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Molded chocolate mousse Dessert


emilymarie

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I am trying to make (for my own knowledge) a dessert consisting of a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of chocolate mousse, and a layer of white chocolate mousse. I want to put it together in a mold so it's really nice and neat.

My question is: I've only been able to find molds that are about 3 or so inches high. How do I layer the cake and mousses? I bought acetate paper but I don't think this is what acetate is for. Should I cut a piece of parchement that's double or so the size of the mold and pipe the mousses onto one another that way? But then how do I get the paper off the mousse without messing it all up?

By the way, what can I use acetate paper for?

thanks! :blink:

"After all, these are supposed to be gutsy spuds, not white tablecloth social climbers."

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You can build the layers inside of a dessert ring, freeze it until it's firm, then hit the outside of the ring with a blowtorch or *clean* hairdryer to remove the ring. If you don't have dessert rings, you can use the sides of a springform pan, though you'll get some imperfections from where the springform comes together. For individual-sized portions, you can use smaller rings, or I've even read of people using PVC pipe.

The acetate will enable quicker release, but it'll take some doing to line the inside of your ring correctly.

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The acetate will enable quicker release, but it'll take some doing to line the inside of your ring correctly.

I have a small tomato sauce can which I might try to use as a mold. How do I line the inside of the ring correctly with acetate? And will that melt when I use the hair dryer to release the whole thing?

thanks.

"After all, these are supposed to be gutsy spuds, not white tablecloth social climbers."

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For individual-sized portions, you can use smaller rings, or I've even read of people using PVC pipe.

Brilliant idea! 4" PVC pipe is only like $1.60 per foot. You could make lots of rings for next to nothing.

"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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You need a stripof acetate as high or higher than your mold and long enough to fit inside the circumference of the mold and overlap a little (1") The acetate should snug itself to the mold. Place the mold on a cookie sheet or a plate. Then just place your cake circle in the bottom of the mold and pipe in the mousse as high as you want it. Place it in the freezer for several hours until it is very firm. You won't need a hair dryer to get it out, just pick up the mold a few inches from the pan or plate and it should just drop out . If you want to store it for a while put a piece of tape where the acetate overlaps and cover the top of the mousse with plastic and put it back in the freezer.

If you decide to go withour the acetate liner you will need the hair dryer to warm the mold enough to release the mousse from it , and let it drop out. Good luck.

check out my baking and pastry books at the Pastrymama1 shop on www.Half.ebay.com

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thanks everyone. i can't wait to get back to this tonight. it's been a multi-day project already.

this may be another thread in the works, but what else could i use the acetate for. i was thinking of trying to make some sort of chocolate decorations to put on top of the mousse cake, like a tic tac toe shape that i could stand upright. just for height. do i need to temper the chocolate first?

:biggrin:

"After all, these are supposed to be gutsy spuds, not white tablecloth social climbers."

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Tempering the chocolate will give you a glossier finish when you remove the piece from the acetate.

correct me if I am wrong, I always throught when making chocolate mousse it doesn't matter if the chocolate is temper or not???

Edited by spyddie (log)
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Tempering the chocolate will give you a glossier finish when you remove the piece from the acetate.

correct me if I am wrong, I always throught when making chocolate mousse it doesn't matter if the chocolate is temper or not???

Of course you are correct - chocolate for mousse doesn't need to be tempered. I believe jgarner53 was referring to emilymarie's question about using the acetate to make chocolate decorations (for which the chocolate would have to be tempered).

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Yes, you are correct nightscotsman. Buried at the end of one of my posts upthread, I asked if I needed to temper chocolate before applying it to the acetate.

The white chocolate mousse recipe I used (very simply-melted white chocolate, whipped cream whipped to soft peaks and a scant amount of milk boiled, mixed together to set) fell. I need another recipe for white chocolate mousse that will hold up, perhaps one with eggs.

Should I use gelatin in order to make these stay set once I remove the molds? Oh, and does tempered chocolate normally harden or set very quickly?

I tried to do a mini temper last night: Melted some bittersweet chocolate and then added some chopped chocolate plus a large-ish chunk of the same chocolate to what I'd melted and mixed until the chocolate had cooled. It hardened rather quickly.

:wink:

"After all, these are supposed to be gutsy spuds, not white tablecloth social climbers."

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  • 9 years later...

Time to revive this old thread.

I am going to make a few different desserts in small ring molds - the molds are 6cm and 7cm diameter. I have found an acetate which I cut so that is about 1cm above the ring when inserted and overlaps about 2cm inside the ring. One of the first experiments is to do small cheesecakes using a crumbed biscuit and butter base about 5mm in height and then the cake part that has both melted white chocolate and a touch of gelatine in it to keep stability.

Anybody have experience in doing this? My real question is: should I use some kind of lubricant on the inside of the mold and also on the inside surface of the acetate to help in a clean removal once the contents have been removed from the ring and I want to remove the acetate? I really want to get a clean removal of the acetate without damage to the dessert.

John

Cape Town - At the foot of a flat topped mountain with a tablecloth covering it.

Some time ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs. Please don't let Kevin Bacon die.

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Products like these are normally unmoulded when frozen.

 

Sometimes you'll find the acetate sticks to the ring (because of moisture or a bit of mousse getting between the acetate and ring).  If this happens, hit the side of the ring with a blowtorch or hairdryer.

 

If your cheesecake recipe (I'm assuming cold-set?) is calibrated correctly (that is, it sets) you should even be able to unwrap the acetate at with the product at room temperature - so unwrapping it frozen won't be a problem.

 

Make sure you press the biscuit crumbs firmly into the 'corners' of your mould.  If they're not pressed firmly enough, some bits may break off and you'll get a less clean look.  To help prevent this you could add extra melted butter but that will make the texture more solid.

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Products like these are normally unmoulded when frozen.

 

Sometimes you'll find the acetate sticks to the ring (because of moisture or a bit of mousse getting between the acetate and ring).  If this happens, hit the side of the ring with a blowtorch or hairdryer.

 

If your cheesecake recipe (I'm assuming cold-set?) is calibrated correctly (that is, it sets) you should even be able to unwrap the acetate at with the product at room temperature - so unwrapping it frozen won't be a problem.

 

Make sure you press the biscuit crumbs firmly into the 'corners' of your mould.  If they're not pressed firmly enough, some bits may break off and you'll get a less clean look.  To help prevent this you could add extra melted butter but that will make the texture more solid.

Thanks for that. I just wanted to confirm what I thought before messing up a batch of cheesecake. And yes, it gets frozen in the mold. I have two thicknesses of acetate - the thin one is not stable enough but another I have seems to be thick enough to not collapse in the ring. Will give it a try and see what happens. Was also thinking of a ultra-thin coating of sunflower oil on the acetate to help release, but thought it may taint or affect the product. John.

Cape Town - At the foot of a flat topped mountain with a tablecloth covering it.

Some time ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs. Please don't let Kevin Bacon die.

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For the best finish, often it's better to mould the cake upside down- add a layer of mousse (getting into all the corners), add your insert, add more mousse then place a biscuit or cake layer on top (with a slightly smaller diameter so the mousse covers the whole cake).  Cover this with a sheet of acetate and weigh it down with something flat and heavy, and you should get a perfect result.  

 

Also, you can buy rolls of acetate to fit the height of your moulds.  I use 4.5cm, but they vary.  No need to use lubricant unless you get mousse between the plastic and the ring, they should just push right out.

 

Now you just need to glaze or spray the cake and you're good to go.

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Hi jmacnaughtan, thanks for your advice. As you may realise from the sweets thread, I am changing a lot of the traditional ways I have been doing things when it comes to desserts. The only thing I have used ring molds for in the past was to stack plated meals, never desserts. So this is something a bit new to me. Your method makes sense but I will have to make quite a few adjustments in my methods to "get it right". I actually made a batch of my cheesecakes yesterday and had just finished stacking everything in the ring molds when my heart sank - I forgot to put in the acetate linings. Well, I have a bunch of them that are now being snacked by my employees family! Oh, and as mentioned in the sweets thread, I am making quite a lot of your sweet pastry, which is so quick and easy and really is tasty and versatile. I now need to make a test batch with cocoa to have a chocolate version for my rich chocolate mini tarts.

Regarding the acetate, it is not available here as pre-cut. This is Africa and we have to find sheets of acetate and have somebody cut it or do it yourself. Fortunately, I had a pile of A4 sized sheets I had from a previous project and am experimenting with that before I get a whole batch cut at a plastic supply company.

John

Cape Town - At the foot of a flat topped mountain with a tablecloth covering it.

Some time ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs. Please don't let Kevin Bacon die.

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  • 5 months later...

Most of the recipes I've made have not wept, but you know you can buy stabilizers to help with that. Chocolate mousses never weep for me. Fruit mousses need the stabilizer for the thaw. My go-to mousse is Hermé's from Chocolate Desserts. No weep with that one at all.

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Most of the recipes I've made have not wept, but you know you can buy stabilizers to help with that. Chocolate mousses never weep for me. Fruit mousses need the stabilizer for the thaw. My go-to mousse is Hermé's from Chocolate Desserts. No weep with that one at all.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Say if I make a chocolate mousse cake for a local cafe and deliver it frozen. How long should they leave it to thaw prior to serve customers?

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