The mousse dessert was a must on every menu in days gone by. The standard was a chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and usually eaten with a long spoon and served in a tall glass. It belongs to the era of ice cream sundaes, banana splits and cassata, I suppose. The creamy, fluffy softness was considered a treat and a peak in culinary heights during less buoyant and more austere times.
Mousse can be made from just about anything: chocolate, fruit, nuts and even salmon. The important ingredients to attain different kinds of mousse are whipped cream, gelatin, eggs, Italian meringue, instant pudding (cornflour) and a flavour.
I’m not so keen on mousse in a receptacle and prefer them to be proud, free-standing desserts. To this end, I have plenty of silicone moulds available to put my finished mixture into. If I have any left over, I pour it into a clingwrap-lined English cake form – no waste.
Mousse can be stored in the freezer and taken out an hour or so before serving.
This recipe can also be made with dairy ingredients and will taste and feel even better than this version.
Ingredients:
- 3 g fish gelatine
- 15 g chilled water
- 180 ml unsweetened soy milk that can be heated (the ‘larger quantity’)
- 25 g crushed fresh coffee beans
- 60 g sugar (the ‘larger quantity’)
- 48 g sugar (the ‘smaller quantity’)
- 40 g egg yolks
- 2 g cornflour
- 32 ml unsweetened soy milk that can be heated (the ‘smaller quantity’)
- 320 ml non-dairy whipping cream
Method:
Add the cold water to the gelatine, mix and leave it to set.
Coarsely crush or grind the coffee beans, add to (the larger quantity of) soy milk and bring to a simmer on a very low heat for several minutes. Sieve out the crushed beans and then set the milk aside in a mixing bowl.
Make creme anglaise by mixing the sugar and cornflour together, then add to the yolks and mix well. Heat the smaller quantity of soy milk, add it to the egg mix, return it to the pot and bring to about 78 C, or until it thickens and creates a film on the back of your spoon. Add to the coffee soy mix.
Once gelatine is set, heat it on a bain-marie until it is liquid then add to the coffee, soy and creme anglaise mix.
Whip the cream to stiff peaks then gently fold into the combined mixture in the bowl.
Place a piece of baking paper over the base of the moulds. Using a piping bag, fill the moulds and use a metal spatula to level the mousse. Short pastry discs can also be cut, baked to size and placed under the base of the mousse or for serving.
The mousse here has a cocoa short-pastry base and gluten-free chocolate layers made from sugar, cocoa, egg whites and egg yolks. It is also glazed with a jelly cocoa coating. Each of these supplementary items is a food column in itself.
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