Triple Chocolate Mouse Cake with Ganache

This cake is just to die for! It's one of my best cakes ever! It's a chocolate cake, from a cake mix, but with extra stuff to make it scrumptious LOL. Anyway, I added:

• full fat sour cream
• strong coffee
• butter
• vanilla extract
• extra cocoa powder
• 2% milk

Then, instead of making the usual cream cheese or butter cream icing, I decided to make the filling with chocolate cream; which is a recipe from a chocolate cream pie I've done it before. But, this time, I used as icing for the cake. It's a three layer cake topped with chocolate ganache and strawberries. The cake is just so delicious and moist; with a decadent chocolate taste.

This cake must be kept in the refrigerator b/c the chocolate cream will get very soft if kept out for too long. Also, the ganache starts to melt a bit.

This can also be made into cupcakes and topped with the chocolate cream then covered with chocolate ganache. It's probably my next thing.

This cake is not perfect looking but that's not what's about here. I added the chocolate ganache over the last layer of chocolate cream and it looks a little like a marble pattern.

Supreme Coconut Raspberry Cookie Torte

This recipe is my very own and original torte recipe. It may sound funny, but I put in a lot of work into this one; specially beacuse it was submitted to the Pillsburry Bake-off contest last year, but I didn't make it to the finalists ;-( Oh well, at least I came up with a yummy dessert!

It's a little gooey because of the coconut and condensed milk then you have the raspberry and the cookie dough... Divine! Oh, and don't forget the chocolate ganache to top if off!

Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough 16.5-oz. roll
• 1 can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 tbsp of LAND O LAKES Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup of shredded coconut
• ½ cup of HERSHEY’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup of Smucker Low Sugar Reduced Sugar Red Raspberry Preserves
• 1 tbsp of HERSHEY’S Cocoa (if making ¼ cup of chocolate milk)
• ¼ cup chocolate milk (suggested, but not necessary, it will make cookie more moist and easy to cut)

Instructions

1. Cut cookie dough in half and roll each half into about 5” diameter, place each circle on a separate 17”x12” cookie pan. Bake it as directed or until cookie is completely baked (convection oven about 22 minutes)
2. While cookie is baking, mix butter, Sweetened Condensed Milk and shredded coconut in a small non-stick pan at medium heat. Constantly stir, with a wooden spoon, until you get a tick dough like mixture; at this point it should not stick to pan. Turn heat off and remove pan from hot surface, cover and put aside.
3. Take cookies out of the oven; let it cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Place one cookie on a round plate and spread the condensed milk/coconut mixture over cookie, about ½” tick.
5. Spread Red Raspberry Preserves over condensed milk/coconut mixture.
6. Place second cookie over raspberry layer
7. If using chocolate milk to moisten top cookie, brush cookie with chocolate milk
8. Break edges of top cookie to seal the torte’ push small broken pieces all around the edges
9. Pour chocolate ganache over top cookie and spread it around the edges, like icing a cake Cover the entire cookie torte with the chocolate ganache
10. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. But you can also eat it while warm
11. Decorate with a few strawberries or coconut flakes/chips, if desired

Tips – the taste gets even better after a day or two in the refrigerator!

How to Make the Chocolate Ganache

1. Bring heavy whipping cream to a boil in a small sauce pan
2. Remove from heat and add Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips chocolate
3. Stir the chocolate until melted. Cover and let stand 10 minutes