Could this be the best in the world?

"The best chocolate cake in the world"

Do you think that's a bit pretentious? That's not me saying it, that's the name of a cake and of the small pastry shop that sells said cake in Lisbon. It's famous arround here but since I was living abroad for such a long time, I only tried it not long ago when I was lucky to meet 2 cool fellow bloggers. It was my first time meeting other bloggers AND eating "the best chocolate cake in the World". Too much emotion for one afternoon!

The cake was very good. The best in the world? Well, that's difficult to say because a) I have not tasted all the chocolate cakes in the world and b) This is not technically a cake, it's a stack of meringue disks filled with chocolate mousse and covered in chocolate ganache. Of course the name was a smart marketing strategy, but still, the cake is very good! I brought a piece for my mom who requested a clone for her birthday.

Her birthday was last week and this was my version:

THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER MADE (ACCORDING TO MY AUNT WHO IS ON A DIET)

Cocoa Meringue:

• 280 gr/ 10 oz (6-7) egg whites
• 500 gr/ 1lbs + 2 oz sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks and add the sugar little by little, keep whipping the meringue until it's stiff and glossy. Sift the cocoa and add delicatelly to the meringue. Divide into 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and make disks with the help of a spatula. Bake for about 2 hours in a very low oven (110ºC/ 225º F). You can put all 3 baking sheets at the same time in the oven, making sure you rotate them twice so all 3 sheets are at the bottom, center and on the top shelf of the oven, so they bake evenly. Remove from the parchment paper and let cool completely on racks.

Chocolate Mousse:

• 200 gr/ 7.1 oz good dark chocolate
• 200 ml cream
• 200 ml whipped cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt

This mousse has to be prepared the day before you are going to use it. Break the chocolate into small pieces and take to the microwave for 1m. Boil the 200ml of cream and pour over chocolate. Let stand for 1-2 minutes and then mix them together, making a ganache. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Let it cool before adding the whipped cream. When adding the whipped cream, fold it gently into the ganache and take to the fridge to use the next day.

Toblerone Ganache:

• 1 small Toblerone (100 gr/3.5 oz)
• 100 gr/ 3.5 oz cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/8 tsp salt

Chopp the Toblerone into small pieces and take to the microwave for 1m. Boil the cream and pour over the Toblerone. Let stand for 1-2m and then mix until you have a shiny ganache cream. Cut the butter in tiny pieces and add together with the salt and mix until incorporated. If it's to thin to pour over the cake take to fridge for 20m or so. Or you can spread it instead pouring if you prefer, just leave it in the fridge until it's thick enough.

Topping/Decoration:

• Melted white chocolate
• Melted dar chocolate
• Finelly chopped Toblerone

Melt the chocolates and put them in zip lock bags, pastry bags or use a spoon to drizzle over the cake.

Assembly:

• On a serving plate put a meringue disk (it's a good idea to use a small dollop of ganache to glue it to the plate)
• Spread half of the mousse
• Top with the second disk of meringue
• Spread the other half of mousse
• Top with the last meringue disk
• Pour or spread the Toblerone ganache
• Decorate with the melted chocolates and chopped Toblerone

This meringue/mousse thing is not a new concept, there's a known cake named Concord Cake that is like that, also Pierre Hermé has an Autumn Meringue Cake that looks very much like the one from the pastry shop. In fact people say that the owner of "The best chocolate cake in the World" started making the cake after eating a similar one in Paris.

For my version I used my go-to recipes for meringue (just added cocoa) and rich egg-less chocolate mousse. I made my meringues much thicker for more crunch, and I've used Toblerone to make my ganache instead of regular chocolate because that's my mom's favourite. And also drizzled some more chocolate and sprinkled chopped Toblerone to make it more festive, it was for a birthday after all!

My mom said that mine was even better than the one from the pastry shop, but she's my mom, so of course she was going to say that. My aunt said that this was the best thing I have ever made (from the ones she tasted), but she's on a diet so I think anything she eats outside her diet must taste like it's the best in the world!

But really, it was quite good: crunchy and creamy and rich and chocolatey!... How could it not be good?

I'm sending this cake to Not Quite Nigella, for her fun event: The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge!