Caramel Mousse

[ritz55]

Hi

Have been a silent reader of this forum since years and consider it as my Virtual Guru!

I have been struggling with caramel mousse since many days so have turned towards my guru for help!!!!

My problem is I cant get caramel right it turns into toffee

Is it possible to do with either caramel syrup(readymade ones) or with Snickers/Mars. Also can it be done with gelatine/marshmellows instead of eggs, have a mental block against raw eggs

Thanks

Edited July 18, 2011 by ritz55 (log)

[ChrisZ]

What recipe or technique or are using? And what do you mean by it turning into toffee- are you saying that your mousse sets hard?

Caramel mousse is not too difficult to make and using a sugar thermometer will help you get consistent results.

A typical approach would be to boil sugar until it turns into a caramel, add cream/ cream+milk to the browned sugar to make a caramel sauce base, then let it cool and add whipped cream, gelatine, egg yolks (& possibly whipped egg whites) depending on the texture you want. The temperature you take the sugar to will determine the colour and flavour of the mousse. Although it's a matter of small debate, the choice of a wet or dry sugar caramel won't affect the flavour, just the speed at which the sugar browns. The only reveal caveat is that adding cream to hot sugar will result in a dramatic eruption that can easily give you a steam burn.

If you start with a different type of caramel base, either a commercial caramel syrup or a dulce de leche (ie. a boiled can of condensed milk) then the process would still be the same. To make the caramel into a mousse just add whipped cream, gelatine, egg yolks. Using only gelatine and not eggs will give you a different, firmer texture that arguably isn't a mousse, but it depends on what you're trying to do.

But I'm curious to know what your problem is, because toffee sounds like a starting point. You just need to add cream to make it into a liquid caramel base and then go from there.

[Broken English]

I've been making a mars bar mousse for a few years now, I really like it. I used to use eggs, but I found they were unneccessary, so I ended up omitting them.

MARS BAR MOUSSE

8 x 55g mars bars, chopped

50 ml milk

800ml thickened cream, whisked to soft peaks with the sugar

Small handful of sugar

7.5g gelatine leaves, softened

Melt the mars bars and milk over a bain marie, when melted (the caramel must be completely melted and the nougat broken down), dissolve the gelatine into the chocolate and pass. Allow to cool slightly before combining with the cream. Fold to incorporate and set.

I find the gelatine gives it a slightly caramel texture, and it prevents the mixture from seperating after a few hours, but if you're eating it straight away, then the gelatine isn't essential. I hope this is of some use.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Broken English (log)

[ritz55]

@CrisZ..The recipe that Im using is which incidentally does not mention the temperature at which sugar has to be cooked so I cooked it for 6mins and also does not include any eggs or gelatine.

The caramel sauce was hard and I presume it should have been a flowing sauce since it has to be whipped in cream.

What would be the proportions for sugar and eggs??

Cris what Im looking for is a light in texture mousse and if possible should have some shelf life.

Appreciate your help!!

@Broken English..Thanks for the recipe, will give it a shot!!

Edited July 20, 2011 by ritz55 (log)

[ChrisZ]

Without having tried the recipe I can only share a few thoughts.

Firstly, if the caramel sauce you have made according to your recipe is too firm, can you soften it by heating it gently without getting it too hot for the whipped cream? Or is it firm even when it's warm? Maybe it's just too cold.

Secondly, proportions for eggs / gelatine will vary depending on the texture you want. Any calculations would be done according to the volume of the caramel sauce, not just the sugar. It would depend on what your preference is. If you want a very light, easily pipeable mousse then you may only need whipped cream. If you want the mousse to have a traditional velvet texture then whipped cream & egg yolks may be enough, maybe 1 yolk for every 50-70mls of sauce? Gelatine would give a firmer texture again, depending on how much you use. I don't have any ratios or guidelines for eggs and gelatine in mousse, sorry. If you decided to use egg yolks and wanted some shelf-life, I'd want to heat the yolks- whisk them with sugar until thick and then pour in the caramel sauce, like a custard.

Thirdly, if you're prepared to try different recipes or create your own, then my basic ratio for a caramel sauce is 2:2:1 sugar:cream:milk. This would equate to 200g sugar, which I would caramelise, then I would add 200mls cream mixed with 100mls milk. As I outlined above, once the sauce has cooled I would then add whipped cream, gelatine and egg yolks depending on what I wanted. I find caramel to be a fairly delicate flavour, so I wouldn't be adding much whipped cream at all. Whipped egg whites would make it lighter and airier.

Finally, there's an alternative recipe for caramel mousse as part of this dessert (you can ignore the other elements). I've made it a few times and find the caramel flavour to be very delicate, I'd probably use less whipped cream than the recipe asks for.

Hope this helps.

[ritz55]

Chris..Thanks a lot for all your help.

The caramel sauce is hard even at room temp so its not too cold though havent tried to re-heat it.

Will try making it again with the ratios given by you.Though have one more thing to ask you that how much sugar would be required for every yolk??

Edited July 20, 2011 by ritz55 (log)

[Broken English]

@Broken English..Thanks for the recipe, will give it a shot!!

No problem, let me know what you think. It's a bit of an improvised recipe, the basis of which came one frantic afternoon when I was trying to put together a back up dessert at short notice. I liked the idea, so I messed with it some more and that recipe is the end result, but I'm open to adapting it.