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Chocolate Mousse: Recipes, Questions


celenes

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All I need is one more way and I doubled the "6 types".

If the water-mousse isn't good enough, there's the "Holy sh*t, our best customer just said he/she wants chocolate mousse for dessert, and we don't have it on the menu tonight" version that I learned: Dream Whip folded into an equal measure of canned chocolate pudding.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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"Holy sh*t, our best customer just said he/she wants chocolate mousse for dessert, and we don't have it on the menu tonight" version that I learned: Dream Whip folded into an equal measure of canned chocolate pudding.

Hee hee......Just my luck I would do something like that, and the customer would say, "This is the BEST chocolate mousse I've EVER HAD!!" :wacko::blink::laugh:

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haha don't forget vegan mousse -- melted chocolate folded into whizzed tofu (far beats dream whip and chocolate pudding for the last-minute!)

and the much less passable, imho, raw mousse, of avocado or banana and carob....

i'll have to try that water recipe though. anyone know if subbing liqeur for some of the water will mess with the texture?

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If you put chocolate in your mouth and then drink some water, I think the flavor is superb.

If you put chocolate in your mouth and drink milk, it blends well but thats about it.

Personal experience I had, so I can understand replacing the cream with water.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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So, as you guys are on the subject, may I ask a chocolate mousse related question? :smile:

I saw a demo today using the italian merengue method (egg whites and sugar on bain marie, then whipped, folded into melted chocolate and butter). I think this is the original classic of the classics version. But when I tried it I thought it was almost, erm... chewy, I think from the merengue. And it wasn't as light and fluffy as the ones made predominantly with whipped cream (not sure of the name... one of the 37 types listed above... :huh: ).

So, I guess my question (questions) is (are): what do you guys think of the italian merengue method and which method results in the best chocolate mousse?

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first of all, meringue made with sugar and egg whites cooked over a bain-marie is a Swiss Meringue, whoever told you it was Italian needs to do some more research.

Italian Meringue is a cooked syrup to softball stage in which is poured into whipping egg whites.

I have a feeling, because it was "chewy" that the whites were brought up too high (over 160).

Though any added fat will result in a smoother mouth feel, hence your appreciationg for whipped cream. Yolks give a nice medium between richness and stability.

With the whites, the objective is aretion of mouthfeel, have the lease density as possible. It's easier to fold warm chocolate into whites and keep aeration than it is into cream, since the fat is lining the air in the cream as opposed to the sugar in the whites.

It all depends on what you want, when you want it.

Edited by chiantiglace (log)

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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Am I the onlu one that thinks a meringue with chocolate folded into it is not a mousse but a chocolate meringue?

And barvarian cream with chocoloate is just chocolate barvarian cream and not a mousse?

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Am I the onlu one that thinks a meringue with chocolate folded into it is not a mousse but a chocolate meringue? 

And barvarian cream with chocoloate is just chocolate barvarian cream and not a mousse?

Yes you are.

A mousse is a generic term to describe a temporary or stable aerated multi-component substance. You can easily have savory mousses, such as salmon mousse.

Also, once you incorporate (homogenously) a product with fat (ie chocolate) into the meringue, it is by far not a "meringue" any more. This is not like adding tarragon to a hollandaise and calling it a tarragon hollandaise instead of bernaise. This is like adding oil and emulisifier to vinegar and calling it a dressing or vinaigrette rather than a blasamic flavor olive oil.

Edited by chiantiglace (log)

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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Am I the onlu one that thinks a meringue with chocolate folded into it is not a mousse but a chocolate meringue? 

And barvarian cream with chocoloate is just chocolate barvarian cream and not a mousse?

I don't have any problems calling any of those preparations a mousse. (No problem eating them either!)

The OED defines a mousse as "A sweet or savoury dish made from a puree or other base stiffened with whipped cream, gelatin, egg-whites, etc., and usu. served chilled." Sounds good to me!

Although, as someone who enjoys pastry, it would be nice to see more detailed descriptions (chibouste, bavarian, whipped cream) rather than simply calling everything "xxx mousse."

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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also wanted to add, it is a chocolate bavarian cream, it is a chocolate sabayon, it is a chocolate bombe, etc, etc, etc.

But mousse is the mother name like a mother sauce. Bechamel-Bavarian Cream; Veloute - Diplomat Cream; Marinara - Sabayonl; Demi-Glace - Pate a Bombe.

Does that help?

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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  • 2 months later...

Hi there,

last year (well, the 30th of last december to be accurate) i watched a Tamasin Day-Lewis show on UKTV food which featured a recipe for THE sexiest chocolate mousse.

This mousse is so luscious (call it sexy if you want), looked and sounded delicious. Though, it seems i've lost the paper on which i had written down the recipe.

It was made over a double broiler and used lots of chocolate.

Do you want to see me die from desperation - in pain and tears?

I guess you don't, so i BEG you: do have the recipe for it?

- fanny

fanny loves foodbeam

pâtisserie & sweetness

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Were you looking for that exact recipe or just a good chocolate Mousse recipe?

-Robert

Chocolate Forum

Hi Robert,

i'd love to find the original recipe.

But if you've got a recipe for 'the best chocolate mousse ever', i'll be more than happy!

- fanny

fanny loves foodbeam

pâtisserie & sweetness

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I was once in the possession of a recipe for the worlds sexiest chocolate mousse. Unfortunately, one evening, I absentmindedly left the stove on simmer to braise some lamb shanks and returned to find my kitchen ablaze! Thinking quickly, I dashed to my secret hiding spot to retrieve my precious recipe but, alas, it was all but consumed by flame. Grabbing the remenants and dashing outside as the kitchen collapsed around me, I found that all but the last step were consumed by the fire!

The sole remaining fragment in my possession reads thusly:

...Serve smeared over the body of a loved one.

PS: I am a guy.

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Fanny, I think I have the recipe you want....it's in her book "Tamasin's weekend food". I'm not sure about the rules of posting recipes on this forum so I will send it to you by PM.

P&B Posting Guidelines

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:biggrin:

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Fanny, I think I have the recipe you want....it's in her book "Tamasin's weekend food". I'm not sure about the rules of posting recipes on this forum so I will send it to you by PM.

In a nutshell, as long as you write the recipe in your own words, there is no problem.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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I have a chocolate mousse recipe that calls for boiling milk, adding some gelatin and pour it over chopped chocolate and mix. Let the mixture cool to slightly warm, then fold in soft peak whipped cream.

I have seen this done at a cooking demo and it was very smooth and tasty. I have also done it myslef with good result. But the last couple times that I've made this recipe, the mousse came out grainny and gritty. I can't figure out what I did wrong?

Could it be because I overwhipped my cream? or fold in my cream while chocolate mixture is too warm?

And what is the best way to whip cream? I have seen whipping small amount at high speed till peak, then gradually add more cold cream and continue to whip till desired texture. Or, put all the cream in the mixining bowl, whip at medium speed till desired texture.

Any input appreciated!

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Low quality chocolate than the one used on previous times?

Lack of water draining from the gelatin sheets before adding them to the milk? The chocolate+milk+gelatine mix that you add to the whipped cream might have set up more than what was desired?

Try to mix part of the whites with the chocolate mixture, using your mixer, and then mix it over the remaining whites by hand... That's how I do on every mousse I make.

Filipe A S

pastry student, food lover & food blogger

there's allways room for some more weight

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