cookery school

Dark Chocolate and Espresso Mousse

Ingredients

Ingredients for the chocolate mousse

125g dark chocolate
50g milk chocolate
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300ml double cream
1 shot, very strong coffee, cooled
Optional – coffee liquer

Ingredients for the coffee syrup

200g sugar
100ml water
2 shot espresso coffee
Tia Maria or liqueur to taste (optional)

Ingredients for parfait’s sponge base

4 eggs
125g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
50g sifted plain flour
25g sifted cocoa powder

Ingredients for the iced tiramisu parfait

4 egg yolks
100g sugar
100ml water
150g marscapone
250g double cream
4tbsp marsala wine

Ingredients for garnish

12 griottine cherries
50g dark chocolate
25g white chocolate

Serves: 4 - 6
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 1 hour

Method

For the mousse, start by melting both chocolates together in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water and allow to cool slightly

Whisk the egg and the egg yolk with the cooled shot of coffee, in a bowl over a pan of simmering water , to form a sabayon.

Semi whip the cream with the liqueur.

Fold the sabyon mix into the chocolate, then fold in the semi whipped cream.

Pour into a mould and leave in the fridge to set.

To finish, lightly whip some cream and pour on top of the mousse. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.

For the syrup, boil the sugar and water until it has reached hard boil temperature/120oC . You will need a sugar thermometer for this, alternatively, when a little of the syrup is dropped into a glass of cold water, it should form a firm clear ball. Remove from the heat and add the coffee and liqueur. Re-heat until completely dissolved. Strain and cool. Reserve until ready to decorate the plate

For the sponge, start by whisking the eggs and the sugar until pale yellow, light and fluffy. Next, gently fold in the ground almonds, followed by the sifted flour and cocoa powder.

Pour this mixture into a lined tin and bake for 8 – 10 minutes (depending on thickness) until springy to the touch.

For the iced tiramisu parfait:

Whisk the egg yolks in a heat proof bowl with electric mixer until pale yellow, thick and creamy .

Heat the sugar and water slowly, until the sugar dissolves. Then, increase the heat and boil to hard boil/120oC (see instructions as before). Remove from heat immediately and trickle onto the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk until the volume has increased and cooled slightly. This is called a pate a bombe mix.

Next, mix together the marscapone and marsala until creamy. Semi whip the cream and fold into the marscapone mix.

Fold this mix into the pate a bombe mix. Pour this mix onto the cooled sponge, cut to size and freeze.

To serve, remove the parfait from the mould, portion as desired and place on a plate together the mousse. Decorate with cherries, coffee syrup and chocolate run out.