Mirrorglaze – something that I had always seen in colorful Internet variations but never  made or even had myself – until now! Finally I tackled the challenge and dared to create my own version of a chocolate mousse cakes with a mirror glaze. With three kinds of chocolate, white, dark and Ruby, the motto of today’s recipe is: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! And in the spirit of my new favourite chocolate, the pink Ruby Chocolate, my chocolate mousse cakes are pretty in pink!
Although the recipe is somewhat more elaborate and time-consuming, it is not witchcraft. All you need for the cakes is a mixer, hemispherical silicone moulds and, if possible, a thermometer. For the chocolate snow (optional) you also need maltodextrin, a carbohydrate mixture that binds with the fat in the Ruby chocolate (or also in white chocolate) and causes the beautiful snow structure. Maltodextrin is available in food supplement shops or pharmacies, as it is used both in sports nutrition and in baby formula.

Tip: The cakes can be prepared the day before and frozen overnight, then you only have to glaze them and let them thaw in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before serving.

So let’s get started!

Ingredients (for 6 cakes):

Brownie base:
200g dark chocolate
100g butter
180g sugar
2 large eggs
150g flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

White chocolate mousse:
100g white chocolate
80ml half cream (hot)
110ml cream, whipped
1 sheet of gelatine

Dark chocolate mousse:
100g dark chocolate
80ml half cream (hot)
110ml cream, whipped
1 sheet of gelatine

Mirror Glaze:
60ml water
50g sugar
400ml condensed milk
4 sheets of gelatine
100g white chocolate
Food colouring (pink)

Ruby chocolate snow:
20g Ruby Chocolate (also works with white chocolate)
4 large tablespoons maltodextrin

Preparation:

Cakes:
Brownie base:
Melt butter and chocolate over a water bath, allow to cool briefly. Mix sugar and eggs in a separate bowl until the mixture is light and airy. Add flour, salt and baking powder and continue to mix. Add melted chocolate and butter and combine everything. Line a casserole dish or a baking tray with baking paper and add the mixture. It should be about 1 cm thick. Bake at 180° for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.

White chocolate mousse:
Soak the gelatine in cold water for ca. 10 minutes. Beat the cream until stiff. Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the half cream briefly in a small pan, squeeze out the gelatine and add, stir until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Add the chocolate and continue stirring until melted. Allow to cool briefly, then stir into the whipped cream. Place the mousse in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Dark chocolate mousse:
Repeat the same procedure as for the white chocolate mousse.

Put the cakes together:
Fill almost half of the hemispherical silicone forms with dark chocolate mousse, spread the white chocolate mousse on top until just below the edge. Cut out round brownie bases – they should just be slightly smaller than the silicone moulds. Press the brownie slices carefully into the white chocolate mousse and even out the overflowing mousse.
Allow the cakes to set in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.

Mirror Glaze:
When the cakes have hardened, the glaze can be made. For this, finely chop the chocolate and soak the gelatine in water for approx. 10 minutes. Bring the sugar and water to the boil in a saucepan and remove from the heat. Squeeze and add the gelatine, stir until the gelatine has dissolved completely. Add chocolate and condensed milk, stir over low heat until everything has dissolved. Pour approx. 1/8 of the mixture into a smaller bowl and stir in pink food colouring. Let the glaze cool down to 32-34°, stir occasionally (this is best done with a thermometer, otherwise the approximate temperature can also be felt by touch, the glaze should feel lukewarm). Basically, it is better to let the glaze cool down a little more than less. Depending on the container, cooling down can take a good 1 to 1.5 hours, but the glaze does not have to be constantly monitored, stirring it from time to time is enough.

Glaze the cakes:
When the glaze has cooled down sufficiently, add about 2/3 of the pink glaze to the white glaze (if you want a bit of a marbled coloring don’t mix, just give the mixture a quick swirl with a spoon). Remove the cakes from the freezer, remove them from the silicone moulds and place them on a baking grid. Carefully pour the glaze over the tartlets. Use a brush or spoon to spread or sprinkle the rest of the pink glaze across the tartlets. Cool the tartlets in the refrigerator for approx. 3 hours. This will thaw the mousse and create the beautiful, soft texture of the mousse cakes!

Chocolate snow:
Cut the Ruby chocolate into pieces and melt over a water bath. Add maltodextrin, mix and voilà – a pink chocolate snow!
Tip: If the snow still looks a bit clumpy, simply add more Maltodextrin.

Plate up:
Spread the snow on a plate, place the cakes on it – and enjoy!