Monday 2 June 2008

Cold Chocolate Souffle (Recipe 1) + Sweet Strawberries


This is an old tried and tested recipe that I've been making for a loooong time - - - you could now call it 'retro' - but it still tastes good! - with a lovely fresh fruit salad.
It's probably best to leave it to set overnight, although if it's made in the morning, it would probably be set by the evening.


Ingredients:
4 ozs. good plain chocolate - roughly broken
1/4pt. milk
1/4pt. milk
3 eggs - separated
2 ozs. caster sugar
5 tblspns. hot black coffee - a good 'Instant' is fine - but 'proper' coffee/expresso is better
1/2oz. gelatine (1 sachet of powdered gelatine)
1/4pt. double cream (+ extra 1/4pt. to decorate)
fresh strawberries
Method:

- Place the choc. and 1/4pt. milk in a pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water, on a lowish heat. (A double sauce-pan is very useful for this).
Stir well, till melted -
(I use chopsticks)
Add the next 1/4pt. milk, raise heat slightly, and carefully bring to just under boiling point - remove from heat.

Whisk yolks with sugar till thick and light and pour choc. milk in carefully - stirring well. Return mix. to pan and keep stirring over a gentle heat till it thickens.
It should evenly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain into a large bowl and leave to cool.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatine powder into the hot coffee - stir till dissolved.
Stir it into the cooled chocolate custard.

Lightly whip* 1/4pt. double cream and whisk egg whites till stiff (peaky but not stiff).
Using electric whisk - gently - or - fold in carefully using a flat wire whisk - the cream and egg whites into the choc. custard.

Tip: have the cream and the egg whites about the same consistency.

Pour into a large and pretty glass bowl - leave to set (covered) - preferably overnight.
then - Decorate with some whipped cream and halved strawberries (or fruit to choice).
Grate a little plain choc over the top.
(By the way - the photo above is not my choc.mousse - it's a 'google-image' pic. - it just looked nice).


********************

Can be served with - Strawberries in Syrup:
To make a stock syrup:
half quantity of sugar to water, couple of strips of lemon peel - (I use 6 tbls. water to 3 tbls. sugar) ...... approx. per punnet of strawbs.
Simmer gently to dissolve sugar, raise heat and boil gently for a few minutes till slightly syrupy. It should smell sweet and caramelly but not burnt! While it's still hot, pour over halved fresh strawberries - chill and serve with the choc. mousse...............delicious!


Unfortunately the choc.mousse recipe isn't good for Vegetarians as it contains gelatine. I've tried using 'agar agar' but it doesn't work as well. ................. you can just have a creamy chocolate mousse with extra strawberries!

1 comment:

LittleDoodles said...

mmm....my favourite xxxxx