Karpatka Inspired Caramel and Chocolate Mousse Cake

Karpatka is a traditional Polish dessert made with 2 layers of choux pastry and a layer of custard cream in between. It’s essentially a cake version of a cream puff. I was so intrigued and felt so inspired so I created this chocolate and caramel version. I give you a Karpatka-inspired caramel and chocolate mousse cake.

We’ve got a few different components going on in this cake. First, we have the choux cake layers. It’s a regular choux pastry but the top layer has a craquline top to provide some crunchy texture. And in between we are making a simple 2-ingredient chocolate mousse along with my favourite caramel recipe!

Click HERE to watch the recipe video!

Yield: 1 7″ cake

INGREDIENTS:

CARAMEL- (Click HERE for the FULL recipe)

• 200g Caster/Granulated Sugar
• 80ml Water
• 190 Double Cream/ Heavy Cream, warm
• 70g Butter (salted or unsalted [if you’re using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt when you add the butter)

CRAQUELIN-

• 45g Salted Butter, softened
• 50g Light Brown Sugar
• 50g Plain/AP Flour
• 25g Almond Flour

CHOUX-

• 100ml Water
• 80ml Whole Milk
• 90g Salted Butter
• 2tsp Caster/ Granulated Sugar
• 100g Bread Flour
• 160g Egg (yolk and white whisked)

2 INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE-

• 150g Dark Chocolate
• 150ml Double Cream

STEPS:

PREP-

1. Line 2, 7″ springform cake tins (if you only have 1, just bake the two layers of choux individually, one after the other).
2. Make the caramel: Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a bowl. Let it caramelize. Add the warm cream and mix until it’s homogenous and bubbling. Take it off the heat and mix in the butter. Set in fridge to cool. Click HERE for the full DETAILED recipe.
3. Preheat oven to 108°C.

CRAQUELIN-

1. Using an electronic mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together.
2. Add flour and almond flour, then mix until it forms a crumbly dough.
3. Transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Using your hands, compress the crumbs into 1 cohesive dough. Cover the dough with a second sheet of parchment paper.
4. With a rolling pin, using both tapping and rolling motions, begin to flatten the dough in between the 2 pieces of parchment paper until you have a thin circular sheet of dough about 0.2cm thick.
5. Transfer it to a flat surface in the freezer and leave it to freeze while we make the choux dough

CHOUX-

1. In a saucepan, add water, milk, butter, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil.
2. Add flour and aggressively mix to quickly incorporate the flour into the hot milk mixture. When a dough forms, keep cooking the mixture on the stove while constantly mixing with a spatula. You should see steam come off the dough and a thin film will form on the bottom of the pan. At this point, you can transfer the dough into a large bowl.
3. Using an electronic mixer, mix the dough to quickly cool it down. When it’s cool enough to touch and hold in your hands, proceed to the next step.
4. While the mixer is on low, gradually add the egg and allow it to fully absorb before adding more egg. You’re looking for a thick paste consistency. It should be able to hold its shape but still flow off a spatula (depending on how hydrated your dough is, you may or may not use all of the egg so go slow and keep an eye on the paste).
5. Transfer the dough into a piping bag and pipe an even layer into both bottoms of the 7″ cake tins. Evenly distribute the dough so that each tin has roughly the same amount. If any sections of the dough is unevenly distributed, spread it out using a spatula.
6. Take the craquelin out of the freezer and cut a 7″ circle so it can fit into the cake tin. Place it over 1 of the choux layers. Gently press to secure it onto the dough.
7. Pop both into the oven at 180°C for 30-35min. It will puff up and rise a lot in the oven, but once you take it out, the giant puffed dough will fall back down.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE-

1. Add cream and chocolate to a bowl and melt it in the microwave. Mix until the chocolate is fully incorporated. Pop it into the fridge to chill.
2. Once cold, whip the mixture until it forms stiff peaks.

ASSEMBLE-

1. Using one of the springform cake tins, place the plain choux layer on the bottom.
2. Add all of the chocolate mouse and spread it into an even layer.
3. Add a generous layer of caramel over the mousse.
4. Add the top choux layer with the craquelin.
5. Place it into the fridge for at least 30min to allow the mousse to set.
6. Take it out of the fridge for 5-10min before consuming and enjoy it while it’s still slightly cold!