This Concorde Cake (Gâteau Concorde) is a fun and delicious cake to make. Plus, it's so rich and chocolatey.
Making this chocolate meringue and mousse cake is a bit of a project, but it's definitely worth it, and most of the time is hands off. It's actually pretty easy to make.
The result is a mousse cake that is both crunchy and creamy, chewy and silky... and decadent.
This cake includes three layers of almond meringue disks, each topped with a layer of chocolate mousse. The cake from the book that inspired my cake is topped with chocolate curls or chocolate shards/shavings. Instead, I topped my cake with some chocolate pearls that I had on hand. You could also use chocolate chips!
To make chocolate shards, take a chocolate bar and use a mandoline to cut thin slices and sprinkle them over the top of the cake. To make them even prettier, sift some confectioner's sugar over the top.
One of these days I might conquer chocolate curls....
The Origins of the Concorde Cake:
Evidently, the gâteau Concorde was created by the French pâtissier Gaston Lenôtre to help Air France celebrate the debut of the new Concorde SST jet in the 1970s.
Gaston Lenôtre is also credited with creating the cake, The Schuss, in honor of the skier, Jean-Claude Killy, who made a huge name for himself during the 1968 winter Olympic Games (he was considered quite the dreamboat at the time).
Lenôtre also claimed to have invented the Opera Cake.
He is supposedly the inspiration for the character Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille, although others suggest that the late Bernard Loiseau was the inspiration.
There are several ways to make this cake, from simple to very complicated, including one version with 64 steps!
Some include covering the cake with meringue sticks or assembling the cake in a mousse ring and coating it completely and then topping it with chocolate curls.
This version is much simpler while still completely capturing the rich chocolate crunchy and creamy experience of enjoying this cake.
How To Make This Gâteau Concorde:
First, make the meringue disks. You will need room temperature egg whites, cream of tartar, granulated sugar, almond flour, Dutch process cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt.
Make sure your egg whites are room temperature before whipping them.
Whip the egg whites until you have soft peaks and then incorporate the sugar until you have stiff peaks.
Next, sift together the almond flour and cocoa powder and fold it into the egg whites.
After that, divide the batter into thirds and spread each third into an eight inch circle on parchment lined baking sheets. To size the circles, use an eight-inch cake pan to trace circles on the parchment with a pen or pencil and then flip the parchment over. You'll be able to see the circle through the paper.
I used a pastry bag to form the outer edge and then filled it in with an offset spatula, but you can use either the pastry bag or the spatula to form the disks.
Finally, bake the disks in a 225 degree F oven for about three hours and then leave them in the turned off oven for an addtional six hours.
To make the mousse, bring heavy cream to a boil and then pour it over chopped bittersweet chocolate and whisk everything together until the chocolate melts and you have a ganache.
Next, whip more heavy cream to soft peaks and then combine it with the ganache.
Spread each meringue disk with the mousse and stack the layers. Finally, top the cake with chocolate curls, shards, or pearls. Mini chocolate chips would work too.
Finally, refrigerate the cake for at least six hours and up to two days to let everything meld. It's worth the wait! It will satisfy any chocoholic.
Equipment You May Need:
You will need either a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Either one will work just fine. I have both. The hand mixer is great for small jobs and light batters, while the stand mixer is my go-to for larger batches as well as for kneading bread and mixing cookie doughs.
Timeline:
On the first day, make the meringue disks.
On the second day, make the mousse and assemble the cake. Place it in the refrigerator.
On the third day, serve the cake!
More Mousse Recipes You Might Like:
If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Rich Vanilla Génoise
Concorde Chocolate Meringue and Mousse Cake
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Concorde Chocolate Meringue and Mousse Cake
Ingredients
- 6 large room temperature egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) almond flour
- 25 grams (1/4 cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 280 grams 66 percent cacao dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
- Handful of dark chocolate pearls, shards, or curls
Instructions
- Place two oven racks on the two center slots in your oven.
- Trace three eight inch circles onto two 13 inch by 18 inch sheets of parchment, one in the center of one paper, and two on the second paper. Turn the paper over and place them onto two baking sheets so that you can see the patterns through the paper. Spray the paper with spray oil.
- Heat the oven to 225 degrees F.
- With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, the cream of tartar, and salt until you have soft peaks. Keep the mixer running and slowly add the granulated sugar. Beat until you have shiny stiff, but not dry, peaks.
- Whisk together the almond flour and Dutch process cocoa. Fold half of this mixture into the egg whites with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the rest of the mixture until fully incorporated.
- Either using a piping bag or an offset spatula, fill in the circles on the parchment paper.
- Bake the disks for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until firm. Turn off the oven and leave it closed for 6 to 12 hours.
- Place the chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl.
- Bring 3/4 cup of the cream to a boil in a small saucepan and pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute. Whisk the ingredients until the chocolate is fully melted. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat the rest of the whipped cream until you have soft peaks. Stir 1/3 of the cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it.
- Fold the lightened chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until fully combined. Use right away.
- Spread each meringue disk with 1/3 of the mousse.
- Stack the disks on a cake plate. Top the assembled cake with chocolate pearls, curls, or shards.
- Cover with foil so that it is not actually touching the cake and refrigerate for 6 to 48 hours.
- Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
203.35Fat (grams)
14.26 gSat. Fat (grams)
8.17 gCarbs (grams)
17.23 gFiber (grams)
1.04 gNet carbs
16.2 gSugar (grams)
15.37 gProtein (grams)
3.79 gSodium (milligrams)
41.61 mgCholesterol (grams)
39.22 mg
Your cake turned out lovely Karen. I use a vegetable peeler to shave my chocolate.
ReplyDeleteI did try that but I think my peeler is a bit dull, lol.
DeleteBeautiful, Karen! Love those chocolate pearls.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete