Frozen Eggnog Mousse Torte Recipes

FROZEN MOCHA MOUSSE

Steps:

• Break 3 ounces of the chocolate into pieces and place the pieces in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk in the coffee liqueur, water and espresso granules and heat the mixture until the chocolate just melts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is the texture of mayonnaise. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla, and slowly pour in the cooled chocolate mixture.
• Put the egg whites and salt in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the whites form soft (not dry!) peaks. Fold them carefully into the chocolate mixture. In the same bowl (no need to clean it) beat the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks and fold it carefully into the chocolate mixture. Grate the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and fold it into the mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a 10-cup souffle dish, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours or overnight.
• For the whipped cream, place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip on medium and then high speed until it reach stiff peaks. Spoon the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the edge of the mousse with the whipped cream, and sprinkle extra chocolate shavings over the center of the mousse for decoration. Serve frozen.

MAIDA HEATTER'S CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• Set a rack in the center of the oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate. Dust it with bread crumbs or cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Place the chopped chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over water over low heat. Bring it to a low simmer. Meanwhile, in a cup or small bowl, dissolve the coffee in the 1/4 cup boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Cover and cook over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until smooth. Let cool slightly. (Alternatively, place chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Cover with a plate or kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes. Vigorously whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, microwave in 15-second bursts, whisking between, until smooth and fully melted.)
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the yolks at high speed until they are pale, thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue to beat at high speed for 5 minutes more until very thick. Reduce speed to low, and add the vanilla and cooled chocolate, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Wash the whisk attachment and mixing bowl.
• In the mixing bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff but not dry. Gradually, in two or three small additions, gently fold half the egg whites into the chocolate, then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining whites just until no whites show. Handling as little as possible, gently reserve about 4 cups of the mousse in a separate medium bowl; cover and refrigerate.
• Transfer the rest of the mousse into the pie plate; it will barely reach the top. Gently level and bake for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, then leave it in the oven for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. (The mousse will rise during baking and then, while cooling, it will sink in the middle, leaving a high rim.) Wash the mixing bowl and whisk attachment and place in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
• When the baked mousse is completely cool, remove reserved mousse from refrigerator. Handling as little as possible, transfer the chilled mousse to the center of the baked mousse. Mound it slightly higher in the center, but be careful to handle as little as possible or it will lose the air beaten into it. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.
• Make the whipped cream: In the chilled mixing bowl with the chilled whisk attachment, whip the cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla on high speed until it holds a defined shape. Spread over the unbaked part of the mousse, excluding the rim; refrigerate. (Another way of applying the whipped cream: Use a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tube and pipe a lattice pattern over the top of the pie and a border around the edge.) Coarsely grate some semisweet chocolate over the top before serving, if desired. The torte is best eaten the day it's made, but it's not bad the next day.

EGGNOG MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over eggnog; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate until mixture begins to thicken., Beat mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in 3/4 cup whipped topping. Divide among 4 dessert dishes. Refrigerate until firm. Garnish with remaining whipped topping; sprinkle with additional nutmeg if desired.

FROZEN EGGNOG MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• For crust:
• Finely chop pecans, almonds, sugar and nutmeg in processor using on/off turns, stopping once to stir mixture. Transfer to large bowl. Combine butter and vanilla in small bowl. Pour over nuts and mix thoroughly. Transfer nut mixture to 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Using plastic wrap as aid, press firmly up sides and then over bottom of pan, covering completely. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Place pan with crust on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
• Melt 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Spread over bottom of crust. Cover with plastic and freeze until ready to use.
• For filling:
• Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Cook sugar and water in heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until candy thermometer registers 238F (tilting pan slightly to submerge thermometer), about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat yolks in medium bowl until pale yellow and thick.
• Gradually beat hot syrup into yolks. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Continue beating until thick and cool, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• In large bowl, whip 2 1/4 cups cream, brandy, vanilla and nutmeg to firm peaks. Fold barely lukewarm white chocolate into yolk mixture. Gently fold in whipped cream. Pour 1/3 of filling into crust; smooth top. Top with 1 chocolate disk. Gently pour another 1/3 of filling over; smooth top. Top with second chocolate disk. Gently pour remaining filling over. Freeze overnight. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap.)
• Place chocolate lace atop mousse. Spoon unsweetened whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe cream decoratively around edge of cake. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• To make the sour cream cake: butter and flour an 8 or 9 inch cake pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks and the vanilla. In a measuring jug, whisk the sour cream and the milk together until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture alternately to the creamed butter mixture, ending with the milk mixture. Fold in the egg whites, then pour into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a plate and continue cooling to room temperature. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to finish the cake.
• To make the almond praline: preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and the water over low heat. Stir together until the sugar has melted, then increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced almonds with the sugar syrup and toss until well coated. With a slotted spoon, transfer the nuts to a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Let the nuts cool and break them apart. The nuts should remain whole but be coated with a sugary golden coating.
• To make the chocolate mousse: chill a bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer in the freezer for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a double boiler, melt the chocolates over simmering water and stir in the cinnamon. In the frozen mixing bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks (do not over beat). Remove the double boiler insert holding the melted chocolate from the pan. With a rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold the remaining cold cream into the chocolate mixture, 1/4 at a time, mixing it as little as possible just to get it all incorporated.
• When ready to assemble the torte, cut the sour cream cake in half horizontally with a long sharp knife. Place 1 layer of the cake on a serving plate and spread a thick layer of mousse on top of it. Sandwich the second layer over the top and spread a mounded layer of mouse over the top. Spread a layer of mousse around the edges, covering the cake completely. Gently press the sugared almonds into the mousse evenly around the edges of the cake. Using a very sharp vegetable peeler, shave long thick curls of chocolate over the top of the cake and serve immediately.

EGGNOG MOUSSE

Steps:

• Pour eggnog and milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and nutmeg. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.
• Spoon evenly into 10 dessert dishes or 1-1/2-qt. serving bowl; cover.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Top evenly with the remaining 1 cup whipped topping just before serving. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg, if desired.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• Stand 16 wafers around inside edge of 9-inch round pan lined with plastic wrap. Melt 3 chocolate squares as directed on package.
• Beat pudding mixes and 2 cups milk with whisk 2 min. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; pour into prepared pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk with mixer until well blended.
• Stir in 1 cup of the remaining COOL WHIP; spread over pudding. Top with remaining wafers. Refrigerate 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, shave remaining chocolate square into curls. Invert torte onto plate. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Top torte with remaining COOL WHIP, berries and chocolate curls.

NO BAKE LIME MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• Combine cookie crumbs and sugar in a large bowl. Pour in melted butter, and mix thoroughly. Press into the bottom and one inch up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
• Sprinkle the gelatin over the lime juice in a small bowl, and set aside to soften. Bring 1/2 cup of whipping cream to a simmer in a heavy pan. Remove from heat, and pour over the chopped white chocolate. Let soften for two minutes, then whisk until smooth. Mix the gelatin into the warmed chocolate until melted; set aside to cool to room temperature. Beat remaining 2 cups of cream to stiff peaks in a large bowl, and set aside.
• Beat the cream cheese with the sugar with an electric mixer until well blended. Slowly blend white chocolate mixture into cream cheese, then mix in lime zest. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, and pour into prepared crust. Cover pan with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

EGGNOG TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350, liberally butter the bottom of a 10-side springform pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• For the torte:.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together twice and set aside.
• Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed for 5 minutes, till light and fluffy.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the eggs, one by one.
• Beat in the melted chocolate and if using, the hazelnuts.
• Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry and beating by hand after each addition only enough to incorporate.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• Rap the pan several times on the counter to release any large air bubbles, then bake about 1 hour and 20 minutes, till the torte begins to pull from the sides of the pan, is springy to the touch, and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Cool the torte in the upright pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then loosen it around the edge with a small spatula.
• Release and remove the springform pan sides and cool the torte, still on the pan bottom and cake rack, to room temperature.
• For the eggnog:.
• Blend the sugar-flour mixture with the milk in a small heavy saucepan.
• Set over moderate heat and cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes, till thickened and smooth.
• Whisk a little of the hot mixture into the beaten yolk, stir back into the pan, and cook and stir over moderately low heat for 2 minutes longer.
• Remove from heat, mix in the rum extract, then pour the eggnog through a fine sieve into a metal bowl.
• Set in an ice bath and chill 15 - 20 minutes, whisking often to prevent a skin from forming on the top.
• Pour the eggnog into a plastic squirt bottle and refrigerate till ready to use. (I would think you could also use a plastic baggie with a small hole cut in one corner if you don't have a squirt bottle.).
• To frost the torte:.
• set the torte, still on the springform pan bottom on a lazy susan and frost the top and sides smoothly and thinly with the whipped cream.
• Starting in the center of the torte and exerting steady but gentle pressure on the squirt bottle, apply the eggnog in a tight spiral on the top of the torte, spacing the lines about 1/2 inch apart. (I'm sure you can do this without a lazy susan - you'll just have to move the bottle instead of the torte).
• Scatter the chocolate sprinkles over the top of the torte, if you like, then transfer, still on the springform pan bottom, to a cake plate and serve.
• Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.