White Chocolate & Vanilla Mousse

White Chocolate & Vanilla Mousse

Oh come on, you know me by now. I can hear you saying, I can’t believe she’s writing about chocolate…again! But yeah, I am. You know it’s my favorite topic. But I’m going to switch it up a little, and this time post a recipe about white chocolate. I think I’ve really overlooked the virtues of white chocolate on this blog, to be quite honest with you. But I’m going to try and make up for it with this recipe for a White Chocolate and Vanilla Mousse.

I think what really prompted me to post this recipe was my most recent trip to Cost Plus World Market, where I found a big hunk of Callebaut white chocolate and whole vanilla beans on sale. This hunk of chocolate was just screaming mousse, and the end result was just heavenly. Is it too dramatic to call mousse heavenly? Well, I’m going to anyway. If you use whole vanilla bean in this recipe you will get these lovely black flecks throughout your mousse, but you can use vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract if that is what you have, and still get fantastic results.

And now the best part…nuts. Nuts are my favorite food accessory, if there is such a thing. I think everything tastes better with nuts in it or on it, especially desserts. The pistachios are the perfect companion to this velvety, delicate mousse; and I love the combination of creamy and crunchy together. I loved it so much in fact, that I ate three of these mousses. Oh, did I really just admit that.

White Chocolate & Vanilla Mousse

White Chocolate & Vanilla Mousse

From Vanilla by Joanna Farrow

• 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
• 7 ounces (good quality, Callebaut or Valrhona) white chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon either vanilla bean paste, a whole vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 4 egg whites
• powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

1. I purchased a bag of pistachio nut meats (at Trader Joe’s) so I did not have to shell the pistachios. If you cannot purchase them that way, make sure you take off all the brown skins. Then, transfer the nuts to a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.  I then transferred the nuts to a strainer for a good shaking to get rid of all the nut dust.
2. I then put the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized plastic bowl with 3 tablespoons of the cream and microwaved, first for 20 seconds; stirred, 15 seconds; stirred, 10 seconds, stirred, etc. This method of chocolate melting seems to work best for me. Naturally, you can try placing the bowl over a double boiler, bringing the water to a simmer and then turning the heat off and letting the chocolate melt until smooth. 
3. Using the whisk attachment on the electric mixer, lightly whip the remaining cream with the vanilla until very lightly peaking, then stir in the yogurt. Transfer mixture to another clean bowl. Clean out your mixer bowl very well and then dry. Beat the egg whites until just peaking.
4. Fold the cream mixture into the melted chocolate, then gently fold in the egg whites. Spoon half the mousse mixture into 6 small glass dishes or cups (I got mine at Cost Plus World Market). Then sprinkle a layer of nuts, reserving some nuts to decorate the tops of the mousse. Add the remaining mousse and sprinkle with the reserved nuts. Chill for at least 2 hours and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Mini White Chocolate Mousse

Mama’s Tips: When melting white chocolate, be very careful not to overheat it (even for a few seconds) or it will turn into a gloppy mess.

The mini mousse’s will keep chilled in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Just cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed on the surface of the mousse.

Cost Plus World Market has a great selection of mini serving glasses. If you don’t live near one of their retail stores, you can order from them online.

Recipe: Intermediate

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