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Spring seems to have officially arrived in Nashville and I couldn’t be more pleased about it! To celebrate, I spent a huge chunk of my weekend outside with the dogs and the chickens doing yard work, going on walks, and prepping my spring garden. I keep adding things to the long list of fruits and vegetables that I plan to grow this year. I decided last week that I really needed to grow some strawberries so I attached a big over the window planter to our fence line and filled it with strawberry plants.
I also got 8 different lettuce seeds in the ground and 3 varieties of carrots. I’m going ALL out this year on the garden. I mean, do I really need to grow seeds I found at a friends house labeled “Tennessee Sweet Potato Pumpkins”?? Probably not, but here I am. However, now that we have more property and plenty of space to grow things, I figure why not.
Something else that I want to do more of in our new house is hosting. Now that we’re mostly settled in, the Spring seems like the perfect time to have a few friends and neighbors over. Speaking of neighbors (side note), I’ve had 10 times more conversations with all of our neighbors in the 6 months that we’ve lived in our new house then I ever had with our neighbors during the 4 years that I lived in my last house.
The problem, for me, when hosting is that it always ends up being a stressful event. I tend to come up with some big elaborate menu that’s near impossible for me to cook all in one day. So for this Spring season, I think I’m going to do my best to keep it simple. I’m not sure anyone will complain about a good piece of cake and a nice glass of wine, right?
I’ve partnered today with Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards to bring you this lovely Spring themed Wine and Dessert pairing. I’m a HUGE fan of a good chocolate and wine pairing which is what makes this Berry Chocolate Mousse Cake paired with Gloria Ferrer Carneros Pinot Noir SO perfect.
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is Carneros’ original sparkling wine house, owned and founded by the Ferrer family of Spain. Named for José Ferrer’s wife, Gloria, the winery opened in 1986 in the breezy, now-famous region in southernmost Sonoma County. I’ve looked at dozens of pictures of their wine house and vineyards and I now officially want to book a trip ASAP. Seriously, it’s SO beautiful and California is one of the few states in the country that I’ve never been to at least once.
Plus, hello, I’m kind of obsessed with wine. My taste for it seems to change as I get older. I used to be a fan of the very sweet white wines. Then I started drinking red wine and thought that it was the true wine for me. My wine of choice these days is, more often than not, a good chardonnay but I still like a good red with dessrt. And since Gloria Ferrer wines have earned over 400 gold medals and 50 90+ scores in the last 5 years, it’s safe to say that their wines are worth keeping around!
I like this cake for hosting because it can be made in advance and then decorating right before serving (which, fyi, takes about 2 minutes).
AND it pairs perfectly with a good glass of wine for dessert! WIN!!
Be sure to check out Gloria Ferrer and all of the wonderful wines that they have to offer!!
Berry Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup of butter, 1 stick, softened
- ½ cup of superfine sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 eggs, separated
- 200 grams of semisweet chocolate
- zest of 2 oranges
- juice of 1 orange
- berries for topping, I used strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a round 9 inch springform pan and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and the sugar until they become pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Half at a time, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top with a spoon. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, begin preparing the chocolate mouse topping. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water). Let cool for about 5 minutes and then mix in the orange juice, zest, and the egg yolks.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Spoon the chocolate/ egg mixture on top of the cake. Place in the fridge to set for about an hour.
- Once set, remove the cake from the pan and top with the berries.
- ENJOY!!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
This cake looks so spring-y and delicious! And I bet it’s fabulous with some of that red wine. Noms!