Yes, I know that Christmas is around the corner. But here in New York's Hudson Valley, we're enjoying April-like weather. To celebrate, I made a batch of Caramel-Chocolate Mousse, and devoured it on the sun-flooded front porch.
Caramel-Chocolate Mousse is the kind of French dessert you can serve even after a heavy meal. It's lusciously light and sinfully delicious. And it's really easy to make:
Grab 4 large, local, organic eggs that were laid by happy, free-range hens...
And separate them. Put the yolks in a small bowl, and the whites in the work-bowl of a standing mixer. Or, if you are using electric beaters, put the whites in any large(ish) bowl.
Then snag 6 ounces of high-quality chocolate, and chop it. I used a combination of bittersweet and semi sweet chocolate.
And that's all the heavy-lifting prep-work this recipe requires. Let's make the dessert!
Put 3 tablespoons diced, salted butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan, and let it melt over medium heat.
After the butter melts, sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar evenly over the butter. Don't stir it up yet -- just let the sugar sit there for about 1 minute.
When the sugar shows signs of color (as above), grab a heat-proof spatula...
And stir slowly but constantly until the sugar melts and turns a lovely shade of amber.
Then trade your spatula for a wire whisk, and, while whisking constantly, slowly add 3/4 cup heavy cream. Remove the pan from the heat. By now, the sugar will have turned walnut-brown.
Now put the chocolate bits into the pan...
And whisk continuously until the chocolate melts, and the sauce looks satiny-smooth -- about 1 minute.
Then whisk in 1/4 teaspoon sea salt.
Scrape the sauce into a large bowl, and let it cool to room temperature (or nearly room temperature) -- about 15 minutes.
This next step is critical:
Lick the spatula.
When the chocolate-caramel sauce has cooled, beat in the egg yolks.
Also, beat the egg whites into a cloud of stiff peaks.
Then grab a polka dotted spatula...
And use it to scoop about 1/3 of the whites over the caramel-chocolate sauce. Fold the whites into the sauce to lighten it.
Then fold in the remaining whites. At this point, the sauce will be light, fluffy, and screamingly-delicious. Not try to eat all of it.
Divide the mousse between 6 ramekins. Or, for a more-casual presentation, spoon it into small mason jars.
I spooned my mousse into 3 blue and white bowls. Since the bowls are larger than ramekins, they contain 2 servings each.
Refrigerate the dessert until set -- at least 2 hours.
Shall we tuck into this fabulousness? Grab a spoon and join me on the front porch.
The front porch in question.
As you can see, I added a tiny dollop of softly-whipped cream to each serving. You, on the other hand, don't have to add any garnish at all. The mousse doesn't need it.
For such a heavenly dessert, Caramel-Chocolate Mousse is a breeze to make. I hope you'll try it some day.
Here's the printable:
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:30]
Think you'll give this recipe a go? You can let me know by leaving a comment. And don't forget to sign up for my email updates.
More good eats:
Linguine with Butternut Squash Sauce
Kevin's Red Bell Pepper Soup
Peanut Butter Cookies (GF!)
↧