Category Archives: Mousse

Grace’s First Holy Communion Cake

Posted on by
2

Last week I was asked to make some (~6-7 dozen) dessert pastries for our temples gala fundraiser, This week I made the First Holy Communion cake for our granddaughter Grace, and her cousin Joe. What fun!

This cake is the second time I made a cake for 60 people. It is a two layer cake with fresh raspberry mousse filling, as requested by Grace. It took me 5 attempts to develop the mousse that fulfilled my requirements of fresh taste but firm enough to be a cake filling, without being too dense. Oddly, it also took me 5 attempts to perfect the chalice and the circular disk which represents the Eucharist. I ended up with simple fondant cut outs. The chalice was sprayed with edible gold glitter. A cross was impressed on the disk with a fondant tool. The sun rays were fondant cut at a thin taper with a pizza cutter, then dried.

The vanilla cake (as requested) is two 3” layers, each 11×15”. They were crumb coated with basic buttercream. I built a dam to hold the mousse b adding some meringue powder to a portion of the buttercream and piped it around the edge of the lower cake layer. Another portion of the buttercream was dyed in an attempt to color it gold. A few drops of yellow and one of orange was the prescribed ratio. I would have added a very small amount of brown, if I had the courage. To add very small amounts, just dip the end of a toothpick in the food dye and wipe it through the buttercream, then beat.

The fondant is basic marshmallow fondant, but a lot of it. I needed it to be 16×25” to cover the cake. One issue I had was the fondant was drying out as I kneaded and rolled it out. (Next time, don’t make it 2 days in advance.)

Yellow Sheet Cake (2 required)

YIELD: SERVES 25-30

INGREDIENTS

• 570 g all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 2tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 460 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 700 g granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 240 g (1 c) sour cream, at room temperature
• 480 ml (2 c) whole milk, at room temperature

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease and lightly flour a 11x15x3” cake pan. Set aside.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 3 full minutes until creamed together. The mixture should be a light yellow color. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition until both are mixed in. On high speed, beat in the vanilla extract and sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
  3. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternating with the milk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
  4. The full recipe yields 2000g of batter. Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out into a thin, even layer. Bake for 20-22 minutes (for the jelly roll pan, less for a half recipe or 45-50 minutes for a double in an 11×15” pan.) Actual times depend on pan used, less time for shallow pan, more for deeper, or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or 200F. (Two 8” round pans required 30 minutes to bake in my oven.) Make sure you rotate the cake pan once or twice during bake time if your oven has hot spots. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan placed on a wire rack. As the cake is cooling, make the frosting.
  5. Make ahead tip: Cake can be made 1 -2 days in advance, wrapped in plastic wrapped tightly at room temperature.
  6. I suggest freezing the wrapped cake for a couple of hours before assembling the cake. They are very tender and fragile when at room temperature and much more stable when chilled/frozen.

Raspberry – Cream Cheese Mousse

INGREDIENTS

• 340 g (~2 ½ c, 12 oz) fresh raspberries
• 2 Tbl confectioner’s sugar
• 1 Tbl instant vanilla pudding mix (substitute corn starch if desired.)
• 112 g (4 oz) cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup Tbl powdered sugar
• 1 Tbl freeze-dried raspberry powder
• Optional: ¼ tsp red food coloring
• Optional: 1 tsp ouzo (for tartness)

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 2 Tbl instant vanilla pudding powder (substitute corn starch if desired.)
• 2-3 Tbl powdered sugar

METHOD

  1. Combine raspberries and 2 Tbl confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add to a food processor and pulse until berries are reduced
  2. Sieve the mixture allowing enough time for most of the raspberry juice to drip into a bowl, (enough to make 200ml (2/3 c) puree)
  3. Add 1 Tbl vanilla pudding, softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup sweetener, raspberry powder and ouzo and beat until well combined (3-4 minutes on high.) Mix in red food coloring in 2 or 3 aliquots until desired color is attained.
  4. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream and confectioners sugar. Add red food coloring (in several small amounts until desired color is attained) and whip to firm peaks.
  5. Add the vanilla pudding mix near the end and stir slowly. It will start setting the mousse quickly.
  6. Fold the raspberry mixture into the whipped cream until combined. Divide the mousse among 6 dessert cups, cover, or fill a piping bag and chill until set, about 1 hour.

Marshmallow Fondant (2 required)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows
• 2-5 tablespoons water
• 2 pounds sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

METHOD

  1. Grease a mixing bowl and a glass bowl that can be used to melt marshmallows in the microwave.
  2. Place the marshmallows, water and flavoring of your choice in greased glass bowl and microwave on high at 30 second intervals.
  3. Stir every 30 seconds until marshmallows are completely melted, about 2 minutes.
  4. Sift one half of the 2-pound bag of confectioner’s sugar in a greased mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the confectioner’s sugar and pour in the melted marshmallows.
  5. I use the paddle attachment for my KitchenAid mixer for this first part of the mixture.
  6. Mix until all the melted marshmallows are incorporated in the confectioner’s sugar.
  7. Add any food coloring at this point.
  8. Mixture will be thick but still runny.
  9. Sift the remaining half bag of confectioner’s sugar into the melted marshmallows.
  10. Mix on low until it comes together.
  11. Change to your dough hook attachment as this will get extremely thick.
  12. Fondant will be very thick and have a dough like consistency. I like to knead by hand to assure everything is well mixed.
  13. Wipe a thin layer of vegetable shortening over the surface and wrap the fondant in plastic to make sure no air gets to it.
  14. Rest fondant for at least an hour before use. Store at room temperature for no more than a day.

Buttercream Frosting (May need 2-3 recipes)


INGREDIENTS

• 452 g (4 cups) of powdered sugar (or 1 box)
• 1 Cup (2 sticks) of softened butter
• 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons of whipping cream (for crumb coat frosting add cream as needed)
Optional
• 2 Tbl Meringue Powder to make crusting frosting.
• Violet food coloring (a very small amount will make the frosting white)

METHOD

  1. Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl.
  2. Add softened sticks of butter
  3. Add vanilla. If you want white frosting add a very small amount of violet food coloring
  4. Add 1 tbsp of cream.
  5. Beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.
  6. Add more cream, a little bit at a time, beating at slowest speed, until frosting is the proper consistency.

 

TOR 2024 Gala

Posted on by
1

I am always pleased when asked to prepare some items for a party, large or small. Tonight is our annual temple baseball themed gala with an expected attendance of 100 people. I started this tradition in 2018, but missed a couple of years due to Covid etc.

Tonight Dede’ Bakery and Confectionary is serving chocolate/raspberry baseball field brownies, gluten free raspberry mousse tarts with baseball decorated cookies and key lime profiteroles with no baseball association whatsoever. (I just like them.)


GLUTEN FREE TARTS
INGREDIENTS
• 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 60 g icing sugar
• 200 g Kim’s Bread flour blend
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 eggs – 1 for the dough and the other 1 reserved for an egg wash

METHOD

  1. Mix dry Ingredients.
  2. Lightly beat egg then add the melted butter.
  3. Add wet to dry ingredients. Form into a dough ball.
  4. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. Roll to a 1/8” thick sheet between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic.
  6. Cut rounds of the dough about an inch larger than the tart pans
  7. Gently press the dough circles into the tart pans pressing into any flutes
  8. Patch any breaks with extra dough
  9. Dock the bottom of the crust. Wrap and keep in freezer at least 30 minutes.
  10. Pre-bake the tart crust 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven at 350 deg.
  11. Depending on recipe, you may want to protect the crust of the tart with foil
  12. Cool to room temperature
  13. Fill with raspberry mousse.
  14. Top with a raspberry and white sugar cookies with red baseball seams.

Raspberry – Cream Cheese Mousse

INGREDIENTS
Raspberry Puree
• 340 g (~2 ½ c, 12 oz) fresh raspberries
• 2 Tbl confectioner’s sugar
• 1 Tbl instant vanilla pudding mix (substitute corn starch if desired.)
• 112 g (4 oz) cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup Tbl powdered sugar
• 1 Tbl freeze-dried raspberry powder
• Optional: ¼ tsp red food coloring
• Optional: 1 tsp ouzo (for tartness)
Whipped Cream – Stabilized
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 2 Tbl instant vanilla pudding powder (substitute corn starch if desired.)
• 2-3 Tbl powdered sugar

METHOD

  1. Combine raspberries and 2 Tbl confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add to a food processor and pulse until berries are reduced
  2. Sieve the mixture allowing enough time for most of the raspberry juice to drip into a bowl, (enough to make 200ml (2/3 c) puree)
  3. Add 1 Tbl vanilla pudding, softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup sweetener, raspberry powder and ouzo and beat until well combined (3-4 minutes on high.) Mix in red food coloring in 2 or 3 aliquots until desired color is attained.
  4. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream, vanilla pudding mix and confectioners sugar.
  5. Add red food coloring (in several small amounts until desired color is attained) and whip to firm peaks.
  6. Fold the raspberry mixture into the whipped cream until combined. Divide the mousse among 6 dessert cups, cover, or fill a piping bag and chill until set, about 1 hour.

KIM’S GLUTEN FREE BREAD FLOUR BLEND
Yield: 700g (5 c)
INGREDIENTS
• 285g Bob’s Red Mill potato starch
• 250g superfine white rice flour (DON’T use regular rice flour, ie Bob’s Red Mill)
• 75g Tapioca flour
• 75g Whey protein isolate or egg white protein.
• 15g Xanthan gum
METHOD

  1. Weigh all ingredients and add to a stand mixer bowl
  2. Mix on low, with bowl covered for 30 seconds

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY BROWNIE BARS
I made a 1 ½ recipe and used an 11×15 pan.

INGREDIENTS
Brownies
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ¼ c dark cocoa
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ c sugar
• 1 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ c All-Purpose Flour
• 1 c chocolate chips
• 1 c Raspberry Jammy Bits
• 3 Tbl seedless raspberry jam
• 1 Tbl water
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
• 1 Tbl cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbl light corn syrup (20g)
• 2 ⅔ c (400g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 Tbl vanilla extract

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan. To make very even bars, line the pan with aluminum foil before baking, leaving foil sticking up above the edges of the pan.
  2. Crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth.
  3. Add the sugar and melted butter, stirring until smooth.
  4. Add the flour, chips, and Jammy Bits, again stirring well. The batter will be very thick.
  5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth.
  6. Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (205 degrees,) or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look moist, but not uncooked. Do not over bake! Remove them from the oven.
  7. Heat the seedless raspberry jam with the water and stir until smooth. (I use 2 tsp of apple jelly, mixed with 1 tsp water and heated to melt the jelly.) Brush over the warm brownies. Set aside to cool for an hour or longer before topping with the ganache.
  8. To make the ganache, heat the cream and corn syrup until they begin to steam. Pour over the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, add any flavorings, and whisk until smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes or so.
  9. Pour ganache over the brownies while it’s still warm but has begun to thicken — reheat if it thickens too much as you work. Allow several hours for the ganache to set up fully. You may refrigerate the brownies to hasten the setting of the ganache.
  10. Remove the brownies from the pan using the aluminum foil sling. Heat a knife in hot water, wipe dry and use to cut the brownies. Repeat with each cut.

KEY LIME PROFITEROLES
INGREDIENTS
Whipped Cream Key Lime Curd:
• ½ c white sugar
• 2 Tbl cornstarch
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp lime zest
• ⅔ c key lime juice
• ⅔ c sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbl butter
• ¾ c heavy whipping

Choux Pastry:
• ½ c (65 grams) AP flour
• ½ tsp granulated white sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 tbsp (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ½ c (120 ml) water
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache
• 150 g confectioner’s sugar
• 50 g heavy cream
• 1 Tbl freeze-dried raspberry powder
• Red food coloring
• Coarse decorating sugar

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C) and place rack in center of oven.
  2. In a bowl whisk the flour with the sugar and salt.
  3. Place the butter and water in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
  4. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. It will look like mashed potatoes. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). The dough will film the bottom and sides of the saucepan and make cleaning a pain.
  5. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about 1 minute).
  6. Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon).
  7. Place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe oblongs of dough (about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide) onto the parchment lined baking sheet. (When piping hold the bag at a 45-degree angle.) If desired, with a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with the lightly beaten egg.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350o F (180o C).
  9. Remove from oven, pierce an end of each éclair with a small skewer to release the interior steam.
  10. Continue to bake for a further 25 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
  11. Warm white chocolate to soften (30 seconds in a 1000W microwave)
  12. Heat whipping cream to steam, but not boil and pour over the softened white chocolate
  13. Let sit 3-4 minutes then add freeze dried raspberry, red food coloring and beat with a spoon until the mixture is smooth
  14. After filling the profiteroles with the key lime curd dip the top into the warm ganache and sprinkle with decoration sugar.
    ROYAL ICING
    Makes ~3 cups of royal icing, (¼ recipe decorated 48 1” diameter cookies)
    INGREDIENTS
    • 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
    • 3 Tablespoons meringue powder (not plain egg white powder)
    • 9–10 Tablespoons room temperature water
    METHOD
  15. Sift confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder, into a large bowl and add 9 Tablespoons of water. Add half the water after sifting 2 cups of sugar. Add the remaining water or more, checking flow consistency of the icing is what you want for piping etc.
  16. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 – 2 minutes.
  17. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I usually need 10 Tablespoons but on particularly dry days, I use up to 12-14 Tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more confectioners’ sugar.
  18. When applied to cookies or confections in a thin layer, icing completely dries in about 2 hours at room temperature. If icing consistency is too thin and runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thick on cookies, it will also take longer to dry. If you’re layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to help speed it up.

Mousse, No Squirrel

Posted on by
3

Don’t ask me why I was obsessed with making a Neapolitan Mousse Cake, but I was, and it’s now complete. Today was the third and fourth (and final) adjustments to the recipe(s).

To make the three layers approximately the same thickness I increased the amount of white and strawberry mousse. I also adjusted the amount of agar agar to create the consistency I wanted.

Neapolitan Mousse

INGREDIENTS

WHIPPED CREAM (for Chocolate Mousse)– YIELDS 1 ½ CUPS OF WHIPPED CREAM
• 1 cup Heavy whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons Powdered Sugar or Confectioners sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons Cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
WHIPPED CREAM (for Vanilla and Strawberry Mousse)– YIELDS 2 CUPS OF WHIPPED CREAM
• 1 ½ cup Heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Cream of tartar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
WHITE CHOCOLATE
• 2 cup White chocolate chips
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
DARK CHOCOLATE
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup Heavy whipping cream
STRAWBERRY PURÉE
• 1 ½ cup fresh strawberries
• 1/3 + 2 Tbl cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp strawberry extract
• Red food coloring to suit (1-2 drops)
AGAR AGAR
• 2 Tsp Agar Agar
• 2 Tbl warm water
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• 1 cup chocolate
• ¾ cup heavy cream
GRAHAM CRAKER CRUST
• 2 cups finely crushed regular graham crackers
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• ½ beaten egg white
• 3 tablespoons sugar

METHOD

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. In a food processor pulse the crushed graham crackers several times, then add the rest of the ingredients until well mixed. Press remaining mixture firmly and evenly against bottom of an 8” removable bottom cake pan.
  2. Bake at 350 F for 10 min. Set aside to cool.
  3. When cool, line the inside edges of the cake pan with acetate

WHIPPED CREAM – (3 batches required)

  1. Before beginning with the recipe, place the mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to chill.
  2. Once the bowl has chilled, add heavy cream and vanilla and beat on low speed until the cream starts to thicken slightly. There will be fewer and larger bubbles.
  3. Add the cream of tartar and powdered sugar and beat with increasingly higher speed until stiff peaks form. Once done, set it in the fridge to chill.

PREPARING THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

  1. Heat heavy cream to steam, not boil. I use the microwave in 30 second bursts
  2. Place 1 cup chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl.
  3. Pour heated cream over chocolate, cover and let sit 30 seconds
  4. Beat until the cream is completely incorporated and the chocolate is smooth and creamy
  5. Let come to room temperature
  6. Gently fold the room temperature chocolate into the cold whipped cream
  7. Spread the chocolate mousse evenly on top of the graham cracker crust
  8. Refrigerate

PREPARING THE STRAWBERRY PURÉE

  1. Combine strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the syrup thickens.
  2. Keep stirring occasionally. When the strawberries are soft and the syrup has thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool.
  3. When completely cooled, coarsely puree it with an immersion blender. Add strawberry extract and set it aside. Measure the syrup – you will require ½ cup of thick syrup

AGAR AGAR MIX

  1. Mix 3 teaspoons Agar agar powder with 4 Tbl lukewarm water
  2. Whisk to combine
  3. Let rest 4 – 5 minutes for the agar agar to bloom

PREPARING STRAWBERRY AND VANILLA MOUSSE

  1. Heat a pan 1/2 filled with water over low heat and place the white chocolate bowl over the water when it simmers. Keep stirring the chocolate as it softens and melts.
  2. Add agar agar mix and stir constantly for 5 minutes
  3. Add ½ cup warm milk and mix until the chocolate is thick but runny.

FOR VANILLA MOUSSE

  1. If desired add a few drops of white food coloring to lighten the yellowish mixture and mix well
  2. Gently fold the cool to touch white chocolate [and agar] mixture into the cool whipped cream until combined. Do not beat and deflate the mousse.

FOR STRAWBERRY MOUSSE

  1. Add half the cooled whipped cream to the cool white chocolate mixture
  2. Add the strawberry syrup that was prepared earlier to the whipped cream/white chocolate mixture
  3. Mix gently to not deflate.
  4. Add the rest of the whipped cream to the strawberry-white chocolate.
  5. [OPTIONAL – add two drops of red food coloring. Without the coloring the strawberry mousse is not strongly differentiated from the vanilla mousse.]

TO MAKE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  1. Warm cream in the microwave just until a simmer and not boiling hot.
  2. Pour it over the chocolate and let it rest, undisturbed, for 30 seconds.
  3. Now start stirring gently until it forms a smooth chocolate ganache.
  4. Let the ganache cool slightly, but it should still be pourable.

DECORATING THE MOUSSE CAKE WITH GANACHE

  1. Pour the chocolate around the edge of the mousse cake letting some run down the side, but not so much as to drip all the way to the bottom.
  2. Cover the rest of the cake with chocolate and top with sliced strawberries.

DECORATING THE MOUSSE CAKE WITH A CHOCOLATE COLLAR

  1. Cut a piece of parchment paper the circumference and height (or a little more) of the mousse cake.
  2. Place it on a larger piece of parchment paper to help later clean-up.
  3. Temper a cup of chocolate, fill a piping bag and let cool slightly. This was an experiment for me. It needs to be cool enough to not run when piped, but warm enough to pipe easily
  4. Cut a small hole in the end of the piping bag and with an erratic swirling pattern make a lace pattern over the smaller piece of parchment paper, being sure to cover all the way to the edges.
  5. Let the chocolate collar dry such that it won’t drip when picked up.
  6. Carefully wrap the mousse cake with the still slightly soft collar and press gently.
  7. Let the collar cool for a few minutes then carefully peal the parchment paper base from the collar, leaving the chocolate collar adhered to the mousse cake.

‘Spearminting’ with Shortbread

Posted on by
Reply

Actually, I was ‘experimenting” with vegetarian mirror glaze today. Previously, I made a mirror glaze that was too rubbery so I thought I would give it another try. Anyway, I wanted to try making some chocolate mousse domes. The recipe I found for the domes was good. It uses Agar Agar rather than gelatin sheets so it remained vegetarian.

As I only needed six shortbread cookies for the bases of the domes, I decided to make a few (24) shortbread cookies with the balance of the recipe. And, as long as I was also using chocolate for the domes I figured I might as well dip one side of the cookie to make a nice chocolate crescent accent

L: Baked 2.5” Diameter Cookies – C: Cookies and Dipping Chocolate – R: Final

To make the domes, I filled my 2.5” diameter silicone mold with mousse to within 1/4” of the top. This provided room to fit a 2.5” trimmed cookie in the base. As the cookies spread a little while baking, the thinnest were trimmed with a cutter and placed on the still soft mousse, then put in the freezer until solid.

Top: L: Mousse and Cookie in Mold – C: Trimming Cookie – R and Bottom: Finished Domes.

Even the thinnest shortbread cookies were too thick (about 1/4”.) The problem is the unbaked cookies are too fragile to move if they are any thinner. Next time I will roll the dough out thinner on the cookie sheet then remove the excess from between the round cookies. Wish me luck.

The results were promising. The glaze was too thick to pour. Spreading the glaze ruins the effect of a smooth. Coating. I found another recipe for the glaze, but using gelatin sheets. I will substitute Agar powder using one third the amount of Agar to gelatin. The ratio of cocoa powder to liquids seems right to allow it to pour. Time will tell.

Chocolate Mouse Domes with Agar Agar

Mousse

INGREDIENTS:
• 60 g Dark Chocolate (melted)
• 50 ml (1/4 cup) Heavy Cream
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) Whipping Cream ( whipped into soft Peaks)
• 1 tbl Agar Agar
• 6 short bread biscuits

METHOD:

  1. Add Agar Agar to heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate
  2. Let rest for five minutes, then mix chocolate and heavy cream into a smooth mixture.
  3. Fold in Whipped Cream to the above mixture

Assembling

  1. Pour the mousse mixture into semi dome silicone molds or any medium sized round bowls.
  2. Place one biscuit over each dome
  3. Freeze the mousse until solid.

White Chocolate Glaze

INGREDIENTS
• 50 g White Chocolate
• 50 ml Heavy Cream
• 2 tsp Agar Agar
• 1 tbl Butter

METHOD

  1. Mix in the above mixture and bring it to boil once.
  2. Mix everything into homogenous smooth glaze.
  3. Sieve it once

Dark Chocolate Glaze – Option 2 (not yet used)
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chef-dominique-ansels-recipe-for-dark-chocolate-mirror-glaze#chef-dominique-ansels-dark-chocolate-mirror-glaze-recipe

INGREDIENTS
• 206g, or 1 cup sugar
• 142g, or 1⁄2 cup, plus 11⁄2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 ½ tsp Agar Powder (originally 12g, or 4 tsp gelatin, powdered)
• 60g, or 1⁄4 cup water, cold
• 148g, or 2/3 cups water, room temperature
• 71g, or 1⁄2 cup, plus 5 tsp cocoa powder

METHOD

  1. In a medium pot, bring sugar and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the Agar powder and heat while stirring until mixture starts to thicken (1-2 min, medium low heat.)
  3. In a bowl, combine the 148g (2/3 cups) room temperature water with the cocoa powder, stirring with a spatula until it becomes a uniform paste.
  4. Stir cream-sugar-Agar mixture into cocoa powder paste until combined.
  5. Remove the pot from the heat, and strain the glaze mixture through a mesh strainer over a heatproof bowl to remove any clumps of undissolved cocoa powder.
  6. Emulsify the mixture with a hand blender (immersion blender) to remove any lumps, until smooth.
  7. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight to set, until ready to use. Should be 90 deg to pour.
  8. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

OPTION PUBLISHED WITH THIS RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
• 50 ml Water
• 50 ml Heavy Cream
• 50 ml Sugar
• 80 gm Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp Agar Agar

METHOD:

  1. Bring all the ingredients to boil in a medium saucepan.
  2. Whisk to cool to room temperature
  3. Sieve once to remove lumps

ASSEMBLING AND DECORATION:

  1. After 8 hours remove mousse from freezer and remove from the moulds
  2. Place mousse domes on cooling rack.
  3. Pour Dark Chocolate or White Chocolate Glaze over the dome and place the dome in freezer for 5 mins.
  4. I sprinkled some freeze dried raspberry powder on the domes to add a little bitterness to the sweetness of the mouse and glaze.

Sugar Free Berry Mousse

Posted on by
Reply

I love berries, all kinds of berries, but far and away raspberries are my favorite. I saw a recipe for sugar free strawberry mousse and modified it to a raspberry mouse. Feel free to change it back or re-modify to whatever berries you have on hand.

This simple mousse is quick and easy to make. After my initial try I would suggest making the berry puree and chill it before folding it into the whipped cream. Also, be sure to beat the cream into very stiff peaks. I would also chill the bowls in which you will store/serve the mousse. All these precautions will help keep the mousse firm. Don’t worry if you don’t. It will still be fresh and delicious.

Sugar Free Raspberry Mousse

INGREDIENTS

• 354g raspberries (3/4 pound)
• 100g Splenda
• 238g whole or whipping cream (cold)
• extra raspberries for topping

METHOD

  1. Clean and slice the raspberries, In a blender or food processor add the raspberries, Splenda and puree. Remove 1/2 a cup of puree and set aside.
  2. Place serving bowls in the refrigerator to chill before filling.
  3. In a cold bowl add the cream and beat until very stiff peaks form. Then fold in the remaining puree (not the 1/2 cup) gently.
  4. Divide the 1/2 cup of puree between the 4 small/medium glasses and top with the raspberries mousse.
  5. Refrigerate for approximately 1 hour or even over night if desired. Top with fresh raspberries and serve.

Chocolat de Couverture Noir

Posted on by
1

On a visit to a Restaurant Depot my Q.C. Department convinced me to buy 11 lbs of bulk Chocolat de Couverture Noir. (64% is dark chocolate is not very bitter. I use 73% for dark bitter chocolate.) My question is… what should I make with it?

I am thinking Pain au Chocolat, chocolate croissants, chocolate chip cookies and/or brownies. Note the fluidity on the package. This chocolate is suitable for coating caramel, creams, berries and other confections.

Last year I made an over the top chocolate/orange tart. My neighbor’s orange tree has a abundance of oranges too high up for her to harvest. Hmmm……

Maybe something I made before: Eclairs? Chocolate Babka? Soufflés? Chocolate pudding? (Try the easy home made chocolate pudding recipe.) Chocolate chip scones? Lava Cake? Chocolate Fudge? Oh yes, chocolate fudge!!! (Maybe chocolate/peanut butter fudge, the QC department doesn’t like Chocolate/peanut butter fudge.)

Andy other suggestions?????

There’s a Bright Holden Glaze on The Meadow

Posted on by
Reply

No, I’m not in Oklahoma, I am still sheltering-in-place in California. In the Galaxy on Orion’s Belt post I mentioned I was going to remake the mousse desserts using Agar Agar rather than gelatin. Agar is a plant based thickener while gelatin is animal based. Well, the agar was delivered this week and as I and still sheltering-in-place, I am still baking, so here we go.

Last week Fran asked for some shortbread cookies so I made a batch this morning. I cut them into rounds, just smaller than the large end of my silicon hemisphere molds. The plan is to fill the mold about 2/3rds of the way with mousse, push a frozen vanilla cream into it and seal the bottom with the cookie. As I planned to coat one end of the shortbread cookies with chocolate, and will have some left over, I will coat the bottom of some of the hemisphere desserts with some, then mirror glaze them.

So the plan was good, but the execution was lacking. The cookies were too big so I cut them down, but they were also too thick. I couldn’t properly fill the mold with vanilla cream and cookie and still have 1/8” space for the chocolate. The new plan is to dip the bottom of the bombe in chocolate, re-freeze and then coat with the agar mirror glaze.

L – 2 sizes of cookies, C – Cutting too large cookies to size, R – Chocolate Dipped Cookies

The agar mirror glaze was easy to make, but cooled too quickly and coated the bombes with a thick glaze. Luckily, this glaze, while sticky, was much better than the gelatin version. Portions of the glaze were placed in small bowls and dyed. When ready to coat the mousse bombes some of the colored glaze was poured on a larger aliquot of yellow glaze and poured over the bombe.

L – Un-dyed Glaze, C – Dyed Glaze, R – Coated Bombes

The good news is, Quality Assurance certified the mousse as exceptionally light and creamy. The cookies were a bit thick so it was suggested a pan of brownies would be a better base. The chocolate bottom was a nice addition and should be continued.

L – Bombe with Vanilla Cream, Cookie and Chocolate base, R – Yellow-ish Purple and Red Completed Bombe. Sadly, it was not a bright golden glaze on the bombe. I am somewhat disappointed in the colors, but this was a practice round.

The directions for the agar agar said you should cool the glaze to 80 – 90 degrees. I found this temperature too low resulting in a thick glaze. I also need to find a better way to mix the various colors with the base color while maintaining the temperature of the dyed glaze at 90-100 deg, maybe place them in a warm water bath until ready to use.

Anyway, they are delicious and worth making!!

RECIPIES

Shortbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
  4. Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut with a round cutter just smaller than the opening of the mold. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Cream Filling

L – Vanilla cream in candy mold, R – Un-molded, frozen vanilla creams


INGREDIENTS
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
• 1/2 cup butter (or Trans fat-free shortening)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

  1. Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Stir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.
  2. When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light.
  3. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  4. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

L – Quality Assurance Sample with Whipped Cream, R – Chocolate Mousse Bombs with Shortbread Cookie Base

INGREDIENTS

• 5 1/4 ounces 148 g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 14 ounces 396 g cold heavy cream
• 3 large egg whites
• 1-ounce 29 g sugar
• Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish, optional
• Shaved bittersweet chocolate, for garnish, optional
• 6 ounces 170 g semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1-ounce sugar 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

METHOD

  1. Place chocolate in a large bowl set over a bain marie or in a double boiler at a low simmer. Stir chocolate until melted. Turn off the heat and let stand.
  2. Beat the cream over ice until it forms soft peaks. Set aside and hold at room temperature.
  3. With a mixer, whip egg to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until firm.
  4. Remove the chocolate from the bain marie and using a whisk, fold in the egg whites all at once.
  5. When the whites are almost completely incorporated, fold in the whipped cream.
  6. Fill each well of the hemispherical mold about halfway. Push a frozen vanilla cream drop in each well and top with a shortbread cookie. Make sure the cookie is below the top of the well.
  7. Place the mold in the freezer until solid.
  8. When frozen solid remove the mousse from the mold .
  9. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don’t trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it’s completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
  10. Coat the top of each cell with a thin coat (1/8”) with melted chocolate and return to the freezer to set.

Agar Mirror Glaze Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• White Chocolate 8 ounces (220g)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk ½ cup (140g)
• Granulated Sugar 1 cup (200g)
• Corn Syrup ¾ cup (245g)
• Cold Water 7 tablespoons (100ml)
• HOT Water ½ cup (120ml)
• Powdered Agar 4 teaspoons (16g)

METHOD

  1. Bloom agar in the HOT water (120ml), let stand 5 minutes
  2. Combine the corn syrup, the other measure of COLD water (100ml) and the sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pot and get it warmed to at least 150°F add the bloomed agar and bring to a boil.
  3. Allow it to boil rapidly for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and add the condensed milk and whisk smooth
  4. Pour the entire hot mixture over the chocolate and whisk smooth
  5. Pour through a strainer into a clean container and color as you like.
  6. Pour over cakes & pastries once it has cooled to 80 or 90°F

The Galaxy is on Orion’s Belt

Posted on by
Reply

So you may have wondered the purpose of making and posting a simple white chocolate mousse. Well, there was actually a reason for making the mousse, posting? Not so much.

Being bored during the rain storm yesterday I decided to make a half recipe of chocolate-chip/raspberry brownies. I cut a number of them in small rounds to embed in a white chocolate mousse molded into hemispheres then frozen. Today I made a gelatin based mirror glaze intending to coat the frozen mousse with swirling colors to make galactic mousse/brownie desserts. Well, it was practice. You all know I like to practice at home and failures never pass through the front door. I have an order of agar agar arriving soon so will try a vegetable based thickener for the glaze.

While not a failure, they were not a nice as I envisioned. However, practice, practice, practice and learn. The taste was excellent!!

Brownies – Some with chopped macadamia nuts

MIRROR GLAZE WITH GELATIN

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 packets unflavored powdered gelatin , (1/2 oz)
  • 192 g water , divided use
  • 215 g sugar , (scant 1 cup)
  • 142g or 5 oz (scant 2/3 cup) sweetened condensed milk , (1/3 of a standard 14-oz can)
  • 233 g real white chocolate , chopped or white chocolate chips
  • Gel food coloring (I used Americolor Royal Blue, Sky Blue, Electric Purple, Electric Pink, Super Black, and Bright White)

METHOD

  1. Whisk together the gelatin and 3 oz (1/3cup) cold water in a bowl, and set it aside to let the gelatin absorb the water.
  2. Combine the remaining 3.5 oz water, sugar, and condensed milk in a medium saucepan, and place the pan over medium heat. Stir while the sugar dissolves, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
  3. Once it is simmering steadily, remove it from the heat and add the gelatin (no need to melt the gelatin first—just scrape the big blob out of the bowl!) Whisk the gelatin as the heat from the pan dissolves it, and whisk until it is almost entirely incorporated. A few small pieces of gelatin are fine.
  4. Add the white chocolate to the pan, and let it sit for a few minutes to soften the chocolate. If you have an immersion blender, that is best to use—just stick it right in the pan and blend until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is very smooth. If not, you can whisk everything together, just try to avoid vigorous whisking that will create a lot of air bubbles.
  5. Divide your glaze into as many bowls as you want. I find it’s easiest to have a few “base colors” that are larger portions, and a few “accent colors” that are smaller portions. I made 3 base colors, using Americolor Sky Blue, Royal Blue, and a mix of Royal Blue + a drop of Super Black. I made 3 accent colors using Americolor Electric Purple, Electric Pink, and Super White. All you need to do is whisk a few drops of food coloring into each bowl of glaze.
  6. Let the bowls set until they cool down to about 95 Fahrenheit (35 C). An instant-read thermometer is the easiest way to check this, but if you don’t have one, it should feel barely warm on your fingertip, and be thick enough to coat it. Stir the bowls occasionally as they cool, so they don’t form a skin on top.
  7. Take the mousse cakes from the freezer. Cover a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper for easy clean-up, and set small jars or cups on the sheet for the mousse cakes to balance on—try to use ones that are smaller than the base of the cakes, so the glaze can drip down cleanly.
  8. In a new bowl, pour about 1/3 cup of one of your base colors of glaze, then drizzle the top of it with a few other colors—there’s no rhyme or reason here, so go crazy! After you’ve added all the colors you want, give it a brief stir to swirl everything together, but do NOT swirl too much and muddy the colors! Take this bowl of glaze and pour it over one of the cakes, swirling it around the top to make sure that all the sides are covered. Let the glaze drip down the cake onto the baking sheet.
  9. If it is dripping quickly and is a very thin layer, it’s too warm and needs to cool down a few more degrees. If it is gloopy and clinging to the cake and barely dripping, it is too cool. You can warm the bowls of glaze BRIEFLY in the microwave (start with 8-10 seconds each) and stir until they’re fluid again, and keep re-warming as necessary while glazing the cakes.
  10. Repeat the swirling and glazing process with the rest of the cakes. It’s fun to give them all different color schemes so they each look unique. If desired, finish the cakes with a pinch of edible silver star sprinkles. (Any remaining glaze can be saved and used on a different cake within about a week or so. Make sure it stays covered tightly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t form a skin and dry out.)
  11. Let the cakes sit for about 15 minutes, until the glaze is semi-set, then transfer them to small plates. Chill for an additional 10-15 minutes until the glaze is full set.

White Chocolate Mousse

Posted on by
Reply

It’s Pi day, so in rebellion, I made white chocolate mousse for mirror glazing tomorrow and chocolate-chip/raspberry brownies with chocolate ganache for the chewy chocolate center of my galaxy mousse cakes.

Luckily, there was extra mousse today for quality control sampling tonight. I had mine with a raspberry coulis and Fran paired it with chocolate sauce. Excellent flavor and texture. Tomorrow I will mirror glaze them experimenting with a galaxy motif. Check back soon.

White Chocolate Mousse

INGREDIENTS
• 1 Envelope powdered gelatin
• 12 oz White chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 Cups Heavy cream

METHOD

  1. Dissolve gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water, and set aside for 5 minutes.
  2. Place chocolate in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until very finely chopped.
  3. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice and set aside.
  4. Place 3/4 cup cream in a small saucepan, and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. Add
    the dissolved gelatin, and stir for 30 seconds to dissolve completely. Pour into food processor
    with the motor running, and process until chocolate mixture is smooth.
  5. Transfer to a medium bowl and place over ice water bath. Chill until mixture is thick enough to
    fall from a spoon and form ribbons on the top of the melted chocolate.
  6. Whip remaining 1 3/4 cups heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture. If not using immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container or fill individual dessert dishes cover and place
    in fridge.

Busy Bakery Day

Posted on by
Reply

Here are some samples of one and two bite pastries I am making for a party of about 200 people. We are meeting tonight for a party progress meeting. I decided to give the group a sample of some of the varieties of desserts I am baking for the event.

 

I have both lemon and mango curd filled profiteroles, cream patisserie filled eclairs and tartlets, vanilla cake with pink icing and raspberry drizzle and vanilla cake with chocolate drizzle. There are mini-raspberry cheesecakes, blueberry and apply mini pie bites, chocolate brownie cups with chocolate mousse and a raspberry drizzle. Some of these were made ahead and frozen until today. The tartlets, eclairs, profiteroles and all icings, drizzles and frostings were made this afternoon.

A productive bakery day!