Rivera

I followed Pierre Herme's recipe to create this chocolate cake for J's b-day. The formal name of the cake is Rivera.

What's so special of this cake is its divine lemon curd - rich without a sense of heaviness. I love having a layer of sourness to bind with the chocolate-y flavor. Layers of chocolate chiffon cake also lighten up the cake. It's not as filling as it seems..or have I been eating too much lately.. =P..

This is actually my first time making lemon curd.. mainly because i am not a big fan of its unpleasant and dense buttery texture and it's too filling for me. This recipe, although a bit complicated, helped remove my aversion towards lemon curd. The citrus aroma is firstly released by rubbing sugar onto the lemon peels, and additional lemon juice is added to the egg mixture and then constantly beating the mixture to incorporate air until it's double in volume. Butter is then added to the batter and forms a smooth silky texture.



I tried a different recipe to make the chocolate mousse..again super complicated as comparing to my own recipe. First need to whip up the cream to medium peak, set aside. Secondly melting the chocolate and cooling it down into room temperature. Thirdly making sugar syrup and heating the syrup until it reaches 257F exactly (cannot go over or you will end up having caramel), carefully incorporating into the egg mixture in a steady stream, the main purpose is to cook the egg mixture at the same time beating it up to create volume. Beating the egg mixture with highest speed if not the syrup will become hard candy, then fold the chocolate into the whipped cream, and finally little by little folding the egg mixture into the chocolate mousse.

Hum.. I am sure this lemon curd can be perfect for a tart, with toasted meringue on top....better than hongkie egg tart which I have been eating everyday recently..