Orange and chocolate-coffee torte

 

     This is a torte recipe that I consider my own creation . And that just for the combination of different recipes from various sources (so don't worry about cake texture and etc). Since I had a specific request for a chocolate cake, I thought that orange would compliment perfectly chocolate, and chocolate would go pretty well with coffee. For another time I searched through my most reliable pastry guide ''On Baking'' and decided to tackle something more challenging by trying a cake with patterned joconde. But since I wanted other flavor combination, I used orange cream from ''Swedish cakes and cookies'', cocoa genoise from a greek pastry book and chocolate-coffee mousse from a blog with astonishing desserts ''Tartelette''. The result was great (maybe the quite thin mousse layer is not enough for the chocoholics...) and fortunately gave me the opportunity to use spongcake leftovers in a truffle recipe (so nothing is thrown away).

             Genoise

             see recipe ''Chocolate black forest''

             Orange cream

             2                                                       gelatin sheets (11,5x7cm),softened

             1                                                       egg

             3Tbsp                                                sugar

             2/3 cup (167ml)                                  heavy cream

             2/3 cup                                             orange juice

             1/2                                                   orange (zest)
             2Tbsp (optional)                                 Grand Marnier
                                             

             Chocolate-coffee mousse

             170gr                                                chocolate

             62ml                                                 milk

             1tsp                                                  espresso powder

             55gr                                                  butter

             1                                                      egg yolk

             250ml                                                heavy cream

             Cocoa paste for pattern

             33gr                                                  butter

             33gr                                                  sugar

             30gr (1)                                             egg whites

             18gr                                                  flour, sifted

             12gr                                                  cocoa powder, sifted

            Joconde

            71gr                                                   almond flour

            86gr                                                   sugar

            22gr                                                   flour

            100gr (2)                                            eggs

            50gr (2 small)                                      egg whites

            21gr                                                   melted butter
            as preferred                                       vanilla powder

           Syrup

           200gr                                                  orange juice

           150gr                                                  sugar

           3Tbs                                                   Grand Marnier

          Cocoa gelee for coating

          43gr                                                    water

          27gr                                                    cocoa powder

          87gr                                                    sugar

          57ml                                                   heavy cream

          4gr                                                     gelatin sheets

I suggest that you start with the cocoa gelee which has to be refrigerated for a minimum of 12h before use. First soften the gelatin in cold water. In a saucepan bring sugar, water and cream to a boil. Whisk in the cocoa powder and when completely disolved ( you can pass it through a strainer if needed ), bring the mixture back to boil and cook for about 4min whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and let it cool to 82C. Then stir in the softened gelatin, combine well, cover the saucepan with plastic film, let cool and keep refrigerated. You can then continue with the orange cream. Beat the egg with a fork until yolk and egg white are completely combined and pour it with cream, sugar and zest in a saucepan over heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, reaching 80C (do not let it boil and curdle). At this point remove from the heat, stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved , let cool and add orange juice and Grand Marnier. At last refrigerate, stiring a couple of times, until the cream sets. Meanwhile prepare the genoise in 20cm-diametre ring and let cool. For the cocoa paste (which could easily be omitted), cream butter and sugar until fluffy (I suggest that don't use a stand mixer for such a small quantity). Beat in the egg white and then fold in flour and cocoa. Supposing that your pans and silicone mat are as small as mine, spread a very thin layer of paste (about 1mm) on a 33x16,4cm surface of your mat and with the rest of the mixture cover evenly a 24x25cm peice of parchment paper (for the cake you will just use 31,4x10cm of joconde  but the least quantity that can be successfully prepared is almost the double). Patern the paste as desired and freeze untill hard(the paste on parchment paper that won't be used can be just refrigerated). 

  
For the joconde whip one egg with almond flour, 36gr of sugar, vanilla and flour for 4min scraping down the bowl. Then add the other egg and whip for 5 more minutes. In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the egg whites with the rest of the sugar to medium peaks and combine the flour mixture with the butter. Fold one-third of the meringue in the mixture to lighten the batter and continue folding the rest (do not deflate the batter). Remove the frozen paste from the freezer and transfer the silicone mat on a room-temperature sheet pan. Spread 175gr of joconde batter on a 35x18,4cm surface over the chilled paste on the  mat and make a thin layer with the rest of the batter on the covered parchment paper without too much care. Bake at a preheated oven to 230C for 6-8min. Let cool ,cut two 31,4x5cm strips of patterned joconde from your baking mat and save the leftovers. Proceed with the syrup boiling juice with sugar for 2min. Then remove from the heat and when cool, add the Grand Marnier.

Cut the genoise in 4 layers and keep the one for later use. Cover the sides of your 20cm-diametre ring with the joconde strips and the bottom with a genoise layer. Moisten with syrup, spread a layer of orange cream and do the same for the second spongcake piece. Let the third, moistened genpise layer uncovered and refrigerate. For the mousse, melt chocolate with butter and milk (in which you have dissolved espresso powder) in a bain marie and let cool at room temperature. Stir in the yolk, whip cfream to soft peaks and fold the chantilly in the chocolate mixture. spread the mousse over the moistened genoise and freeze. Warm the chilled gelee over the hot water you used to melt chocolate and set aside. When the the mousse is cold and set, remove from the freezer and cover with cocoa gelee. Finally pipe the remaining mousse on the cake's surface and decorate with chocolate shavings and candied orange peel. The torte is best eaten not really fresh.

To avoid throwing away about 240gr of spongcake from both joconde and genoise, I suggest that you make rich chocolate truffles. For this quantity you will need:

60gr                          heavy cream
60gr                          chocolate
40gr (or less)              liquor of your choise
4gr                            cocoa(plus extra for coating)
First warm the cream and melt with it the chopped chocolate making a ganache. Cut joconde and genoise in small pieces in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until a sticky batter is formed and chill for 1h. Then simply shape small balls and cover with cocoa or chocolate flakes.