Overall, this was a pretty easy recipe to put together. The ingredients were all straight forward and common. If it didn't require some chilling time, it'd almost be something that you could throw together at the last minute. Like Summer mentioned, the most time consuming part of the recipe was chopping the chocolate. Boy do I need some practice chopping chocolate! Beth's tips were definitely helpful, but my poor weak wrist was crying for a reprieve by the time I was nearing the end of the chopping. LOL! Maybe my knife needs some sharpening too.
I took a cue from Summer and made up an extra batch of whipped cream to dollop the top. We also got some huge strawberries today, so naturally I had to add those as a garnish as well!
The flavor of this mousse was intensely rich. I couldn't even finish my glass! But it was definitely delicious! My only concern was the texture. For some reason, it was a little gritty. I'm not sure what might have caused this. I don't know if it was the cream (over whipped?) or maybe the quality or consistency of the chocolate (combination of Ghiradelli's and Baker's). This is something I'll have to be on the look out for the next time I make this. Because, oh yes, there will be a next time! :D
I have to say, adding the strawberries was the perfect finishing touch. I mean, who doesn't like chocolate and strawberries? Overall, this made for quite the delicious Valentine's treat!
Between you and Nibblik's mom you're goin' to drive me nuts with these chocolate recipes. Lately I have had trouble with gritty chocolate as well. Solution. Keeping making batches until it smooths out.
ReplyDelete(Eat the gritty ones yourself, naturally.)
Hi Lisa and Summer - Beth here :) So glad you liked the mousse! If your chocolate was gritty, most likely the pan was too hot. I don't have the recipe in front of me, but I think I have you melting it on the stove over the lowest heat setting? It may be that on your stove that's still too hot - chocolate is very sensitive. One thing you can do is put the chocolate in a bowl (stainless steel is a good option) and place it over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water in it over low heat. Don't let the bowl touch the water, and don't let the water boil. Stir the chocolate with a flexible spatula from time to time until it melts. Doing it this way melts the chocolate over a gentler heat - that should eliminate the grittiness.
ReplyDeleteHope that helps!
Thanks so much for the tips Beth!!! I had no idea that melting chocolate too quickly or over too high a heat could have this effect! I love learning stuff like this. :) This particular recipe called for adding the heated cream to a bowl with the chopped chocolate in it. Maybe the cream was too hot then? After a day or two in the fridge we also noticed the texture got smoother. Again - loved this recipe! :)
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