Mousse image #1 photographed by Jahqyad Austin
Chocolate week post 1 of 3
Post title - "Seven days without chocolate make one weak" For anyone who has had chocolate anything before... cupcakes, cookies, etc you know chocolate’s one of the most versatile and indulgent ingredients ever. Chocolate is amazing in all forms but the summer calls for something much lighter than traditional chocolate cakes, cookies, or pies so we're starting our week of chocolate fun with something light, airy and down right great especially after a hard day's work... I'm taking chocolate mousse. Although there are many ways to make a light and airy mousse I think you’ll find this recipe to be simple and your results amazing. Follow the recipe below to make the best chocolate mousse you’ll ever have: This recipe has two parts Part 1- Pate A bombe: Quick definition: Pate A Bombe is a French term for the base of mousse making, it refers to the sugar and egg part of this process, the same methods can be found in making Italian meringue for macaroons and things such as marshmallows. Ingredients: 114 grams of egg Yolks 80 grams of granulated sugar 20 ml of water Procedure: Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan, allow it to come to a boil (210°F). Bring the water/sugar mix up to 250°F. In the meantime using the whisk attachment whip the yolks to a light ribbon stage (should be a pale yellow and look like frothy ribbons).
Slowly move the saucepan with caution over to the mixer, you're going to slowly pour the hot syrup on low speed into the mixing bowl over the whipped Yorks. Continue to whip the mix until the bowl begins to be cool to the touch and doubles in size (this is tempering the yolks while aerating it). Once it has doubled in size, set it aside in a medium sized bowl. Part 2- Milk chocolate mix: Ingredients 7 oz. (200 grams) of milk chocolate chips, melted 6 grams of gelatin (sheets or powdered) Add the Pate A Bombe and 11 oz of heavy cream, whipped Procedure: Whip the heavy cream and put it aside in a bowl next to the bowl of Pate A Bombe. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (a pot of boiling water with a bowl over that) or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Bloom the gelatin in an ice bath if using sheets then squeeze dry in your hands and put in a microwave safe bowl to melt, DON'T ALLOW TO BUBBLE OR BOIL. If using powered gelatin use a teaspoon of cold water to bloom the gelatin and then proceed as you would if it was sheets, as described above. Next, remove the chocolate from the heat and fold the Pate A Bombe Into the chocolate 1/3 at a time, combine well. Then add the melted gelatin to the chocolate mix and finally fold in the whipped cream (being careful to not over mix, or the cream will lose the air you whipped into it earlier). You can now Mold the mix with piping bags, or place into small cups, or into small bowls and allow it to refrigerate for about an hour to an hour and a half. What else could you do possibly have have to do now you ask?…Enjoy your chocolate mousse… rich, light and airy as promised.
If you'd like to get fancy you can use them in small sphere molds them pop them in German Chocolate tea/ coffee cups and top of with chocolate cake crumb frosting as seen in mousse image #2
Mousse image #2 photographed by Jahqyad Austin