Sunday, April 4, 2010

Iced Coffee Mousse in a Chocolate Case


Last night I made the most decadent mousse. I made it twice in fact. This dessert has to be timed just right or you don't end up with a pretty dessert. The first time I made it the coffee set up way to fast (the book said to do the coffee part first and then the egg part, not enough time) and so the final product looked like brown spots in a very soft tan pudding. I made it again... Changing the recipe the way I wanted.

We ate it today with my brother's new family (in-laws) and had a wonderful and relaxing day. I'm sharing the recipe as I changed it and also warning you in advance that this needs to be babysat in order to come out right ;).

Ingredients:
2 Sachet powdered gelatin
8 Tbsp. very strong brewed coffee (I used coffee granules and reconstituted them with half as much water as called for, a) because we had instant coffee granules and b) because it was quicker than brewing strong coffee)
1 Tbsp. Coffee liqueur such as Kahlua or Troussaint (I used creme de Cocoa; again because we had it on hand and I wasn't buying another liqueur that we weren't going to use but once or twice a year...)
6 eggs, separated
1 C. minus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 1/3 Cup whipping cream

Plain (fair trade) semisweet chocolate chips (For the chocolate bowl)

Grease and line a deep (7 in.) cake tin with baking parchment. I used a large cooking pot. In a double boiler melt the chocolate. Using a pastry brush, brush a layer of chocolate over the base of the tin and about 3 inches up on the sides, finishing with a ragged edge. Leave the chocolate to set before repeating. Put in the freezer to harden.

Now for the mousse!

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until thick enough to leave a trail. I stirred this for a very long time and never came to that point. I decided when it was semi thick that I had stirred enough and should call it good. When your egg mixture is thick remove from heat and whisk occasionally till cool.

Sprinkle gelatin over the coffee in a bowl/ small saucepan and leave it to soften for 5 minutes. Then place the bowl over the boiling water. Stirring until dissolved. Add the liqueur.

pour the gelatin mixture into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, stirring gently. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or until just beginning to set. When I did this the first time it set up really fast but didn't quite get cooled off. The second time I tried this I stirred the mixture every 5 minutes or so and that worked quite well.

Meanwhile, lightly whip the whipping cream so that it is just about doubled in volume but not fully whipped. Then whip the egg whites until stiff.

Remove the chocolate shell from the freezer and peel it out of the tin (slowly so you don't break it) remove the lining and place shell back in pan.

Fold the cream into the egg mixture followed by the egg whites. Then pour into the shell. Return to freezer for at least 3 hours. To serve, remove from tin and place on a plate. allow to soften in the refrigerator for 40 minutes before serving. use a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry to cut into slices to serve.


Next time I make this some things I might try....

I would like to try making mini cups for individual servings. I was thinking of using muffin cups to create the chocolate shell. This may add to the time but then you wouldn't have to cut it. The hotter the knife the better it worked.

Someday I would like to try it with the Kahlua for an even stronger coffee taste. Maybe I will see if the liqueur store has a small bottle of it.

Overall it was a very time consuming but beautiful dessert. I would make it again tomorrow if it wouldn't make me feel sick to eat so much dessert

~~Sarah~~

2 comments:

  1. Lisa and the K-krewApril 4, 2010 at 10:41 PM

    What an AMAZING mousse for the die-hard chocolate-coffee lovers! Every bite was pure delight! Thanks for making such a scrumptious dessert for our Easter family meal! It was beautiful and MMM...mmm...GOOD!!

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  2. Instead of making it again tomorrow. . .you should make it on Wednesday. :) I'm just sayin'. . . :)

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