Riot in Chocolate [Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Cake with Chocolate-Tea Ice Cream] Great Chefs of the East

To make the ice cream: Put the cream, milk, teabags, and 1 cup of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside off the heat for 20 minutes to steep the tea. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar. When the tea has infused, press the teabags to extract all the flavor and remove. Strain the mixture into a new saucepan and bring to a full boil. Whisk a large spoonful of the hot mixture into the egg mixture to temper the eggs, then combine the two mixtures, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. Whisk in the chocolate until smooth. Strain the custard through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice to quickly cool the mixture. Once cold, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Pack in an airtight container and store in the freezer.

To prepare the chocolate mousse: Combine the chopped chocolate and milk in the top of a double boiler. Place over barely simmering water and warm until the chocolate melts, stirring to blend. Set aside; keep warm. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together. Place over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is warmed and the sugar has completely melted. Place on the electric mixer and whip at high speed until the mixture is pale yellow and thickened. Slow the mixer to medium speed. Slowly add the melted chocolate and blend, then add the melted butter. Mix only until incorporated. Remove from the machine and keep warm. Whip the cream to firm peaks. Remove from the machine and whisk in the chocolate mixture, gently folding to preserve volume while incorporating the chocolate. Refrigerate.

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 300 F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan and line with a disc of parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the parchment and lightly dust with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat until light colored and smooth with the paddle attachment, about 5 minutes. Stop the machine and add the cocoa powder. Mix at low speed and add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add all at once to the chocolate mixture and mix slowly until smooth. Scrape and clean the bowl and briefly mix again. On slow speed, slowly add the warm water, scraping down the bowl again. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle; turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Place in the refrigerator.

To make the tuiles: Preheat the oven to 300 F. Cut a stencil in any shape you wish from the top of a heavy plastic container (Chef Leach makes an irregular rectangular design, somewhat southwestern in appearance). Cut another stencil in the shape of a long rectangle, about 1-1/2-by-4 inches. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and honey until smooth and pale, about 5 minutes. Sift the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and cocoa powder together. Add to the butter and honey mixture. Mix at low speed, slowly adding the egg whites. Mix until smooth. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Place the designed stencil on a non-stick baking sheet (or a baking sheet with a non-stick liner) and spread the tuile dough through the stencil, making the cookie thin and smooth. Lift the stencil and repeat; make at least 6 cookies, more if you can to allow for breakage. Repeat with the rectangular stencil, making about 12 cookies. Bake until firm and dry, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Lift the warm rectangular tuiles and drape them over a rolling pin or glass laid on its side to curve them slightly. Set all the tuiles aside to cool. Store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.

To assemble: Slice the cake horizontally into very thin layers, about 1/4 inch thick. Using 3-by-1-1/2-incb ring molds, cut out 12 cake discs. Put six ring molds on a baking sheet. Press one cake disc into the bottom of each. Put the chocolate mousse in a pastry bag and fill the molds with 1/2 inch of mousse; save the remaining mousse in the refrigerator. Smooth flat with the back of a teaspoon dipped in hot water. Place a second cake disc on top, creating a sandwich. Press down gently until level and flat. Refrigerate about 1 hour, until firm. Using a 1/2-inch round cutter, dip the cutter in hot water and cut a hole slightly off-center all the way through each mousse cake. Rub the ring molds with your hands to warm them enough to release the cakes and carefully push the cakes out of the molds onto the baking sheet. Refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Clean and dry a sheet pan. Place the sheet pan in the oven until it is slightly warm, about 10 seconds in a 300 F oven. Spread out the chocolate very thin on the back of the sheet pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer for 1 hour.

Take the cakes out of the refrigerator. Remove and let stand at room temperature until the chocolate is warm enough to peel off the sheet using a paring knife. Cut the chocolate into 8- to 9-inch-long strips, 1-inch-wide, and peel the strips off the sheet pan. Wrap a strip of chocolate around each mousse cake. Return the cakes to the refrigerator.

To serve: Take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften slightly. Put the chocolate sauce and tea syrup in separate squeeze bottles. Drizzle designs with the chocolate syrup on six serving plates, and dot the plates with tea syrup. Lightly dust the rims of the plates with cocoa powder. Pipe a small dot of the remaining mousse on each plate and anchor a mousse cake on each dot, standing the cake on its side like a ring. Lightly dust the top of each ring with confectioner’s sugar. Slip the point of a rectangular tuile into the ring. Make six long quenelles from the ice cream and place an ice cream quenelle on each triangular tuile, slipping part of the ice cream into the ring. Stand one of the straight tuiles in each quenelle; lay a curved rectangular tuile next to the ice cream.

Earl Grey Tea Syrup

In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook over high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches a full boil, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add the tea bags. Let steep and cool, then remove the teabags, pressing them to extract all the flavor. Use immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.