Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Chocolate Mousse
.
I sometimes think I should bake, and seeing as this house (ah, this strange old house) is less than equipted for all things culinary, it is a serious challenge, so I hardly ever make the effort.
Every time I do, the beating and whisking gets the better of me, and I start to think my forearms are going to look like Popeye, and let's face it, that is just not that hot a look.
That (and a few other reasons) is why, when the candy-obsessed small fry who occasionally visits asked if I would teach him how to make chocolate mousse, I shuddered for a moment before my heart melted and I said yes. Could YOU resist a seven year old with big blue eyes? Yeah, me either.
Roped in as I was, (trust me, he didn't forget I promised to teach him) I thought I should be prepared, so I went to the bookstore and copied a few recipes down, figuring we could make two and do a compare and contrast. I don’t remember the author of the first book (or its name) but I'm pretty sure the second one was by Nigella. None of that matters of course, because I totally lost the scrap of paper I wrote the recipes on anyway, and had to use a hodge podge of ideas from epicurious, (and frankly, I am amazed at how many recipes for mousse there ARE out there) that turned out to be a complete whipping nightmare (cue Sailor Man music), but overall very fun to make.
Sadly, but perhaps because I am not the most brilliant girl that ever was, the overall concoction not to the small frys liking. Why? We used bittersweet chocolate. He said (please read this with a falsetto British accent and visualize the moppet who has just licked his plate clean, saying this with a chocolate mustache and matching beard) “Um, you know how chocolate tastes good? This chocolate does when you are eating it, but after you eat it, it doesn’t taste good anymore.”
So what did we learn? Use milk chocolate in mousse for children, separating eggs is hard for people who still haven’t mastered tying their own shoes, and chocolate stains must be rinsed immediately with cold water.
By the way, the BF and I both loved it, even if it could have been a touch smoother (easily remedied with a mixer, I’m sure) so I thought I would reprint it, with changes of course. Oh and if you worry about raw eggs, you can certainly temper them here, but I didn't bother. Try it, and ENJOY!
4 large egg yolks
cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
8 ounces chocolate, chopped
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. (Double boiling is SO over.)
Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale (by hand this took me about 6 minutes.)
Whip the cream to stiff peaks.
At this point you can add any extra flavors, like mint or vanilla to the choclate, and stir to combine.
Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate and combine, then fold into the cream. Chill until set, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Makes 6 servings
_______________________
Length, in miles, of a hose used until last fall to smuggle vodka from Belarus to Lithuania: 2 - Harpers Magazine
June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
How did the jury find the hamburger? Grill-ty as charred!
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I sometimes think I should bake, and seeing as this house (ah, this strange old house) is less than equipted for all things culinary, it is a serious challenge, so I hardly ever make the effort.
Every time I do, the beating and whisking gets the better of me, and I start to think my forearms are going to look like Popeye, and let's face it, that is just not that hot a look.
That (and a few other reasons) is why, when the candy-obsessed small fry who occasionally visits asked if I would teach him how to make chocolate mousse, I shuddered for a moment before my heart melted and I said yes. Could YOU resist a seven year old with big blue eyes? Yeah, me either.
Roped in as I was, (trust me, he didn't forget I promised to teach him) I thought I should be prepared, so I went to the bookstore and copied a few recipes down, figuring we could make two and do a compare and contrast. I don’t remember the author of the first book (or its name) but I'm pretty sure the second one was by Nigella. None of that matters of course, because I totally lost the scrap of paper I wrote the recipes on anyway, and had to use a hodge podge of ideas from epicurious, (and frankly, I am amazed at how many recipes for mousse there ARE out there) that turned out to be a complete whipping nightmare (cue Sailor Man music), but overall very fun to make.
Sadly, but perhaps because I am not the most brilliant girl that ever was, the overall concoction not to the small frys liking. Why? We used bittersweet chocolate. He said (please read this with a falsetto British accent and visualize the moppet who has just licked his plate clean, saying this with a chocolate mustache and matching beard) “Um, you know how chocolate tastes good? This chocolate does when you are eating it, but after you eat it, it doesn’t taste good anymore.”
So what did we learn? Use milk chocolate in mousse for children, separating eggs is hard for people who still haven’t mastered tying their own shoes, and chocolate stains must be rinsed immediately with cold water.
By the way, the BF and I both loved it, even if it could have been a touch smoother (easily remedied with a mixer, I’m sure) so I thought I would reprint it, with changes of course. Oh and if you worry about raw eggs, you can certainly temper them here, but I didn't bother. Try it, and ENJOY!
4 large egg yolks
cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
8 ounces chocolate, chopped
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. (Double boiling is SO over.)
Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale (by hand this took me about 6 minutes.)
Whip the cream to stiff peaks.
At this point you can add any extra flavors, like mint or vanilla to the choclate, and stir to combine.
Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate and combine, then fold into the cream. Chill until set, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Makes 6 servings
_______________________
Length, in miles, of a hose used until last fall to smuggle vodka from Belarus to Lithuania: 2 - Harpers Magazine
June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
How did the jury find the hamburger? Grill-ty as charred!
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