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Whisky Chocolate Cake
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Whisky Chocolate Cake

This Whisky Chocolate Cake is liquid sunshine in glorious chocolate goodness. Simply divine delicious chocolate mousse cake with that alcohol punch in every bite!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Freezing and Chilling time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 8 inch square
Author: Kai

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

  • 350 g oreo biscuits (no cream)
  • 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom
  • 1 1/4 cup hot milk
  • 30 ml whisky

Chocolate mousse

  • 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate
  • 250 ml heavy cream (for ganache)
  • 10 ml whisky
  • 500 ml heavy cream (for whipping)

Glaze

  • 3 tsp gelatin
  • 3 tbsp cold water (to bloom the gelatin)
  • 100 ml water
  • 160 ml heavy cream
  • 210 g sugar
  • 70 g cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
  • 10 ml whisky

Instructions

Chocolate cake

  • Blitz the oreo cookies to crumbs in the food processor.
  • Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add in the baking powder, sugar, pepper and cardamom and give it a good mix.
  • Next, add the hot milk and whisky shot. Stir well until it comes together as a batter.
  • Pour the batter into a 7 inch square tin (lined with parchment). Steam for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Alternatively, bake in the oven @175C for 10 minutes.
  • Remove and cool completely. Once cooked, un-mould the cake, layer into two equal halves and set aside.

Chocolate mousse

  • Melt 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips in 250ml of hot heavy cream (note: cream should be heated till just boiling and poured over the chocolate immediately).
  • Let rest for 1 minute then stir and mix until the chocolate is nicely melted and the ganache is smooth and shiny. Stir in the whisky shot and set aside to cool.
  • In the meantime, whisk 500ml heavy cream on medium until soft peaks.
  • Add in the cooled chocolate ganache and whisk till stiff peaks. Stop and scrape down the sides as necessary to make sure the chocolate is all mixed in. Do not over-whisk and stop once you have stiff peaks.

Assembly

  • Place an 8 inch square cake board in a 8x8x3 square tin (with removable bottom). This is for easy removal/ transfer of the mousse cake after un-moulding.
  • Layer in 1/3 of the chocolate mousse. Tap the tin gently on the work table to level and remove any air bubbles.
  • Place in the first chocolate cake tier and cover with another 1/3 chocolate mousse. Again, tap to remove air bubbles.
  • Lastly, place in the the 2nd cake tier and layer the top with the remaining chocolate mousse.
  • Level with a offset spatula and tap a last few times to remove any large air bubbles. If you like, you can also use a wooden skewer to remove the air bubbles. Just poke and ‘destroy’ them.
  • Cover the baking tin with foil and freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Chocolate glaze

  • Dissolve 3 tsp gelatin powder in 3 tbsp cold water. Set it aside to bloom.
  • Combine the water, heavy cream, sugar, cocoa and instant coffee in a pot and mix well.
  • Put the mixture on low heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Boil for 2 minutes and switch off heat.
  • Add in the bloomed gelatine and whisky shot and mix well. Sieve the mixture to remove any lumps. Cool completely until room temperature ~ 34-35C.

Glazing

  • Remove the mousse cake from the freezer and un-mould.
  • Working quickly, wipe the sides of the tin with a really hot towel to gently disengage the frozen mousse.
  • Once the sides are disengaged, gently un-mould the mousse cake and transfer to another baking tray for glazing.
  • Elevate the mousse cake (using a bowl or a round baking pan) and glaze in the baking tray to catch the glaze. This minimizes the mess and helps to save the glaze for a 2nd glazing, if required.
  • Pour the glaze carefully over the mousse cake, covering the top and the sides. It’s important to do this whilst the mousse cake is frozen - see notes below.
  • Let the glaze drip dry and set for 15-20 minutes. Chill in the fridge for another hour for the glaze to set further and to allow the chocolate mousse to thaw.
  • Once set, I decorated with some edible gold/silver dust and gold stars and it’s ready to serve. Enjoy.

Video

Notes

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#1 Cool your ganache - the chocolate ganache must be completely cool before it is added to the whipped cream. Any warmth will cause the cream to seize and the mousse will curdle and become grainy. You want smooth silky mousse so remember to keep the ganache cool.
#2 Un-moulding - be patient and take care during un-moulding to keep those crisp straight sides. Use a hot towel and wipe down the sides to slowly disengage the frozen mousse.
Alternatively use a hair dryer on low heat to gently blow the sides to help the un-moulding. I used a 8x8x3 inch square tin (with removable bottom) which helped greatly. If it’s not available, a springform square tin should work too.
#3 Glazing - it’s important to remember to freeze well and un-mould and glaze the mousse cake only when it is frozen solid. Otherwise if the mousse is soft, the weight of the glaze could dimple the cake and it will not hold its shape well.
#4 Slow and steady does it - pour the glaze carefully over the mousse cake so that there is enough glaze to work with. I know, it is great fun to glaze exuberantly and I did too! Until towards the end, I realized my over-exuberance required a 2nd glaze with what was saved as the 1st round was not quite sufficient to cover the sides.
Of course one might ask, what’s wrong with doing a 2nd glaze? Absolutely nothing, except that the final product might not be as perfectly smooth given some of the glaze would have set the first round. If the mousse cake sits out for too long whilst waiting for the @nd glaze, it may also thaw and become soft, make glazing even more complicated.
To avoid a glazing conundrum, pour carefully to cover the top and sides and be exuberant only towards the end with the excess glaze if any. Alternatively, if you are truly a generous glazer and not afraid of wastage, double up and make twice the glaze recipe!
#5 Make ahead - the chocolate mousse cake can be made and frozen a couple of days ahead. The glazing should be done  on the day before serving or the day itself and then chilled in the refrigerator to set, once assembled.
This Whisky Chocolate Cake tastes best, served the next day after it has set in the fridge. It stores well for 3 to 4 days, chilled, although it doesn’t last that long in this household!