Double chocolate chestnut cakes

Makes 4 mini mousse cakes, diameter 8 cm. or 1 large cake x16cm
Ingredients for the biscuit base:
150 grams biscuits, finely processed
75 grams butter, melted
1 tablespoon powder sugar (optional)
Ingredients for the chestnut mousse:
160 grams (3,5 oz) dark eating chocolate
40 ml.sweetened heavy whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
80 grams (0,7 oz) sugar
1/2 tea spoon vanilla extract
250 grams chestnut puree
1 tablespoon rum
Ingredients for the chocolate ganache:
100 grams dark chocolate
30 ml. heavy whipping cream
**Sweetened heavy whipping cream for decoration

You have a few options for serving here:
1) you can make mini cakes if you own cooking rings – either grease 4 rings generously with butter or line with acetate paper. Place all rings on a large serving plate lined with parchment paper.
2) serve this dessert in a glass/jar – no preparation needed
3) make one larger cake, using a cake springform with removable sides – grease 6 inch (15-16 cm) springform generously with butter and line with parchment paper

To make the crust:
Combine biscuits and butter in a large bowl. Add powder sugar if biscuits are not sweet enough. Stir to combine then distribute evenly between your chosen serving dish (glasses, rings or springform). Use a flat-bottomed glass or a spoon to press the biscuit mixture and even it out. Place in the fridge to firm up.
To make the chestnut mousse:
In a medium bowl combine the chocolate and 60 ml. of heavy whipping cream. Heat in а microwave oven until cream is so hot that chocolate starts melting. Stir with a small spoon until chocolate melts and the mixture is glossy and smooth. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add vanilla extract and start cooking on medium / medium-low heat (depending on how strong your stove is). Whisk almost constantly until sugar dissolves and the egg yolk mixture is hot to the touch. Cook egg yolks on medium low heat until you temper them, then you can turn the heat up a bit and continue cooking until the mixture thickens. Make sure to whisk often to avoid curdling the eggs.
*** This is a pretty quick process, so once sugar is dissolved watch those egg yolks closely, cause they will cook really fast.
Once sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add to the chocolate-cream mixture. Stir until all combines and the mixture is smooth. Add chestnut puree and rum and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium-size bowl whip 80 ml. of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Don’t over-beat the cream, you need it with soft peaks in order to get a smoother mousse.
Add 1/3rd of whipped cream to the chocolate/chestnut mixture and gently stir with rubber spatula until combined. Then fold in the rest of the whipped cream part by part until smooth and nice.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared dishes/glasses and place in the fridge.
In the meantime combine chocolate and cream in a small bowl and heat in a microwave or over a water bath until chocolate melts. Stir to combine completely then let cool off a bit. Distribute chocolate evenly between your serving dishes. Decorate with whipped cream.

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