Chocolate Mousse & Strawberry Tiramisu

Khandoma

Dear Friends,

I do understand that chocolate mousse is not an Indian dish. I'm posting this by popular demand from another thread.

Please note that this is the easiest recipe in the world. Children can do it. It's a long post because I'm giving every detail so that your first trial will be a success.

What you need :
25 grams of dark chocolate per person (that's 1 chocolate tablet for 4 people)
10 grams of sugar per person (that would be one and a half teaspoonfuls)
1 egg per person
1 teaspoon of water per person
1 pinch of salt
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2 large bowls
1 medium bowl
1 pan (not if you're going microwave)
1 fork or preferably hand-whip or electric egg-beater
1 wooden spoon
1 source of heat. Microwave, chimney, whatever.
A fridge or window sill
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Please see below, after the recipe itself, for tips.

Preparation time : 15 to 20 mn
Then the mousse must sit in the cold for 3 hrs.

Step 1
- Start heating water into the pan. Fill the pan halfway. Heat should be medium to low.
- Break the chocolate into smallish bits over a medium-sized bowl.
- Add to the chocolate 1 teaspoon of water per person.
- Put the bowl of chocolate into the hot water. Make sure the hot water does never reach the top of the bowl.
- Keep the heat at medium to low force. The water should simmer, but avoid big boils.

Step 2
- Break the eggs. Separate the whites (into a bowl) from the yolks (into another bowl).
- Now that you've done that, your chocolate is burning. Use a wooden spoon to stir it at frequent intervals.
- Pour a bit of sugar into the yolks. Beat the mixture lighlty with the whip or fork, or egg beater on low speed. Add more sugar, beat, and repeat until all the sugar is in.
- When your chocolate has completely melted, take it off the heat.
- With your wooden spoon, add the melted chocolate to the egg yolks.
- With the same spoon, stir the mixture into a harmonious paste.
- Cover the bowl.
- Thoroughly clean and dry your whip and spoon.

Step 3
- Add a pinch of salt to your egg whites.
- With your whip / egg beater, beat the whites. Real hard.
They must be so hard that you can top the bowl over and they'll stick.

Step 4
- Bring the "yolks + chocolate" bowl next to the "whites" bowl.
- With your wooden spoon, drop a large spoonful of egg whites into the yolks.
Not the other way around !!
Use your spoon to stir gently. Go slow. Do not break the whites, coat them with the mixture until they fall apart.
- When all the white has disappeared, add another spoonful of whites, and stir. And so on.
- When you're done, cover the bowl.
- Put it in the lower part of your fridge and let it sit for 3 hours.

Et voilà ! Your mousse is ready.

Tips :
Microwave
Add more water to the chocolate bowl : 1 teaspoon for 2 people.
Then put your bowl into the microwave. Set the oven on low power.
Heat for 1 mn. Stir with the wooden spoon. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir. Proceed by steps of 30 then 15 seconds, stirring thoroughly in between, so that your chocolate is completely melted but not burned.

Secrets of success
- Your whites must be hard as stone. And they will not reach that state if there's the merest particle of egg yolk on your tools. Wash and dry them well.
- Once your whites start foaming, add a spoonful of lukewarm water, then whip. You'll have more "foam" and your mousse will feel lighter.
- Be sure to cover the bowl that goes into the fridge. Otherwise your mousse will smell of whatever else is in there.

Variations
- You can use extra-dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate... Adjust the sugar accordingly.
- If you like the dark-chocolate taste, you can get rid of the sugar altogether.
- A teaspoon of coffee or orange juice will make a nice change. Also, rum, brandy or whisky ; I use 1 coffee spoonful for 4 people. Pour into the yolks + sugar.
- Sugar-preserved orange peel, ginger root etc is great. Add them to the finished mix, just before cold storage.
- After a few disappointments with mint, I found the solution. Separate fresh mint leaves. Wet them with water. Roll them in powder sugar. Let them sit on a plate 1 to 2 hrs in the ice compartment of your fridge. Then peel them off gently and add them to the finished mix.
- Adding dry spices ? Grated cinnamon can go into the yolk + chocolate mixture. But cardamom pods should wait until the final mix. I'm sure you'll think of more options.

Bon Appétit !

If you try this recipe, please post back : I would love to know how you feel.

__________________
Khandoma
Visit my India photo gallery on IndiaMike

dhans

Per person

50 grams of dark chocolate
1 egg

No sugar or salt.

For the rest follow the recipe.

Don't feed this to young children or old /ill people because of salmonella infection in the egg.

ans

__________________

Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids
Stories about our travels in India: Journal

Aishah

Yumm! thanks Khandoma - I've saved this to copy offline. Salmonella poisoning in egg , Dhans? First I've heard of it.

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

dhans

In the Netherlands 40 % of eggs are affected. Normally you will not notice anything, but it may (and has) killed children and weak people.

India might be much better in this respect......

Hans

Khandoma

Hans, you're right that no sugar is needed.
Salt is just a great tip to make your egg whites harder. They'll foam up quicker, too. If you're not on a limited-salt diet, you should try it sometime...
By the way, did you try fixing a mousse with your children ? Not sure how old they are. I must have started helping my mom with the mousse when I was about 7.

Forgot to say that if you watch your egg consumption (low protein diet, cholesterol...), you can use less eggs, and add more water to the whites as indicated in "Secrets". You can do a very good mousse with just one egg.

Aishah, do try and let me know how it went. I'm so sure you'll love it I can't wait.

dhans

OK, I'll try the salt tip. In order to get your whites really stiff, clean the bowl beforehand with some lemon, as fat will kill the air in the egg whites.

And yes, we cook all kinds of food with the kids, their favourite is tiramisu with strawberries; I'll try to find the recipe.

Hans

Kingstonian

Yuh - salmonella's a risk in the UK too. Other bugs, as well, I think.
If I'm making a recipe with half-cooked or uncooked eggs, like this, I make sure I use the freshest eggs I can find, and when I'm feeling especially paranoid, I'll wash them first and be extra careful about handwashing.

puchoo

ah its finally here! Thanks!

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Cheers!

Sidharth

puchoo.wordpress.com

Khandoma

You're welcome, Sidharth ! Enjoy.

Guys, I understand the health risks, salmonella is no joke and only fresh eggs and clean hands should be used.

But in reply to Kingstonian I would just like to point out that the egg shell is porous. Full of little holes. If you wash it with unclean water, as may be the case in parts of India, or with water full of smelly chemicals, as may be the case in parts of the U.S. - and of India, France and a lot of other places too - , the egg may absorb whatever is in the water.

Kingstonian

Sorry - I'd forgotten that aspect! I was thinking UK-style.

Recipe sounds great though - I'm looking forward to an opportunity to try it out.

Khandoma

I figured.
Reverse angle : I cooked that mousse in India. Had to stop myself before adding unboiled water to the chocolate. I bought the eggs myself. And there was no fridge so I stored it below a sink. That was all the care I took, really. Was as good as ever.

dhans

Ingredients
• 2 eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 300 g mascarpone
• 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 15 strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1/3 cup puréed strawberries
• 4 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau
• 14 ladyfingers (or sponge fingers or "lange vingers" in Dutch)
• 5 strawberries (for garnish)

Directions

1 Using an electric beater, beat together egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick.
2 Beat in mascarpone.
3 Whisk egg whites to soft peaks.
4 Fold cream then egg whites into mascarpone mixture.
5 Fold in strawberries.
6 Combine pureed strawberries and Grand Marnier or Cointreau.
7 Dip half the sponge fingers briefly in the mixture to moisten the outside.
8 (Do not soak fingers in mixture, they will fall apart) Line the base of a serving bowl with the sponge fingers.
9 Spoon half the mascarpone mixture into the bowl.
10 Cover with remaining sponge fingers that have been dipped in the strawberry mixture.
11 Spoon over remaining mascarpone mixture.
12 Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
13 Garnish with strawberry halves.

Don't follow the recipe too strictly, play with the amounts of ingredients, it will work out anyhow. Leave out the booze if kids have to eat it.

Probably OT....

Hans

JuliaF

I saw 'ladyfingers' in the ingredients and thought WHAT?!! Some people call okra 'ladies fingers' But then i read the recipe and these are sponge fingers, makes perfect sense now!

Looks great Hans, and so does your chocolate mousse Khandoma. Maybe I'll try them ...

Khandoma

Yummy, thanks Hans ! This should have its own thread though.
Looks really delicious. I'm thinking, ever tried replacing the Grand Marnier with something Italian, like amaretto maybe, giving a slight almond flavour ?
Will experiment and post back.

Thanks, Julia. Have fun !

Aishah

I think/hope eggs here are o.k. Thanks for info. dhans. Will try this as soon as I get a free moment, Khandoma, but it may be when I'm back in Oz! Very busy getting ready, plus work going on at the same time.... I'll add your recipe into the title dhans - but I think anyone else should start their own thread. Sounds great as well btw!