Pecan Rum French Toast

Rating: 4 of 5

Notes: This recipe was a little bit too sweet for me. I feel like there wasn't enough egg coating the bread to be called a french toast. Additionally, 20 seconds was way too long to soak the bread. The result was a little bit soggy. The rum aftertaste was fantastic though. Pecans were also a nice touch.

Ingredients:
1/2 cups pecans
4 tablespoon light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 large slices cinnamon-raisin bread
1 1/2 cups whole milk , warmed (see note)
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons dark rum
Maple syrup

Directions:
1. Process 1/2 cup pecans, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in food processor until coarsely ground, 12 to 15 one-second pulses (you should have about 1/2 cup crumbs).
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Place bread on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake bread until almost dry throughout (center should remain slightly moist), about 16 minutes, flipping slices halfway through cooking. Remove bread from rack and let cool 5 minutes. Return baking sheet with wire rack to oven and reduce temperature to 200 degrees.
3. Whisk milk, yolks, sugar, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, vanilla, and rum in large bowl until well blended. Transfer mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking pan.

Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas. Dinner with my family went well.

 

We spent a few days up in Washington with Mike's family and had hot pot  for Christmas dinner.

Mike is the most amazing man in the world... he bought me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas. I used it for a pecan pie, the dark chocolate cupcakes, and the Amish white bread today.

I hope all of my readers had especially happy holidays!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel

Rating: 5 of 5


Note: I received some Maple Sea Salt from my in-laws for Christmas and just had to make something with  salted caramel. Taking the best of two worlds, combined a dark chocolate cupcake with a salted caramel filling, frosting, and candied caramel rounds.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:
     8 tablespoons (1 stick) Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend butter, cut into 4 pieces
     2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (See *Note)
     1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
     3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
     3/4 teaspoon baking powder
     2 large eggs
     3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) turbinado sugar
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     1/2 teaspoon table salt maple sea salt
     1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with baking-cup liners.

Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean (18-20 minutes for cupcakes, 13-15 minutes for mini cupcakes).

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.


Salted Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter cubed
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

Directions:
Melt the sugar over medium  high heat in a large pot.  Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Add the butter and stir it in until melted. Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 teaspoon of caramel.  Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside. (OOPS! I actually forgot to replace the cake piece, but it really doesn't matter that much...)


Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt maple sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth.  Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel.  Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes).  Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration.  If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny.  If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Top caramel-filled cupcakes with frosting.


Candied Salted Caramel Rounds

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup water
2-4 tablespoons of large-crystal sugar maple sea salt

Lay out a large piece of parchment on your work surface and spray with cooking oil. Fill a large tub (or your sink) partially full of ice water.

Put sugar, salt and cold water in a heavy pan; stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat and bring syrup to a boil.  Lower heat slightly and swirl the pan once or twice as the syrup caramelizes so it will color evenly; do not stir.  When the caramel is deep amber, plunge the base of the pan into ice water for about 2 seconds to stop further cooking. (This step actually took a inordinate amount of time...)

Working quickly, dip a spoon in the caramel and let it fall onto the parchment paper in a drizzle.  Move the spoon in a circular motion as the syrup falls from the spoon. Repeat 15 times.  When caramel has hardened (it will still be sticky) sprinkle on the large-crystal sugar salt.  Remove from paper and adorn cupcakes.

*Note
Ok, so out of all of the bittersweet chocolates I have used in my recipes, I have found I really like how this particular one behaves as well as the taste and texture.

Vegetable Barley Soup

Rating: 5 of 5

Note: I always make Amish white bread to dip in this soup, the sweetness of the bread complements the curry powder in the soup. Also, I turn down the heat and simmer it for much longer to bring out the flavor. I usually just keep it on low heat until the bread is down.

Ingredients:
     2 quarts vegetable broth
     1 cup uncooked barley
     2 large carrots, chopped
     2 stalks celery, chopped
     1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
     1 zucchini, chopped
     1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
     1 onion, chopped
     3 bay leaves
     1 teaspoon garlic powder
     1 teaspoon white sugar
     1 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
     1 teaspoon dried parsley
     1 teaspoon curry powder
     1 teaspoon paprika
     1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
   1. Pour the vegetable broth into a large pot. Add the barley, carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, garbanzo beans, onion, and bay leaves. Season with garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, parsley, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 90 minutes. The soup will be very thick. You may adjust by adding more broth or less barley if desired. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Gingerbread Cookies

(I only decorated two and the icing was awful.)

Rating: 5 of 5

Notes: Made these for my boss's holiday party. Lots of people ended up dipping them in his homemade eggnog. :)

Additional note, I've discovered it's a REALLY bad idea to substitute wax paper for parchment paper. >.<

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 12 pieces and softened slightly
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1. In food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade, process flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles very fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms soft mass, about 10 seconds. Alternatively, in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add butter pieces; mix at medium-low speed until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, gradually add molasses and milk; mix until dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.

2. Scrape dough onto work surface; divide into quarters. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll 1/8-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.)

3. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

4. Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-lined cookie sheets with wide metal spatula, spacing them 3/4 inch apart; set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until slightly darkened and firm in centers when pressed with finger, about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets front to back and switching positions top to bottom halfway through baking time. Do not overbake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.

5. Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.

Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 package rapid-rise yeast
1  large egg , beaten lightly
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose bread flour , plus extra for work surface and dusting rolls
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces and softened

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven reaches 200 degrees, maintain oven temperature 10 minutes, then turn off oven heat.

2. Microwave milk and sugar in microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl at full power until warm (about 95 degrees). (Alternatively, heat milk and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until warm; remove from heat.) Whisk to dissolve sugar. Sprinkle yeast over surface of liquid, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 10 minutes to soften yeast. Whisk egg into milk mixture, dissolving yeast.

3. Combine flour and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment; mix on lowest speed to blend, about 15 seconds. With mixer running, add milk mixture in steady stream; mix on low speed until flour is just moistened, about 1 minute. With mixer running, add butter one piece at a time; increase speed to medium and beat until combined and dough is scrappy, about 2 minutes. Replace paddle with dough hook and knead dough until smooth but still sticky, about 4 minutes. Scrape dough out onto work surface. Knead by hand until very smooth and soft but no longer sticky, about 1 minute; do not add more flour. Transfer dough to large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm oven until dough doubles in bulk, about 45 minutes.

4. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down dough, replace plastic wrap, and let dough rest 5 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and follow illustrations 1 through 8 (below) to shape and cut into triangles. Transfer rolls to baking sheets, then cover each with clean kitchen towels and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove towels and (without pressing on the rolls) wrap baking sheets tightly with greased plastic wrap. Freeze rolls until solid, about 6 hours; transfer to large zipper-lock bag and freeze for up to 1 month.

5. When ready to bake rolls, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen rolls on 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets; let stand at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and switching positions from top to bottom halfway through baking time. Transfer rolls immediately to wire rack; cool 5 minutes and serve.

Turkey with Cranberry Molasses Glaze

Rating: 4 of 5

Note: I have no idea how the cooking times are in this recipe; I had completely forgotten to butterfly. I increased the temperature to (I think) 375 deg. I also tented it with aluminum foil to hurry it up. I took it off for the last 30 minutes to glaze and make the skin a bit less soggy. We also added some water to the bottom so the onions didn't burn.

My family liked this one better than the one for Thanksgiving. I liked the one for Thanksgiving better.

Ingredients:
Turkey

• 1 (12- to 14-pound) turkey , giblets and neck removed and reserved for another use
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt (see note)
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 large onions , peeled and havled

Glaze

• 3 cups apple cider
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I used leftover fresh cranberries from Thanksgiving that we had frozen)
• 1/2 cup light or mild molasses
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon  pale ale and honey spice mustard
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:
1. FOR THE TURKEY: Following illustrations in step by step below, butterfly turkey. Using fingers or handle of wooden spoon, carefully separate skin from thighs and breast. Using skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in fat deposits on breast halves and thighs. Rub bone side of turkey evenly with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Flip turkey skin side up and rub 1 tablespoon salt evenly under skin. Tuck wings under turkey. Push legs up to rest on lower portion of breast and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Combine remaining tablespoon salt, remaining teaspoon pepper, and baking powder in small bowl. Pat skin side of turkey dry with paper towels. Sprinkle surface of turkey with baking powder mixture and rub in mixture with hands, coating skin evenly. Transfer turkey to large roasting pan, skin side up. Place 1 onion half under each breast and thigh to elevate turkey off bottom of roasting pan. Allow turkey to stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Roast turkey until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of breast and 170 to 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 2½ to 3 hours. Remove roasting pan from oven and allow turkey to rest in pan for at least 30 minutes or up to 1½ hours. Thirty minutes before returning turkey to oven, increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

3. FOR THE GLAZE: While turkey rests, bring cider, cranberries, molasses, vinegar, mustard, and ginger to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1½ cups, about 30 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into 2-cup liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids (you should have about 1¼ cups glaze). Transfer ½ cup glaze to small saucepan and set aside.

4. Brush turkey with one-third of glaze in measuring cup, transfer to oven, and roast 7 minutes. Brush on half of remaining glaze in measuring cup and roast additional 7 minutes. Brush on remaining glaze in measuring cup and roast until skin is evenly browned and crispy, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer turkey to cutting board and let rest 20 minutes.

5. While turkey rests, remove onions from roasting pan and discard. Strain liquid from pan through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator (you should have about 2 cups liquid). Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan with reserved glaze, discarding any remaining fat. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat and cook until slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter. Carve turkey and serve, passing sauce separately.

Salty Caramel Croquembouche with Ricotta Cream

Rating: 4 of 5


Note: So good! I wish I had been able to assembly it properly. Also, it got too warm and the caramel became less thready. Also, most of my cream puffs collapsed. I'm so very not used to our oven >.<

Also, I didn't use a mixer, I mixed everything myself.


Ingredients:
Pastry Cream 

• 1-1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta (I bought preprocessed ricotta)
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• Table salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 6 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 oz. (4-1/2 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Pâte à choux puffs 

• 7-1/2 oz. (15 Tbs.) unsalted butter
• 2-1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar
• Kosher salt
• 11-1/4 oz. (2-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
• 10 large eggs

Assembly 

• 2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbs. sea salt
• One 4x12-inch (approximately) foam cone, covered in foil (ideally gold)
• Toothpicks

Directions:
Pastry Cream
Drain the ricotta in a fine sieve set over a small bowl in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Warm the milk in a heavy-duty 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until steaming, 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla until smooth.

Slowly whisk a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture to warm it, then whisk the mixture into the pot of milk. Whisk in the butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pastry cream is very thick and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the cream, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Purée the ricotta in a food processor until very smooth, about 8 minutes. Stir it into the pastry cream and refrigerate until ready to use or for up to 1 day.

Pâte à choux puffs
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.

Bring 2-1/2 cups of water and the butter, sugar, and 1-1/4 tsp. salt to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter melts, remove from the heat and add the flour. Set the pan over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until cool to the touch. On medium-low speed, beat in the eggs one by one, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Let the dough cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer half of the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Onto 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, pipe small, 1-1/2-inch-high mounds (like chocolate kisses) at 2-inch intervals. Smooth the surface of the mounds with a wet finger.

Lower the oven temperature to 375°F and bake, rotating the sheets from top to bottom after 10 minutes, until the puffs are evenly golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes total. Turn off the oven and remove the puffs from the oven. Prick the side of each puff with a paring knife to release the steam. Return the puffs to the turned-off oven with the door ajar to dry them for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the puffs from the baking sheets and transfer to a rack to cool.

Repeat with the remaining dough on freshly lined baking sheets.

Assembly
Sort the puffs according to size: small, medium, and large. Transfer about half of the pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip. Poke the tip into the bottom of each puff and fill with the pastry cream, being careful not to overfill. Refill the pastry bag as needed.

Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Put the sugar and salt in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan. Add 2/3 cup water and swirl to moisten the sugar. Cover and boil over high heat until starting to turn golden around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, swirling occasionally, until the caramel is light golden, 1 to 2 minutes more. Immediately put the bottom of the pot in the ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the pot from the water and put it on a heatproof surface.

Have a small bowl of ice water nearby. Put the foil-wrapped cone on a serving platter. Insert a toothpick about 1 inch from the base of the cone. Dip the side of a large cream puff into the hot caramel to coat the side and about a third of the top of the puff. Immediately press the cream puff onto the toothpick, with the top facing out. Insert another toothpick parallel to the first pick, positioning it so that the next puff will fit snugly against its neighbor. Dip another cream puff and nestle it against the first. Repeat, making your way up and around the cone, working from the largest to the smallest puffs. If you get any hot caramel on your fingers, immediately dip them into the ice water to stop the burn.

As the caramel cools and thickens, it will begin to spin into long, thin threads as you pull the puffs from the pot. Before attaching the puff, circle the cone with the puff so the spun caramel drapes the croquembouche. When the caramel becomes too thick to dip, swirl it over low heat to thin it—it will darken a little each time you do this.

When the cone is completely covered with puffs, dip a fork into the caramel and continue to pull the caramel threads from the pot and spin them around the croquembouche until you’re happy with its appearance. Serve any extra cream puffs on the side.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Rating: 5 of 5


Note: I wish that I hadn't whipped the cream for the middle and top layers so much. It doesn't look as smooth. Also, I should have frozen the bottom layer before removing it, the bottom layer wasn't solid enough to spread the middle layer on and kind of mooshed. It tasted phenomenal regardless.

Ingredients:
Bottom Layer

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter , cut into 6 pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
• 3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs , separated
• Pinch table salt
• 1/3 cup packed (about 2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar, crumbled with fingers to remove lumps

Middle Layer

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder , preferably Dutch-processed
• 5 tablespoons hot water
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt

Top Layer

• 3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
• 1 tablespoon water
• 6 ounces white chocolate chips (see note)
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• Shaved chocolate or cocoa powder for serving, optional

Directions:
1. FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of 91/2-inch springform pan. Melt butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool mixture slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and egg yolks; set aside.

2. In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Add half of brown sugar and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Add remaining brown sugar and beat at high speed until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 minute longer, scraping down sides halfway through. Using whisk, fold one-third of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Carefully transfer batter to prepared springform pan, gently smoothing top with offset spatula.

3. Bake until cake has risen, is firm around edges, and center has just set but is still soft (center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger), 13 to 18 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. (Cake will collapse as it cools.) Do not remove cake from pan.

4. FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER: Combine cocoa powder and hot water in small bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly, 2 to 5 minutes.

5. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream, granulated sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds.

6. Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into springform pan over cooled cake and gently tap pan on counter 3 times to remove any large air bubbles; gently smooth top with offset spatula. Wipe inside edge of pan with damp cloth to remove any drips. Refrigerate cake at least 15 minutes while preparing top layer.

7. FOR THE TOP LAYER: In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand at least 5 minutes. Place white chocolate in medium bowl. Bring ½ cup cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly).

8. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining cup cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon white chocolate mousse into pan over middle layer. Smooth top with offset spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2½ hours.

9. TO SERVE: If using, garnish top of cake with chocolate curls or dust with cocoa. Run thin knife between cake and side of springform pan; remove side of pan. Run cleaned knife along outside of cake to smooth sides. Cut into slices and serve.