Cortney and Tyler asked me to make their favorite desert - Heavenly Hash cake so of course I did. Everyone has probably had something called heavenly hash in their life, whether it is candy, ice cream, or some other kind of desert. Heavenly hash usually involves marshmallows, but not this cake! Instead, it uses angel food cake and unbelievable chocolate mousse.
This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks called St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights. Our oldest daughter gave it to me for mother's day while she was attending college in St. Louis. I have had it for many years and some of my all time favorite recipes are from this book.
The good think about this cake is that you can use a ready made angel food cake from the grocery if you don't want to bake one yourself. That eliminates a lot of steps right there. The rest of the cake is a fabulous chocolate mousse that is made from scratch and worth any and all effort put into making it. Here is what you need:
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
4 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large angel food cake (store bought if preferred)
Melt chocolate chips over low heat; beat the egg yolks and add them to the chocolate after you temper it. Do this by adding a little of the warm chocolate to the yolks and stirring thoroughly. Now, add the yolks to the chocolate and mix completely. It will be almost fudge like. This keeps the yolks from scrambling.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites; add 2 teaspoons of sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, beat the whipping cream and set aside.
Add the egg whites to the chocolate and egg yolk mixture. Stir and add the chopped pecans, vanilla, and salt. Don't be alarmed. The egg whites dissolve into the chocolate mixture.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Cover the bottom of a large greased bowl with 1/2 of the angel food cake broken into chunks.
Cover with half of the chocolate mixture (if you can keep from eating it all). Add the remaining cake broken into chunks. Cover with the remaining chocolate mixture.
Refrigerate overnight.
Oh. My. Goodness. This is beyond good. It is amazing. Since I am gluten free, I cannot eat it with the cake, so I save a little of the mousse and eat it by itself. SOOOOOOOO delicious.
This is a recipe that is fabulous to take to a pot luck dinner or for when you are having company. It does make 12 servings, so you may not want to make it just for yourself (unless you intend to eat it all and it is that good)!
Heavenly Hash cake is so good, that I made it twice in 4 days for Tyler and Cortney to enjoy. Yes, you want to make this one for sure - especially if you love chocolate. Enjoy!
Everyday Donna
Things to Remember:
When someone asks you to make a favorite recipe for them - always oblige. There is nothing like showing someone you love them this way. donna
