Black Forest Mouse Cake

This one deserves a post of its own. Thanks to Sue Ann Gleason at Chocolate for Breakfast for finding this beauty! 

Black Forest Mousse Cake

Gluten-Free Cake

I just discovered that Whole Foods has a nice recipe section on their website. Look what I found there:

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Just Add Chocolate

These chocolate treats are not usually made with chocolate, but by adding it, some claim they are better than the original:

Chocolate Cheesecake

Pain au Chocolat Noir

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pancakes

Chocolate Granola

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Carrot Cake

Opera Cake

Opera Cake by  Dalilas Gourmet

From the Food Timeline website, a little history about this beautiful cake:

L'Opera cake/gateau is a 20th century recipe with Ancient roots. Not unlike Tiramasu.

The practice of layering cakes with sweet substances (honey), intoxicating liquors (wine) and accented with nut flavorings (almonds) was a particular favorite of ancient middle-eastern cooks. The Romans adopted/adapted this recipe and took it with them when they conquered Europe. It is no accident that 16th century English cooks created "trifle." Chocolate and coffee were introduced to Europe in the 16th-17th centuries but (due to economics) were not incorporated into recipes until the 19th century. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson (p. 748) sponge cake was also created in the 19th century. Also related to L'Opera gateau are Genoise (almond-flavored sponge with various decorations and fillings) and Savoy (sponge made by beating egg yolks and whites beaten separately). About sponge cake.

"Opera gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated, [Clarkson Potter:2001] (p. 814)

"A classic for the past twenty years, the Opera was created for those who unabashedly choose chocolate and butter cream over fruit desserts. What makes this low, flat cake more modern than any of its predecessors is its shape (usually square or rectangular), and its undecorated sides that show all the layers. L'Opera is traditionally composed of layers of Biscuit Joconde, an almond sponge, that have been thoroughly soaked with coffee syrup...Some pastry shops decorate the top with the word Opera, written in panach with all the swirls that the French love so much..."
---New French Baker, Sheila Linderman [William Morrow:New York] 1998 (p. 66)

"Opera cake. This is a classic chocolate-coffee cake that I believe was first made in the 1930s for an important French-American reception held at the Paris Opera."
---La Nouvelle Patisserie, Jean-Yves Duperret [Viking:New York] 1988 (p. 155)

Layer Cake

This isn't the exact recipe for the image above, but it's similar:

Chocolate cake:

3/4 c. cocoa
1/4 c. oil (olive or coconut. I use expeller-processed to avoid a strong flavor)
1/2 c. water
1  1/2 c. sugar, divided
1  2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
3 eggs
3/4 c. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Crispy, marbled bark:

10-12 oz. semisweet or dark chocolate
3/4 c. puffed cereal (optional, really, just call it a marbled bark topping!)
4 oz. premium white chocolate
White chocolate filling:

6 oz. premium white chocolate (make sure it has cocoa butter in it – I use Ghirardelli)
1/4 c. whole milk or cream
1 c. butter
1  1/2 c. powdered sugar

Ganache:

6 oz. semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 c. butter, cut up
1 Tb. honey

Cake:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line the bottom of an 11 x 17 rimmed baking pan with parchment.
Mix cocoa, oil, water, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together in a small measuring cup or bowl and set aside.
Mix flour, soda, and salt in another bowl and set aside as well.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, in 3 additions and then beat for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla until completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18-23 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the cake springs back when touched in the center.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack large enough to hold it; remove paper and let cool completely.

Bark:
While the cake is baking, make the bark by melting the dark chocolate, low heat on stovetop or 1 to 1 1/2 minutes microwaved, stirring until smooth.
Melt the 4 oz. of white chocolate in a separate container.
Stir the puffed cereal into the dark chocolate and quickly spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet to about 1/4-inch thick (the edges don’t have to reach the pan edges – just evenly spread until it’s 1/4-inch). Immediately drizzle white chocolate over the entire top and then swirl into the dark chocolate with the tip of a butter knife to create a marbled effect. Place pan of bark into the refrigerator to set.

Filling:
While cake is cooling, prepare frosting for filling by melting the white chocolate and cream together (again, your choice of low heat on stovetop or 1 minute in the microwave) until smooth. Let cool about 15 minutes.
Beat butter and sugar together with a mixer just until incorporated and then add the cooled chocolate mixture. Beat on high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Ganache:
Melt chocolate, butter, and honey together using the microwave or setting a bowl into a pan of barely simmering water; stir until smooth (it should be the consistency of heavy cream – if it’s too thin, refrigerate for 5 minutes or so and stir to thicken slightly).

To assemble:
Cut the cooled cake into three even pieces, each about 5  1/2 x 11 inches. Set the first layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the white chocolate filling. Top with second layer (trim edges as needed to make even with bottom layer – I found it’s really hard to get them even the first time cutting) and spread with remaining filling. Top with the last later and trim if needed.
Tear waxed paper into strips and tuck under all the edges of the cake. Stir ganache and then pour over the top of the cake, using a spatula to spread gently over the edges and onto the sides. Ganache will pool on waxed paper a bit – use spatula to lift up and spread onto sides as needed.
Let cool until ganache has just set – about 10 to 15 minutes – and gently remove waxed paper pieces.

Break the bark into small pieces and add to the length of the cake on top. Use some of the remaining bark around the edges of the cake.
Refrigerate until needed (can be made a day ahead). Tip for cutting: remove the bark along cutting lines, cut slices, and then add bark back to the individual slices.

Serves 12 to 16

Recipe from The Oregon Cottage.

Elegant Chocolate Dessert

Cake