Irish Cream-Chocolate Mousse Cake with Coconut Crust

Serves 12

Crust:

1-1/2 cups Famous Wafer Chocolate Cookie crumbs
1/2 cup ground toasted cashews
1/2 cup ground toasted coconut
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 pound bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter, diced
2 teaspoons instant espresso
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Irish Cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Mint sprigs

To prepare the crust, butter a 10-inch springform pan.
Put the cookie crumbs, cashews, coconut, sugar, and
cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the
melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture into
the prepared pan and place in the refrigerator to chill
while you prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling, put the chocolate, butter and
espresso in a metal bowl and place over gently
simmering water until the chocolate is melted, about
5 minutes. Remove the top of the double boiler and
set aside. Do not remove the simmering water from
the heat.

Put the egg yolks, sugar, Irish Cream, and vanilla in
a medium metal bowl (just large enough to nest in the
bottom of the double boiler without touching the water)
and whisk together. Place the bowl over the simmering
water and whisk until the mixture is very thick and
resembles softly whipped cream. Fold the melted
chocolate and 1 cup of whipped cream into the egg
mixture and set aside.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator. In a medium
bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks
but are not dry. Gently fold the whites into the
chocolate mixture and pour the mixture into the crust.
Refrigerate until completely cold, 3 to 4 hours.

Whip the remaining cup of cream to soft peaks.
To serve, cut the cake into slices. Top each slice
with a dollop of whipped cream and several mint leaves.

Recipe from "Cooking With Caprial"