I had been looking forward to this dark chocolate delight for weeks since reading its description on the San Jose Old Spaghetti Factory website menu, in preparation for a co-worker's farewell dinner. Vegan-me would first enjoy mushroom marinara pasta, then cacao-me would indulge in my vegan exception - a decadent chocolate dessert.
I would need to wait for the meal to see if my web menu expectations would be met. While the pasta did not meet my culinary preferences, thankfully the dessert did. Being too sour for my liking, the marinara needed pepper to make it tolerable.
Though the cake was delayed because it needed to be defrosted (not something a server needs to voluntarily share with a guest but mine tactlessly did), I was not disappointed when it arrived. It did not look like its faded image on the menu. This pre-fab dessert was dark chocolately brown, and appeared decadent with a generous portion of dark chocolate mousse in the center, embraced by the layers of cake. This was deliciously divine - a balanced blend of chocolate heaven.
I was surprised. While most mousse cakes are lighter and sweeter, this one was dark and dense - almost ganache-like - with a bitterly semi-sweet chocolate flavor. Though the mousse had a sooth texture, there was a subtle waxy grit, probably from the quality of chocolate used. It did however pair nicely with the dark chocolate cake, which on its own was simply a good chocolate cake, rich and satisfying.While I would have preferred more than a drizzle of fudge on the top to sandwich the layers of flavor below, the chocolate curls on the top and side did create wonderfully appealing bittersweet kicks with each bite.
Overall assessment: 4 cacao beans (out of 5)
The dessert saved this meal from disappointment. While I used to go to the Spaghetti Factory for Mizithra Cheese and Brown Butter (neither of which is vegan). Now I go for the dessert. With their Chocolate Mousse cake, thankfully chocolate is my chosen vegan exception.
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