Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Milk Chocolate Mousse

On Saturday it was my brother Ben's 29th birthday. We invited him and his wife over for dinner on Sunday to celebrate. One of Ben's most favorite things from home in Australia was milk chocolate mousse. We never had it homemade but over there you could buy it in the box, similar to a cake mix, mix it with some water and you were good to go. Ben absolutely loved it and I remember him often buying it, making it and eating it all alone, often in one sitting. Wanting to make Ben's birthday dinner special I set out to find the perfect recipe that would satisfy his chocolate mousse sweet tooth. I looked at many recipes, most of which involved raw egg. For some reason this just didn't sit well with me. Finally, I found it. This recipe was the winner. It was the perfect mousse consistency and it was utterly delicious. It was easy to make and the directions easy to follow. It is incredibly rich, so for me, someone who likes sweet, but not too sweet, next time I decided I would try a combination of the milk chocolate with perhaps some semi-sweet to see if I can't cut some of the richness down a tad. This recipe is a must try and won't disappoint. I promise =) Enjoy!! Milk Chocolate Mousse serves about 4 people. It doesn't appear to be a large serving, but with as rich as it is I found the amount to be perfect. Ingredients: 8 ounces high-quality milk chocolate, chopped- I used Lindt milk chocolate 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons water 2 large egg yolks 1 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons water 2 cups of whipped cream- divided 1 tablespoon powdered sugar Directions: Combine chocolate, water and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for 30 seconds again. Stir constantly until all chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. While the chocolate is cooling, take your whipping cream out of the fridge and place into the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until completely whipped and thick. Set the bowl in the fridge. Add egg yolks, sugar and remaining water to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, mixture is opaque and light yellow and has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in melted chocolate mixture. Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water and whisk constantly until chocolate is cooled. Remove whipped cream from the fridge and fold in one cup of the cream into the chocolate mixture. Once whipped cream is completely folded in, evenly pour mousse into either two or four glasses. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Top mousse with the additional cup of whipped cream and chocolate shavings or crushed oreos if desired.