Don’t you think desserts look so much more elegant as single servings?  I think so.  That is the reason I purchased a cheesecake pan (with removable bottoms) that bakes up a dozen mini cheesecakes at a time.  I was thrilled the first time I used it and created a dozen salted caramel cheesecakes.  Yes, the pan was a pain to clean…especially the twelve little removable bottoms!…but, I thought so worth it!  I decided recently to try out the pan again.  This time, I adapted a favorite brownie torte recipe my friend Tracy gave me over (I guess I won’t say how many) years ago!

I was able to perfect a recipe after a couple tries and the results were fantastic.  With the holidays upon us, it is the perfect decadent dessert to impress your guests.

The tricky part is definitely the baking time.  Obviously, the baking time is reduced for a small single serving dessert when the original recipe is for a full-sized torte.  In this instance, there are two layers.  The bottom layer is basically a brownie and the top layer is a chocolate mousse.

First, prepare a brownie recipe – either your own or a box.  I like to prepare mine from scratch, but sometimes it is so much less expensive to buy a boxed mix, it is hard to resist!  The only thing I changed was to add two teaspoons of instant espresso and a few mini chocolate chips into the batter.  I filled each compartment a little less than half with brownie mix.  It ended up being about half the usual cooking time – a total of 18 minutes.  You will have to watch carefully.  The first batch I made, I filled the compartments half way and found after they cooked there was not enough space left for the mousse.  This was easily corrected (but time consuming) by taking each torte out and slicing it to create a thinner bottom layer.  The second batch, I knew not to put very much batter in each section.  I had quite a bit of batter left, so I cooked the remainder in a muffin tin to cook and eat as brownies.

A photo of individual brownie mousse torte.

After the brownies cooled completely, I made a mousse and filled over each brownie to the top of the compartment with the mousse.  After this step, I garnished each dessert, by melting 1/2 oz. of baking chocolate and drizzling over the top of each torte.  Then, the pan was put into the fridge to set.

Chocolate Mousse Recipe (for top layer)

• 1 & 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 tsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup whipping cream

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips, 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, 1 tsp. instant coffee, 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp. butter.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.  In small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Fold warm chocolate mixture gently into whipped cream. 

When you are ready to plate the desserts, carefully remove each one by pushing from the bottom carefully….if there is any sticking, you may need to loosen the outer edge with a dull knife.  My pan is made of a nonstick surface and I didn’t have any trouble getting the desserts out of the pan.  The bottom ring of each compartment of the pan needs to be removed by slipping a knife carefully underneath each one.

It may take a little extra work to make the torte in individual portions, but I think it is well worth the result.

I hope you will try these indivdual brownie mousse tortes for your holiday table.

Thanks for visiting.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving… and, remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie