mousse

I think it is essential that we send our children out into the world with a working knowledge of basic cooking skills! Essential skills such as how to boil pasta, create a stellar grilled cheese, bake chicken to the correct temperature, cream butter and sugar together to create a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie and, without a doubt, how to easily assemble a delicious homemade chocolate raspberry mousse recipe. A great chocolate mousse recipe is the perfect tool to impress a date, woo a potential spouse, or soothe a broken heart.

Cooking with children is not only fun and builds fundamental skills such as fractions, whole numbers, science, and reading, but it also creates wonderful memories. Chocolate mousse is a fantastic intermediate recipe to create with your pre-teen or teenager. Simply divide up the components of the recipe into the chocolate mixture, egg whites, and whipped cream. Give the child (or children) the individual component and bring all the items together in the end to create the recipe.

In addition to the sense of accomplishment and the new found skills your child now possess, you can also incorporate a working knowledge of the many varieties of vanilla beans we carry.... Each bean and extract has a distinct flavor profile and pairs perfectly with different sweet and savory applications. For instance, Mexican vanilla is the perfect pair to milk chocolate. Mexican vanilla is bold, smokey, and amazingly complex.

Milk Chocolate Raspberry Mousse

adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Yields 8 cups

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur (Chambord is great)
  • 1 tsp. raspberry extract
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1/2 cup cold heavy cream

Directions:

Combine the chocolate, raspberry extract, raspberry liquor, 1/4 cup water, and the vanilla in a heat-proof glass bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals until the chocolate melts. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in the Mexican vanilla extract and softened butter until well combined.

Place the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 4 minutes until very thick and pale yellow. Place the mixer on low speed, slowly add the chocolate mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Place 1 cup of egg whites (save or discard the rest), the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold in the remaining egg whites very lightly with a rubber or silicone spatula.

Whip the heavy cream and the remaining tablespoon of sugar in the same mixing bowl as the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Lightly fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture using a rubber or silicone spatula. Spoon or pipe the mousse into individual dishes, chill for 30 minutes and enjoy!