My favorite desserts are light, creamy and silky smooth concoctions — desserts such as creme brulée, mousse, panna cotta and puddings taste of ethereal, transcendental bliss to me.
My favorite desserts are also easy to make, can be made in advance and are lovely to behold. This chocolate “mousse”, therefore, fits my criteria for a perfect dessert.
Amanda Hesser, the food columnist and editor for the New York Times, often resurrects recipes from a bygone day that never should have gone away in the first place; this “mousse” is no exception.
I put quotation marks around the “mousse” because, as the article in the Time’s Magazine points out, it’s really more of a panna cotta; panna cotta is thickened with gelatin, and mousse has air whipped into it.
I made the “mousse” 24 hours in advance for a dinner party, then whipped the cream and garnished it several hours before serving. Everyone wanted the recipe, and my husband requested I make it again for Valentine’s Day — twist my arm!
My only changes to the recipe were with the addition of fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of raspberry sugar. The original recipe says it serves eight; perhaps if using small soufflé cups this would be accurate. But the recipe filled four sorbet glasses, with not a smidgen to spare. I imagine this would be elegant served in a martini glass as well.
Recipes come and go, changing with trends and evolving tastes. This recipe, for me, is a timeless keeper.
