The Inspiration of Urbnspice Series

I have an idea – Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers!  Why? My favourite day is coming up – Valentine’s Day.  It always makes me happy to come up with ideas for Valentine’s Day desserts.  My objective when considering choices for a Valentine dessert menu is two-fold. One of the choices has to be chocolate – this is universal, it seems. The second consideration for a chocolate dessert is anything but a chocolate molten cake, which (in my opinion) has been far too prevalent on dessert menus for far too long.

But, how about taking that same idea of a soft warm chocolate cake and giving it a new twist? How about encasing it in a crispy crunchy nest that you take apart and scoop up delicious filling to share with someone you love? If you follow me on Urbnspice, you probably already know that my favourite way to serve desserts is to make individual sized portions. So, after considering all of these points, Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers was the inspiration for my dessert creation.

I have had tons of fun with this dessert – it is gorgeous when presented. And really, so easy to make. The baked mousse filling is made ahead of time so it is a great make-ahead dessert. The mousse filling in this recipe needs to be baked – it is not the type of mousse you pour into a glass and tuck in (I will post a recipe for the unbaked mousse version another day). Add a little flourish with berry garnish and raspberry coulis.

The little white hearts that you see in the photograph are merely dots of yogurt or sour cream (approximately half the size of a dime) piped neatly onto the raspberry coulis. A toothpick is used to drag from the top of the dot to the bottom, creating the heart. Isn’t that easy?

CHEF TIP:  thin out the yogurt or sour cream with a tiny bit of milk.

So, let’s get to it.

Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers

CHEF TALK:  Make the Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse filling and chill it until firm, preferably overnight for a rich, fudgy dense mousse filling. 

I will first give you the method to make the easy baked dark chocolate mousse filling. Timing wise, the mousse filling benefits from chilling, so plan this dessert the day before or at least two hours in advance of assembly. Assembly for the dessert can be done right before you need it. It is fun to do in front of your guests. If you want to be really organized, prepare the baked dark chocolate mousse in crispy wrappers up to Step 4 (in the Method below) up to one hour before you need them. Refrigerate the prepared desserts in the muffin tins until baking time. Make sure the oven is preheated.

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 3 cups of chocolate mousse filling (750 ml) or 12 individual portions

Equipment required:  regular size muffin tin

• 1 recipe Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse (recipe below)
• 2 packages of 8 spring roll wrappers (8 inches/ 20 cm square) or 12 sheets of phyllo dough
• Butter, melted, as needed

Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse Filling

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 – 100-gram bars (300g) quality semi-sweet dark chocolate (approximately 56%)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (110 g)
• 2/3 cup butter, unsalted (165 g)
• Pinch of sea salt
• 5 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (5 ml)

METHOD for the Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse:

1. Put the chocolate, sugar, and butter into a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and allow the mixture to melt slowly (bain-marie).
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the pinch of salt to lighten them. CHEF TIP: Straining the eggs is a good idea to remove the chalazae – which is the twisted membranous strips joining the yolk to the ends of the shell.
3. Whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the eggs. (tempering the mixture)
4. Chill the mousse overnight.
5. To make the Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers, follow the Assembly Method below.

ASSEMBLY METHOD for the Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse:

1. Lightly grease regular-size muffin cups. Preheat oven to 350^oF (175^oC) or 325^o F, if using a convection oven.
2. If you are using spring roll wrappers: melt the butter and brush over the edges of spring roll wrappers.CHEF TIP: If you want, sprinkle a bit of granulated sugar for extra crunch.
3. Spoon 1/4 cup (67 ml) of the dark chocolate mousse filling onto the center of each egg roll wrapper.  As tempting as it is to put more than that, be careful.  This mousse is rich.  I have also found that this is a perfect ratio to the amount of time it takes to bake the crispy wrapper to a golden brown.
4. If you are using the phyllo sheets: brush one sheet with melted butter. Cut the buttered sheet into 4 squares (approximately 8 inches x 6.5 inches) and stack the layers on top of each other.CHEF TIP:  It is better if you are not too fussy when stacking these cut phyllo sheets – they actually look better if they are alternating slightly in different directions as you stack them.
5. Spoon ¼ cup (67 ml) of the dark chocolate mousse filling into the center of each phyllo sheet stack.
6. Lift the four corners of the spring roll wrappers or phyllo stacks upwards gently, and carefully lift the package.   Place them into each of the greased muffin tins, arranging the wrappers loosely so that all four corners of each pouch are standing upright.  If you are only making a few Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse desserts at a time, use alternating muffin tin wells to allow room in between.
7. Check the oven temperature for accuracy.  Bake the dessert packages for 10 – 13 minutes or until the edges of the wrappers are golden brown. Watch them carefully because the wrappers brown quickly. The baked chocolate mousse batter will be set (no longer shiny). Let it cool slightly before serving or cool entirely to room temperature. Dust with icing sugar.
   

   Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers are first brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar 

   

   Place 1/4 cup of the Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in the centre of the wrapper 

   

   For the Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers: Gather all four corners and place the wrappers in Muffin Tins 

   

   Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers 

Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers

SERVING:

• Serve the Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers immediately or cool to room temperature.
• Place about 1/4 cup of Raspberry coulis or crème anglaise sauce on a pretty serving plate or shallow bowl. Allow the raspberry coulis to pool on the plate before you place the baked mousse wrapper on top of the sauce.
• Garnish with fresh berries as desired.
• Don’t forget to dust lightly with icing sugar over the top of the wrapper before serving.

STORING:  The desserts are best eaten the same day that they are baked.  Any leftover baked dark chocolate mousse filling will keep for up to five days in the refrigerator.  For longer storage, freeze the filling in a vacuum sealed bag for up to one year.

A SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY GARNISH:

Strawberry Hearts:  If you would like to make the little strawberry hearts garnish, this is how you do it: Slice a strawberry through the top to create several slices. Select the best slices and using a small sharp knife, make a little V-shaped notch at the top of the berry, as pictured in the photo below. The natural shape of the strawberry is already very much like a heart. Arrange the strawberry hearts on your dessert plate in an attractive pattern.  Easy, right?

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THIS RECIPE?  

The topic ‘What Else Can I Do With This Recipe?’ is something that I like to incorporate into my cookbooks:  giving other options for any recipe is always handy. For the Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers recipe, why not consider rethinking the recipe so that you can serve a crowd? This version of Mini Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Wonton Wrappers is perfect for dessert parties, or appetizer/dessert parties. These mini desserts can certainly be described as one or two bite wonders.

Mini Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Wonton Wrappers

CHEF TALK:  This is an easy variation of the Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers recipe: placing a small amount of the batter into its own individual crispy wonton wrappers, baking and serving them as a buffet dessert offering. Ready in 5 minutes! This version is ideal for dessert buffets. 

INGREDIENTS:

Yield:  Makes many, many mini Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Wonton Wrappers

One recipe Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse (recipe above)

1 package of wonton wrappers

Butter, melted, as needed

Granulated sugar, as needed

METHOD:

1. Grease mini muffin cups.   Preheat oven to 350^oF (175^oC) or 325^o F, if using a convection oven.
2. Melt butter and brush over edges of wonton wrappers.
3. If desired, sprinkle the edges of the wrapper with sugar. It will give the wrapper a crispier, crunchier texture when it is baked.
4. Spoon 1 teaspoon (5ml) of the mousse onto the center of each wonton wrapper.
5. Gather four corners of wonton wrappers and place gently into mini muffin tins, leaving the edges open so that you can see the filling as it is baked.
6. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool. Serve at room temperature.

TO GARNISH:   Dust with icing sugar, if desired.

TO SERVE:  Serve at room temperature

• Line a pretty serving platter with doilies. Arrange the Mini Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Wonton Wrappers on the platter.
• If desired, place a few fresh strawberries or other berries on the tray along with the baked chocolate wonton wrappers. Enjoy!

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Bain Marie
• Tempering
• Straining
  __________

You Might Also Like:

Raspberry Coulis – the most popular fruit sauce to serve with your desserts

Creme Anglaise – this is like pourable ice cream!  A delicious sauce to learn how to make

As always, if you give this recipe (or the garnish ideas or dessert variation) for Individual Baked Dark Chocolate Mousse in Crispy Wrappers a try, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can find me on social media – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

 

Contact me at [email protected]

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