Cake competition!

The hospital had a cake competition last week so I decided to enter a cake, just so I could have an excuse to bake another cake! it was all very exciting, but I cant take any credit for the decorating as I left that up to Livvy, my flattie. In the end I came third which made my day :)

Chocolate Mousse cake

Base
200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
50g butter
3 eggs, separated
1/2C caster sugar
3 Tbsp self-raising flour

Mousse
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp gelatine
250g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3 eggs, separated
1/2C cream
1 Tbsp caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of a 20cm spring form tin with baking paper.
2. To prepare the base place the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water.
3. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks until foamy and gradually stir into the chocolate. Sift caster sugar and flour together and stir into the chocolate mixture. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until peaks just fold over.
4. Fold egg whites gently through the chocolate mixture. Pour into tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin.
5. To prepare the mousse place water in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Stand for 5 minutes then place bowl over a pan of hot water and stir until the gelatine dissolves. Cool slightly.
6. Place chocolate in a medium bowl and melt following packet directions. Beat egg yolks and stir into chocolate with gelatine mixture. fold in whipped cream.
7. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until peaks just fold over. Beat in sugar, fold chocolate mix gently but thoroughly into egg whites
8. Pour mousse over cake and chill for 2-3 hours unit set. Carefully remove tin.
9. To make the chocolate squares for the outside line a pan with baking paper and spread melted chocolate over the surface . Leave to cool in the fridge, when set use a sharp knife and dip it into a mug of boiling water. Slice the chocolate into even sized squares. Arrange the squares around the outside of the cake.
10. To make the chocolate curls spread some melted chocolate over a flat surface, like a clean plastic shopping board, and let it set. Then take a sharp knife and slide it on a diagonal through the chocolate. This should make a curl of chocolate. Top the cake with chocolate curls and some fresh strawberries or other seasonal fruit if desired :)