Chocolate Mocha Mousse Torte

1.) Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan.) Spay two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray with flour.

2.) In large bowl, beat cake mix, sour cream, oil, water and eggs with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in 3/4 cup almonds. Pour into pans.

3.) Bake as directed on box for 9-inch rounds. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4.) Meanwhile, place chocolate in medium bowl. In 2-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream just to boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate; let stand until mixture is melted and smooth when stirred. Whisk in espresso powder and sugar.

5.) Refrigerate chocolate mixture 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until cold. Beat cold chocolate mixture with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes.

6.) Cut each cake layer horizontally to make 2 layers. (To cut, mark side of cake with toothpicks and cut with long, thin knife.) On serving plate, place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, frost top with about 1/4 of the mousse. Top with second layer, rounded side up; frost top with about 1/4 of the mousse. Repeat with remaining two layers of cake and mousse. Sprinkle sliced almonds around top edge of cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Chef's Note & Story

Use a food processor to grind the almonds; process almonds until very finely chopped.

To toast almonds, heat oven to 350°F. Spread almonds in ungreased shallow pan. Bake uncovered 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown. For the toasted, ground almonds, toast the almonds first, allow to cool, then place in the food processor to grind them.

Cake layers will stack more easily if they are flat. If cake layers are domed in the center, use a serrated knife to trim the cooled cakes so they are flat.

Cover and store any leftover cake in the refrigerator.