  1/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes with Raspberry Curd Filling

Happy Birthday to everyone born in January!  

Like ME!

Here is my birthday cake this year.  It is a lemon poppy seed cake with a raspberry curd filling and almond cream cheese frosting.

I thought the flavors were interesting and enjoyed this cake, but there were a few things that bothered me.  First, due to the cream cheese frosting, I needed to refrigerate the cake and I didn't like it as much after it was cold (even if it had come back to room temp).  Second, frosting is lame and I can never find one that I like.  I am sure the one I will like is one that takes about 10 hours to make.  Annie originally made these as mini cakes.  So, she had recommended doubling the cake batter to make two 9 inch round cakes.  Doubling the batter made way too much cake.  I think you could probably make two thin layers using the recipe below.  I also think two thin round cakes would be better than what I had.

The raspberry curd is delicious.  And I like it with the lemon poppy seed cake.  Annie originally made this with a lemon buttercream, but said she would have preferred a lemon cream cheese frosting.  I thought there was plenty of lemon, so I went with an almond cream cheese frosting.  I liked the almond flavor in the frosting but just thought it was too sweet.  

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes with Raspberry Curd Filling

adapted from Annie’s Eats

For the cake:

2 1/3 cups cake flour

2 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds

5 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

12 tsbp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk

For the raspberry curd:

8 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 pint ripe raspberries or

1 12-oz. package frozen raspberries, thawed

5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

2-3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:

fresh raspberries (optional)

To make the cake, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9Å~13″ cake pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside. In the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium-high. Beat just until stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted. Transfer the egg whites to a separate bowl, clean the mixer bowl and reattach it with the paddle attachment.

Add the butter to the mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated. Mix in the lemon zest. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and beat until just blended. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the remaining milk in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat until just blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold one quarter of the egg whites into the batter, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Once incorporated, add in the rest of the whites and gently fold in until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 24-26 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the outside of pan and gently turn the cake out. Allow to cool completely.

To make the raspberry curd, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the raspberries, egg yolks, sugar and salt, and cook, mashing the berries. Stir frequently at first and then constantly at the end, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour the mixture through a coarse strainer set over a bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Cool to room temperature; the curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut the cake into rounds as desired. Layer the rounds with the cooled raspberry curd. Once layered, allow the assembled cakes to cool in the refrigerator to help them set.

In the meantime, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla and almond extracts. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Frost the chilled cakes with the frosting. Garnish with fresh raspberries as desired.

(Servings: 8-10, Time: about 4 hours, Difficulty: Intermediate)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  6/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  5/5

Dishwashing Effort:  5/5

Chocolate Overdose Cake

Happy Birthday Scot!  A few days ago.  I made this cake for him.  

As I have mentioned, Scot loves chocolate.  Not only does he love chocolate, but he sometimes forgets that desserts without chocolate are still desserts.  Good thing I am around.

But still, it is his birthday, so I knew I needed to find the most ridiculous chocolate cake.  In the past, I have made several different chocolate cake recipes.  One birthday I made him a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  He almost had a heart attack until he realized how good yellow cake with chocolate frosting was.  

This year, I did find the most ridiculous chocolate cake.  This cake has a brownie base layer.  On top of that, a layer of chocolate mousse.  Then, a layer of chocolate cake.  Frosted with chocolate ganache.  

I was scared of this cake.  For a few reasons.  First, I was afraid I would mess it up.  And I made it after work one day and as you can see...it isn't that quick.  But, honestly, it wasn't that hard to make.  Minus the six hours.  Second, I was afraid I wouldn't like it.  The other people who have made this mentioned it has over two pounds of chocolate in it.  I didn't know if I could handle it.  But, I really liked it.  So, I would like to argue that this cake is not JUST for chocoholics.  Since it has so many different types and textures of chocolate, I really enjoyed it.  And I love mousse.  The mousse and brownie did it for me.  

(Here is what it looks like after several days in the fridge)

This was my first attempt at piping.  I finally bought a piping bag and tips.  I figured it was time.  And it was way fun.  Definitely not perfect but a good effort.  

Scot really liked it.  He also liked licking the many bowls, spoons, attachments, etc. as I made this over the course of the night.  By about 11:30 pm, when it was ready, he kind of regretted that.  But he still ate a piece like a champ.  You can always count on him for these types of things.  

Chocolate Overdose Cake

from Annie’s Eats, originally from Confections of a Foodie Bride

For the brownie base:

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. cake flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the chocolate mousse filling:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces

1 7/8 cups heavy cream

1 tbsp. sugar

For the chocolate cake:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/8 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1/4 cup hot water

7/8 cup sugar, divided

7/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, soft

For the ganache:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

18 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces

To make the brownie base, line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper and spray the sides with nonstick cooking spray. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, salt and baking powder. Stir with a fork to mix. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of almost simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

When the chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove the bowl from the saucepan and gradually whisk in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add in the flour mixture in two additions, folding with a rubber spatula until completely homogenous.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Set aside, prepare the cake batter, and bake the two layers at the same time.

To make the cake, line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with a round of parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides of the pan. Combine the chocolate, cocoa and hot water in a medium heatproof bowl; set the bowl over a saucepan containing 1-inch of simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. (Note: at this point, my mixture was pretty thick and I thought I had ruined it, but mixing in the sugar was like magic and it made it smooth and liquidy again.) Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30-45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about one third of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Pour into prepared pan; smooth batter to edges of pan with an offset spatula.

Bake the brownie and cake layers at the same time: the brownie for 25-30 minutes and the cake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack. Allow the brownie to cool completely in the pan. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once the brownie layer has cooled, run a knife around the edges to separate it from the pan. Remove the sides of the springform but leave the brownie layer on the springform base. Form a ring of parchment paper around the brownie layer and extending up the sides of the springform pan – reclose the springform so that the parchment is fitted tightly to the sides.

To make the chocolate mousse filling, place a stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer or fridge. Heat 1-inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with plastic wrap and allow to heat for 8- 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a stainless steel bowl and set aside until needed.

Place heavy cream and sugar in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the chilled whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. By hand, whisk to combine 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and completely incorporated. Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to fold together.

Spread the mousse over the top of the brownie base evenly. Use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Place the cooled cake round over the mousse, pressing down lightly. Chill for at least 1 hour.

To make the ganache, heat the heavy cream and the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Chill 1 cup of ganache for 1 hour. Allow the remaining ganache to come to room temperature (about 40 minutes).

Remove the springform ring and parchment collar from the assembled cake. Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter, removing the springform base and parchment round. Use a spatula to smooth the room temperature ganache over the cake top and sides, covering evenly.

Place the chilled ganache in a pastry bag fitted with a shell tip and pipe a shell border around the base of the cake. Pipe 12-16 rosettes around the top of the cake to indicate servings. Serve chilled and store leftovers in the fridge. Cut the cake with a hot, dry knife.

(Servings: 8-10, Prep time: 5 hrs, Cook time: 1 hr, Difficulty: Intermediate)

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