White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse |
Welcome to the new year of Pass the Cook Book Club! Every month, three recipes from a cookbook is chosen, and bloggers re-create and feature one of the chosen recipes. This month, Christiane from The Mom Chef: Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time chose The Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book. She chose three delightful recipes: seafood lasagna, vegetable pot pie, and white chocolate mousse with Frangelico.
I chose to make the mousse recipe, but was completely torn about which liqueur to use. I love hazelnut, so I was intrigued by the Frangelico but I also wanted to try the recipe with Chambord, which is a raspberry liqueur. When I finally went to gather my ingredients at the grocery store, they actually didn't have any Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur, but they had a bottle of Chambord so that helped me definitely with my decision!
This recipe is incredibly easy to make and doesn't need a lot of ingredients. This recipe does, however, take two things: time and dishes. The actual mousse itself doesn't take a lot of time to make, but it does take time to set. So if you're planning on serving this dish, make sure to make it the day before or several hours (i.e. the morning of) that you plan to serve this dish! The other thing I didn't expect was the amount of dishes that this dessert took to make! I believe I used two saucepans, and five mixing bowls... not to mention all the utensils!
This dessert is definitely worth making. The texture is light and smooth, and the Chambord and white chocolate are not overpowering and complement each well. Although this dessert is very decadent, it goes down easy so you must use portion control (or not)!
This recipe makes a TON, so you might want to consider halving the recipe if you're serving 4-6 people. I also think that this mousse will make a great mousse pie or other filling, but it might need a little more stabilizer... I might be experimenting with this more in the future.
The mousse would be a wonderful Valentine's dessert or special occasion treat! Now that Valentine's is coming up, consider making this for your honey or loved ones.
White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse
Slightly adapted from The Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book
8 ounces best-quality white chocolate, broken into small pieces
1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick)
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 c. Chambord or other raspberry liqueur
2 c. whipping cream, cold
Pinch of cream of tartar
Fresh raspberries, for garnish
Melt the white chocolate and butter in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Set aside.
Beat the egg yolks, sugar and liqueur until the mixture forms a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Pour the mixture into the top of a double boiler and cook, whisking constantly, over simmering water until very thick, about three minutes.
Remove to a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the white chocolate mixture and stir until smooth and cool.
Beat the cream until the peaks are stiff. In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold in the whipped cream. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.
Spoon the chilled mousse into individual ramekins or goblets. Top with fresh raspberries, and serve immediately. Keep any leftovers in the fridge.
Makes 10-12 servings