How to make mousse
THE word 'mousse' became popular in the 1960s, when the French speciality 'mousse au chocolat' became a household name.
Mousse (French for foam) is a soft prepared food that contains air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. It can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick, depending on the cooking technique. A mousse can be savoury or sweet.
Savoury mousses can be made with meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese or vegetables. Savoury mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.
Sweet mousses are usually made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavoured with one or more of the following: chocolate, coffee, caramel, pureed fruit, or various herbs and spices such as mint or vanilla.
In some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into the melted chocolate to give the final product a richer texture. Mousses are also usually chilled before serving, giving them a denser texture. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as a cake filling. It is sometimes stabilised with gelatine.
Gelatine is made from bones and rind, an animal product that does not look very appetising - although it is tasteless.
A vegetable alternative is agar-agar, a thickening agent derived from red algae. It has excellent gelling properties and is mainly available in health food shops, but is much more expensive than the ubiquitous gelatine. Unlike gelatine, agar-agar only fully dissolves in hot liquid. It must be boiled for two minutes and then gels very quickly, which is why it is not suitable for cold masses.
You should test agar-agar before using it for the first time. One teaspoon of agaragar is equivalent to six sheets of gelatine, enough for 500 ml of liquid.
If gelatine is used, soak it in plenty of cold water. Squeeze well before processing. It can be dissolved either in a saucepan with a liquid such as juice, or in a warm mixture such as puree or chocolate. It is best not to add it all at once to the cold mixture, but to stir a small amount with a whisk first.
Then add the rest of the ingredients to avoid lumps. When the mixture begins to curdle on the sides and on the surface, it is time to add the whipped egg whites or cream.
If you are too late and the mixture is already solid, you can warm it gently in a bainmarie to make it liquid again. The cream should be well cooled. It should be stiff but still creamy.
A mousse can be kept in the fridge for two or three days, but it should be kept in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing flavours from other foods.
Lemongrass mousse with plum jam
Makes four 250ml glasses: 2 stalks of lemongrass (get from an Asian shop), 5g sugar, 125 ml whipped cream (nata para montar), 400ml milk, 1 packet of vanilla pudding powder (natillas de vainilla), mint for the garnish (menta).
For the plum jam: 4 plums (ciruelas), 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp Chinese spice mixture, 1 tbsp blossom honey (miel mil flores).
Remove the outer shell of the lemongrass sticks, cut the rest into small pieces. Bring to the boil with the sugar and 100 ml of water. Whip the cream. Bring the milk to the boil, stir in the pudding powder and cook for one or two minutes.
Pour the lemongrass syrup through a sieve and stir in well. Let the mixture cool down. Gradually add the whipped cream, pour the mousse into attractive glasses. Chill for about an hour.
For the plum jam, cut the washed fruits into wedges. Put two tablespoons of water, the sugar and the Chinese spices in a saucepan. Simmer for a while until they dissolve. Let cool down. Mix with honey and add to the top of the mousse and serve garnished with mint in the glasses.
Chocolate mousse with anise and pears
Serves four people: 2 star anise (anís estrellado), 100g dark chocolate (chocolate negro), 1 tbsp anise (anis, e.g. Pastis, Pernod etc.), 100 ml whipped cream (nata para montar), 1 egg white (clara de huevo) , 4g sugar (azúcar).
To do the pears: 4 sticks of liquorice (regalíz), 200ml of water, 80g of sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (zumo de limón), 4 pears (peras).
Finely grind the star anise in a mortar. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt with star anise and aniseed liquid in a Bain Marie. Whip the cream until stiff. Likewise, beat the egg white until stiff, gradually adding the sugar while stirring until the mixture is glossy. Let the smooth melted chocolate cool a little, gradually stirring in the whipped cream, and then add the stiff egg whites. Cool covered for at least two hours.
For the pears: Place the liquorice sticks in a pot of water with sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil.
Cut the top off the pear (with the stem) and save, remove the core from the rest of the pair and slice the remaining flesh slices 1-2cm thick. Place in the syrup, bring to the boil, remove from the heat and let cool. Then drain the pear slices.
Arrange the mousse and pear slices nicely, garnish with the top of the pear lid and a liquorice stick. Drizzle on a little syrup.
Speedy chocolate mousse
This is easiest and quickest way of making a chocolate mousse dessert. For every 100g bar white, milk, mocha or other chocolate we add 200g sweet cream.
For example, break a bar of dark chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl over a Bain Marie, then add liquid cream and stir well. Cover with cling film and cool overnight.
The next day, simply whip the mixture like cream. Use a spoon to form the required shape and serve.
Traditional chocolate mousse
And now for a traditional version: 1 cup whipping cream; 2 cups dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until it starts to boil.
Add the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted.
Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs. Add the yolks to the melted chocolate and mix well.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the beaten egg whites to the melted chocolate and mix with a stirring motion until well combined.
Pour the mixture into individual moulds and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Yogurt mousse
To serve 6: 500g of quality yoghurt, 40g icing sugar (azúcar glacé), four vanilla flavour yoghurts (yogur sabor vainilla) a sheet of gelatine (gelatina), a vanilla pod (vaina de vainilla).
Cut the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the vanilla, mix with the powdered sugar and yogurt.
Soak the gelatine in cold water, remove when well soaked and dissolve into a pan on low heat.
First, mix with a little yogurt, and then stir everything together smoothly. Put it all in the fridge until it gels slightly. This takes about 20 minutes.
Whip the cream until stiff, blend into the yoghurt mousse, place in the fridge for half an hour to three quarters of an hour. Serve the mousse with a berry jam, a fruit salad, fruit, etc.