Chetna Makan’s chocolate mousse layer cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 150g unsalted butter
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 50g dark chocolate, melted
• 150g plain flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb of soda
• 100ml boiling water
• 100g sour cream

For the chocolate mousse

• 300g dark chocolate, melted
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 200ml double cream, whisked to soft peaks

For the decoration

• Ready-made mini meringues
• 2 tbsp toffee brittle, broken into shards
• Chocolates of your choice, we used Rolos and Munchies
• 4 tbsp salted caramel sauce
• 4 tbsp chocolate sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas 4 and grease and line 2 x 20cm round cake tins with baking parchment.
2. Whisk the butter and sugar in a bowl for 2 minutes until light and pale. Add the vanilla and eggs and whisk again. Add the melted chocolate and mix.
3. Put all the dry ingredients into another bowl and mix well. In a jug mix the water and sour cream. Now add half the dry ingredients to the egg mix, whisk until combined, followed by half the liquid. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and then the last of the liquid. Whisk it well for 2 minutes until combined well.
4. Roughly divide the cake mix into the tins, level and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool completely in the tins.
5. Meanwhile prepare the chocolate mousse. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy. Gently fold in the chocolate, then fold in the whipped cream. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add to the cream mix a little at a time. You should try and fold it all in without losing too much air from the mousse.
6. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with cling film. Once the cakes are completely cooled, cut them in half horizontally to make four cakes. Place one of the cakes at the bottom then add a layer of the mousse. Repeat the same with all the layers, cover the cake tin with cling film and leave it to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours or, for best results, leave it overnight.

When you are ready to serve, remove the cake from the tin and peel away the clingfilm. Stack the decoration ingredients on top of the cake and serve with a good drizzle of the salted caramel and chocolate sauces.