Chocolate Caramel Mousse

There’s something to be said about the popularity of common flavour combinations that just seem to work time and time again. Think, strawberries and cream or cinnamon and apple. You know what to expect when you order something of these combinations from a menu and very rarely are you disappointed in what is presented to you.

For me if I’m stuck in a rut for recipe ideas my mind will always wander to the warming and comfortable embrace of the marriage that is chocolate and caramel. Pair these together and you’re sure to have something entirely pleasant.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I could eat an average '“run of the mill” chocolate mousse everyday for the rest of my life and be happy but there’s something magical about taking a scoopful of mousse that reveals that ooey gooey pocket of caramel hiding at the bottom of the pot.

It brings me back to the many overnight trips to our local town where mum and I’s guilty pleasure was ordering Domino’s pizza directly to our motel rooms for dinner. Of course, the real star was never the pizza and more what we added to our cart even before the pizzas had a look in. It was their salted caramel chocolate mousse.

The perks of living a 600km round trip from your local Domino’s is that you have to improvise should you be craving such a treat. Although, I’m not entirely sure it’s a good thing to be in possession of such a recipe to rival the countrywide treasure that is the Domino’s mousse. I wonder at what point does it become a bit of a health risk having one after every meal? 2 days? 3? A week?

So, if you're looking for the perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet cravings, this chocolate caramel mousse is certainly a good contender. It’s incredibly easy to make and doesn't require you to spend a long time at the shove, risking your life over a saucepan of volcanic caramel. In fact, after having discovered a squeezy tube of dulce de leche at my local Coles, it became even easier to have a Domino’s moment in the comfort of my own home. Which again - maintains the question - is that really a good thing?

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Chocolate & Caramel Mousse

Yield: 4-6

Author: Ainsley Young

Prep time: 20 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 20 M

Ingredients

• 3 eggs - separated
• 125g dark chocolate - I use Plaistowe 40% Dark Chocolate
• 10g butter - room temperature
• 125ml thickened cream
• 60g caster sugar
• 300ml dulce de leche - I use Nestle Caramel Dulce de Leche
• Raspberries to garnish - optional

Equipment

• 6 x 1/2 cup capacity ramekins

Instructions

1. Place butter and chocolate into a small heatproof bowl set on a pot of simmering water over low heat. Stir until melted and combined. Set aside to cool while you proceed with following steps.
2. Drizzle 2-3tbsp of dulce de leche into the bottom of the ramekins. Set aside.
3. Place egg whites into a stand mixer bowl and whisk on medium until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar. Continue to whisk on high until the mixture is glossy and stands up as a stiff peak when the whisk is removed from the mixture. Set aside.
4. In another bowl which can be used in the stand mixer, add the cream and whisk with the same whisk used to whip the egg whites - no need to wash it - whisk until the cream is soft and pillowy - a medium peak.
5. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl before adding 1/3 of the cream to the yolks. Fold through with a spatula - about 7-8 times. Add the yolk mixture to the cream and continue to fold gently with the spatula no more than 5 times.
6. Add the cooled and melted chocolate to the yolk and cream mixture. Gently fold through no more than 8 times.
7. Add 1/3 of the whites to the chocolate mixture and this time, fold through gently 6-5 times with a large whisk. Pour the chocolate into the remaining whites and continue to gently fold through with the whisk. Continue to fold until no streaks or lumps of whites are visible but try to not fold for more than 8-10 times. This ensures that the mousse stays light and airy.
8. Spoon the mousse into the prepared ramekins and set in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Serve with a garnish of fresh or frozen raspberries.

Notes

When I store my mousse in the fridge, I like to place the ramekins in a large airtight container. This helps to stop those "fridge flavours" from seeping into the mousse. You could easily cover them in Clingfilm but this runs the risk of it coming into contact with the tops which will "rip" the tops and making them a little unsightly for serving.



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