Choco-Berry Mousse Torte

Inspired by my lady's return to the Northeast, I decided to try my hand at a second dessert (since my Johnny Rotten Cake had turned out so well). I actually found this recipe on a full page add in a magazine. Reading the ingredient list below will give you a pretty good idea of what the advertisement was for.

This is a great no-bake dessert. It takes a little time and effort to put together, but the end result is disproportionately more elegant than the amount of work involved. You'll get a few 'Oohs' and 'Ahhs' from this one, I promise.

Ingredients:
1 Tub of Cool Whip

1 Box Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding

1 Package of Cream Cheese

2 Cups and 2 Tablespoons of Milk

3 Squares of Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate

Nilla Wafers

Strawberries

Steps/Analysis:

The torte requires that you build it upside down. I'll give you a few moments to mull that over...

Back? Great. It's important to have a handle on this, conceptually, as you follow these instructions. It'll all make sense in a few minutes.

First, find a circular cake pan, roughly 9 inches in diameter. A pie plate will do in a pinch. Line the bottom with plastic wrap and stand Nilla wafers on their edges around the edge, leaning them against the wall (rounded side facing out) of the pan/plate/Frisbee/whatever.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of milk, half of the tub of Cool Whip (defrosted, of course), and the dry pudding mix. Stir until uniformly smooth.

In a separate bowl, break up 2 squares of baker's chocolate and microwave for a minute or so. At the end of the cycle, stir the chocolate and repeat until it is completely melted. Once a gooey, chocolate mess is accomplished, add it to the quasi-pudding you just created and stir to combine.

Note: In my first attempt, I microwaved the chocolate and attempted to add the cold ingredients to its bowl, rather than the other way around. Don't do that. Just don't. If you do, the melted chocolate will seize up and become a grainy, quicksand-like reservoir in the bottom of the bowl and you'll have to start over. Heed my words!

Slowly pour the contents of the thoroughly mixed bowl of pudding goodness into your pan. Be patient so you don't disturb the retaining wall of Nilla wafers.

Hopefully, you've let your cream cheese sit around for a while and soften. Dump that into a new bowl, with the sugar, and the 2 tablespoons of milk you have in reserve. Stir to combine and carefully spread over the top of the pan. Then, press a layer of Nilla wafers into it. You want the flat bottoms facing up (You do remember that the top of this thing is actually the bottom, right?).

Cover the whole kit and caboodle with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I let mine go overnight.

When you come back to the torte, remove the top layer of plastic and place a large plate or serving platter upside-down on top of the pan. Clamp your hands on each side and flip the whole thing. Coax the dessert out by pulling on the exposed plastic wrap, if necessary.

Top the torte with the remaining Whip Cream and a layer of sliced strawberries. Finally, take a cheese grater to the last square of chocolate and give it a good dusting of chocolate snow flakes.

Serving/Notes:

The pictures say it all, don't they? This is a great summer dessert - chocolaty and rich, but not overly heavy. The Nilla wafers soak up a lot of moisture and make a really tender makeshift crust. Delicious!