"chocolate mousse" news and stories

Happy National Chocolate Mousse Day!

Though chocolate seems to be the most natural flavor for mousse, savory mousses were all the rage during the 18th century. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, "Mousse, a French term meaning foam, is applied to dishes with foamy texture, usually cold and often sweet but also savory and sometimes hot." While savory mousses were popularized by the 18th century, it wasn't until the latter end of the 19th century that dessert mousses started to appear more frequently on menus.

The oldest American reference for chocolate mousse dates back to 1892, when it was served at a food exposition at Madison Square Garden. While the classic rendition of chocolate mousse is still popular (we recommend Julia Child's recipe), we recently discovered a more modern take that adds cinnamon to the base and tops it with fresh cherries, or even a vegan variety from Heidi of 101cookbooks, who spikes the mousse with Amaretto.

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For a variety of mousse inspirations, from avocado to butterscotch or spinach, check out mousserecipes.com, or AOL food's collection of mousse recipes. Or celebrate today with a classic recipe for chocolate mousse by Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc.

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Try saying this three times fast: Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Ganache, Peanut and Banana Caramel Tart. As difficult as it may be to say, it looks like a breeze to eat (three times fast, of course).

Baked by Aran at Cannelle et Vanille, these diminutive beauties have almost as many complex layers as the Earth's surface. The chocolate shells are filled with a layer of banana caramel with peanuts, another layer of triple chocolate salted caramel ganache, and then crowned with a cloud of chocolate mousse.

The whole is garnished with cocoa powder, chocolate shavings and chopped peanuts. Eat. Await indescribable bliss.

[Via Canelle et Vanille]

I am always amazed at how the simplest things are usually the best. Take chocolate mousse for example: it's a very simple mixture of whipped cream, whipped egg yolks, and melted chocolate and yet it's a classic dessert loved all over the world. Chocolate mousse would make an easy and delicious summer dessert any night of the week. Adding fresh berries makes this an even more summery dish.

Classically, chocolate mousse does not include any cream. For a traditional version, there's actually a bit of work involved, but there are plenty of recipes out there that turn out a light and creamy dessert with very little effort like this one. You can even find egg-free versions.

The traditional recipe involves making a pate a bombe, which is created when you add a cooked sugar syrup to egg yolks while they're mixing, and a basic merengue, and adding them to melted chocolate. That amount of work for a good chocolate mousse is avoidable with the recipes provided above. You'll be out of the kitchen in no time, with brownie points to spare!

First of all, please note how many "Ms" there are in the name of this dessert. If you spell it with 6 Ms or 8 Ms and then try to make it, it probably won't come out right. You've been warned.

It's Mmmmmmmud Pie, and it comes from Gale Gand. Is she still on Food Network? I haven't come across her show lately and I was wondering if she was one of the people that are no longer at the channel.