Pastry Chef Zoe Behrens of 1789 – Washington, DC
Adapted by StarChefs.com
November 2006

Yield: 20 Servings

Ingredients:

Mint Ice Cream:
• 3 cups whole milk
• 5 cups cream
• 1 bunch peppermint
• 4 peppermint tea bags
• 10 ounces egg yolks
• 12 ounces sugar
  
  Chocolate Cake:
• 8 ¾ ounces cake flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 5 ounces butter, room temperature
• 8 ¾ ounces white sugar
• 8 ¾ ounces dark brown sugar
• 2 ¼ ounces cocoa powder, sifted
• 10 ounces boiling water
• 4 eggs
• 5 ounces buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
  Chocolate Filling:
• 1 pound butter
• 8 ounces cocoa powder
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 ounces vanilla extract
• 1 pound sour cream
• 1 pound 3 ounces powdered sugar
  
  Chocolate Feuillatine:
• 5 ounces milk chocolate
• 3 ¼ ounces bittersweet
• ½ ounce canola oil
• ¾ ounce peppermint, chiffonade
• ½ teaspoon natural peppermint extract
• 5 ½ ounces feuillatine
  
  Glaze:
• 6 ounces cream
• 1 ½ ounces corn syrup
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• ¼ ounce cocoa butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons natural peppermint extract
  
  For the Chocolate Sauce:
• 10 ½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• ¾ ounce cocoa butter

Method:

For the Mint Ice Cream:
Steep the milk, cream, peppermint, and tea bags over night. The following day strain and heat the mixture to boil. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together and temper in the hot liquid. Return the mixture to the pot and cook over low heat until the egg yolks coagulate. Immediately chill in an ice bath. Once cool, taste and adjust with mint extract if necessary. Churn in an ice cream machine and store in the freezer.

For the Chocolate Cake:
Sift the cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream the butter and sugars together. Whisk 5 ounces of the boiling water with the cocoa powder and vanilla extract till combined and to the creamed butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Alternate adding the sifted dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Finally add the reserved 5 ounces of water. Pour into a half sheet pan and bake for around 12 minutes. Once cake is cool, cover and freeze in sheet pan.

For the Chocolate Filling:
Melt butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate in bowl over simmering water. Transfer to a stand mixer. Mix on low to combine and add the vanilla extract. Alternate adding the sour cream and powdered sugar in three additions each. Put aside to set at room temperature.

For the Chocolate Feuillatine:
Melt chocolates together. Add the oil, mint, extract, and feuillatine and mix until well combined. Spread evenly on a half sheet pan and set in refrigerator.

For the Glaze:
Heat the cream and corn syrup to boiling then take off heat. Place the chocolates and cocoa butter on top and rest for a couple of minutes before stirring to combine. Cool a little before adding the peppermint extract.

For the Chocolate Sauce:
Melt chocolate and cocoa butter in a bowl over simmering water and whisk to combine. Keep fluid to serve and do not refrigerate.

To Assemble:
Invert both the chilled feuillatine and frozen chocolate cake onto cutting boards and cut in half. On an inverted ½ sheet pan layer the torte beginning with the feuillatine as the base. Spread the chocolate filling on top of the feuillatine with a palette knife and place a layer of chocolate cake on top. Place the last layer of feuillatine on top of the cake, spread another layer of chocolate filling, and place the last layer of cake on top. Finally spread another even layer of filling and chill in the fridge. Apply the glaze in two additions and chill for at least a couple of hours or freeze for easier cutting. Cut in to twenty rectangular pieces. Serve with chocolate sauce and a scoop of mint ice cream.