Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

Directions

1. Meringue Layers: Preheat oven to 225. Trace three 8" circles (use the bottom of an 8" springform pan) on very lightly buttered parchment lined cookie sheets. Sift 3 TBS sugar with the powdered sugar. Beat the whites in a mixer till frothy; add in 3 TBS sugar, beat to soft peaks; add in 1/2 cp sugar mix, beat to stiff peaks; mix in remaining sugar and almonds.
2. Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the meringue on the parchment in a spiral starting from the center of the circle making a disk about 3/4" thick. Bake the disks for 1.25 hrs swapping the positions of the three cookie sheets in the oven every 20 minutes.
3. Cold the cookie sheets on racks for 10 minutes. Carefully peel the disks from the parchment and cold on the racks 30 minutes.
4. Make the Ganache: Bring one cp cream and 1/4 cp sugar to a boil. Pour over the cocolate in a large bowl, wait one minute, then stir to heat the chocolate. Stir in the chambord or possibly vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap.
5. Make the Mousse: Soften gelatin in 2 TBS cool water. Press the thawed raspberries through a sieve to remove seeds. Microwave the pulp and syrup uncovered on high for 3 minutes. Microwave at 50% for 4-6 minutes. untill reduced to 1/2 cp (or possibly reduce the raspberry in a sauce pan on low heat to 1/2 cp).
6. Dissolve the softened gelatin in the warm raspberry; stir in 1/2 cp of the ganache. Cover and refridgerate 20 to 30 minutes till cool. Beat 1 2/3 cp cream with 1/4 cp sugar to soft peaks. Mix in the choc/raspberry mix.
7. Assemble the cake: Cut out a cardboard round the same size as the bottom of an 8" springform pan. Assemble the pan with the cardboard in place of the bottom. Trim the cooled meringue disks with a sharp knife so which they fit in the pan. Place one disk in the bottom of the pan and scoop in a little less than 1/2 of the mousse on the disk. Cover with the second disk and scoop in the same amount of the mousse, reserving a little for immediate consumption. Place the last disk on top and refridgerate for 1 hour. Undo the springform, remove the cake on the cardboard circle. Frost the sides of the cake with the ganache. Serve as soon as possible.
8. /CAKES