0 Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

I don't know what my problem is. Here I am posting my Hay Hay Donna Day entry at the very last minute AGAIN, just like I did for last month's cheesecake HHDD. I'm not normally a procrastinator but somehow I've been missing a lot of blog events lately. And once the deadline passes, I don't even bother making whatever it was I planned to make. I just mentally move on to the next event and mentally make it in my head and then actually miss the deadline without physically making it and so on and so on. I mean, I haven't participated in Sugar High Friday since September. Yikes, that's 7 months ago! But believe me, I made some fierce pastries for the past 7 SHFs. Too bad they were all in my head!

So I resolved to participate in more blog events and be timely with my posts. But of course life gets in the way of blogging and I continue to be an event slacker. I was sure I wouldn't get my act together in time for the Friday HHDD mousse deadline and begged forgiveness from HHDD hostess and fellow Daring Baker Helene. But thank my lucky stars she extended the deadline!

I decided to make a chocolate peanut butter mousse cake. Since I was taking this cake to my nephew's birthday party, I thought this classic combination would please both the children and the adults. And I wanted to make a mousse without raw eggs since there would be toddlers at the party.

Although it looks like a long recipe, it is actually pretty easy to make. The crust is just crushed Nabisco chocolate wafers held together with some butter. You don't even need to bake the crust. The chocolate mousse is basically melted chocolate with whipped cream folded into it. Easy, right? And the peanut butter mousse is no more difficult than making cake frosting. But it's more like cream cheese frosting with the goodness of peanut butter all suspended in luxurious whipped cream. Maybe it's not as super easy as the chocolate mousse, but it's definitely not hard and definitely well worth it.

I think the hardest part was waiting to taste it at the party. But luckily I made a mini tart by stealing a bit of the crumbs for a tiny tart shell and using the mousse that was left on the sides of the bowls. (I scraped the bowls so clean there was almost no need to wash them!) So I got to sneak a taste before the party and it was so creamy and delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake
(Adapted from Tish Boyle's "The Cake Book")
(makes one 9-inch cake)

Chocolate Wafer Crust
1 1/2 cups (6.3oz) Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer cookie crumbs
4 tbsp (2oz) unsalted butter, melted

Peanut Butter Mousse
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp (1oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (4oz) confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup (7oz) creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Chocolate Mousse
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup whole milk
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the crust:
Lightly butter the bottom of a 9x3 inch springform pan. In a bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and the melted butter until combined. Press the crumbs onto the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Refrigerate the crust while you make the PB mousse.

To make the PB mousse:
In the bowl of a standing mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy, about 1 minute on medium-low speed. Mix in the confectioners' sugar. Add the peanut butter and salt and mix until well blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and set aside.

In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the heavy whipping cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until almost blended. Fold in another 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream until completed blended. (Save the remaining whipped cream for making the chocolate mousse.)

Scrape the peanut butter mousse into the prepared pan and spread evenly over the crust. Refrigerate while you make the chocolate mousse.

To make the chocolate mousse:
Place both chocolates in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Leave the chocolate in the bowl.

Combine the milk and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. With the food processor running, pour the hot milk mixture through the feed tube and process until the chocolate is completely melted. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla, and process until blended. Scrape mixture into a large bowl.

Gently fold one-third of the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream until completely blended. Scrape the chocolate mousse over the peanut butter mousse layer. Loosely cover the cake and freeze for at least 1 hour, until firm.

To serve:
Run a thin-bladed knife under hot water (or dunk into a pitcher of hot water) and wipe dry, run the knife between the cake and the side of the pan to release the cake; reheat the knife as needed. Remove the sides of the springform pan. The cake is ready for serving. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.



Optional: You can also glaze the top of the mousse cake with your favorite bittersweet chocolate glaze. Refrigerate the glazed cake for 1 hour before serving. (Although I think I liked it better without the glaze.)

Thanks to Barbara of Winos and Foodies who started Hay Hay Donna Day with those now famous self frosting cupcakes. And make sure to visit Tartelette Helene to check out the mousse round up and for the voting information.