Easter_Chocolat_Mousse_Cake

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:

50g melted butter 200g Amaretti biscuits 250g dark chocolate (preferably 70%+cocoa solids) 3 egg whites 6 egg yolks 284ml double cream 150g caster sugar 100g unsalted butter 1 tbsp brandy 12 mini solid chocolate eggs (optional)

Crush the amaretti in a bag with a rolling pin, then mix together with the melted butter in a bowl before pressign into the base of a spring form cake tin - chill.

Place cream, 6 egg yolks and half of the caster sugar in a bowl and whisk until light before placing over a pan of simmering water (making sure that the water is not in contact whith the bottom of the bowl). Stir regularly until the custard begins to thicken - be carful not to go too far or the eggs will cook to a scramble and then there’s no saving it!

Once thickend (it will coat the back of a wooden spoon) remove from the heat and add the chocolate, broken into pieces, and the diced butter - stirring constantly until they are melted and incorporated into the custard. Now stir in the brandy.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a tiny pinch of salt until frothy then add the remaining 75g caster sugar and continue to whisk hard until you have stif white peaks. Add a third of the whites to the cocolate and briefly beat in before adding the remaing egg white which you carefully cut and fold into the chocolate with a spatula so as to retain as much air as possible. Pour gently over the amaretti base and allow to set in the fridge overnight. Decorate the edge with chocolate eggs and run a knife around the edge of the tin befor removing the spring form side. Serve from the cake tin base as it will be far too difficult to move!