Baked Chocolate Mousse Cake with Spiced Clementines

This is gooey, chocolatey, messy, shove-your-entire-face-in-it good. 
Who wants to fiddle around with gelatine when you can just bake this and get a dessert that can only be described as the love child of a chocolate fondant and a mousse?! It's light but still deathly decadent. 

A slice of this would be heaven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or double cream (wait who am I kidding, we're all thinking the same thing - there is no way in friggin hell ONE slice is a serving.) Anyway, whatever size your serving is, be sure not to skip over the boozy clementines - they add a pop of brightness not only in colour, but also in flavour, so you can make your way out of the dark richness of it all. 

But if you honestly need another reason to make this? It's a source of Vitamin C*.

*sort of. 

Baked Chocolate Mousse Cake with Spiced Clementines

Serves 8-10

250g good-quality dark chocolate

125g salted butter

zest of 1 Clemengold

4 large eggs, seperated

110g white sugar

3 tbsp (60ml) cake flour, sifted

Spiced Clementines

6 Clemengold's, peeled

1 cup (250ml) sugar 

1/2 cup (125ml) water

3 tbsp (45ml) brandy (optional)

Cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1 vanilla pod, split

Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin (or standard loaf tin) and preheat the oven to 180C

Place the chocolate and butter in a large glass or metal bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the Clemengold zest then set aside to cool slightly. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the egg yolks and sugar until very light, pale and thick. 

Whisk the egg whites in a seperate bowl until soft peak stage. 

Fold the egg yolk mix into the melted chocolate and then gently fold in the egg whites and flour in 3 batches until completely combined. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until just set but still gooey (trust the timings and resist the urge to keep baking). 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving with the spiced clementines. 

To make the clementines, slice the Clemengold's and set aside. 

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, brandy and spices over medium heat until dissolved. Bring to the boil then add the fruit and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.