Total Time:  16h 45 min
Prep:           20 min
Baking:        25 min 
Chilling:       16 h
Yield:          16 servings
Level:          medium


Ingredients
Pound cake
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
Chocolate mousse
  • 1 qt (about 1 liter) heavy whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 oz (4 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
Directions:

Chocolate mousse:
  1. Warm heavy whipping cream. 
  2. Incorporate cocoa powder and sugar. 
  3. Warm and stir the mixture with a wire whisk until completely blended.
  4. Cover and cool the mixture 12 hours in the refrigerator.

Pound cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  2. Sift flour with the baking powder and salt.
  3. Place the egg yolks and 1 cup of the sugar in the bowl. 
  4. Beat on high speed until they are thick, fluffy and almost white colored.
  5. Sift progressively and slowly the flour mixture over the beaten egg yolks.
  6. Gently fold with a wire whisk or rubber spatula the flour into the egg yolk batter.
  7. In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff. 
  8. Add beaten white eggs into mixture and fold just until incorporated.
  9. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with baking paper. 
  10. Pour on half of the mixture into the baking pan. 
  11. Bake about 25-30 minutes until the toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. 
  12. Allow to cool the cake.

 Chocolate mousse:
  1. Remove the whipped cream mixture from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature.
  2. Dissolve unflavored gelatin in 2/3 cup of warm water. 
  3. With an electric hand mixer attachment, beat cream. Start slowly. If you set it on high speed  at first, you'll have cream all over the place. 
  4. As the cream thickens, turn the speed up. As it gets foamier pour progressively and slowly the gelatin over the whipped cream. 
  5. Keep beating the mixture until gelatin is well incorporated. To avoid lumps,  dissolved gelatin and cream need to have the same temperature.
  6. Remember: do not beat too much, the cream will lose volume, then clump and separate. 

Finishing:
  1. Cut horizontally the pound cake into two equal layers.
  2. Spread one half of the cream mixture into a cake layer and cover with the second cake layer. 
  3. Top with the second half of the cream mixture. 
  4. With a bread knife make small random wavy motions on the top. 
  5. Chill the cake at least 4 h. 
  6. Cut  the cake into medium square and enjoy.