Where did I go wrong with this 'mousse'

deb-in-mi

Well-known member
I've been making these really beautiful 3 chocolate 'lace' wrappers from Gale Gand that are supposed to be filled with mousse but that I've been filling with dark chocolate because my husband LOVES the pudding. But I thought I would put some, filled with mousse, in the freezer to pull out when we have company.

It's not a French mousse - just a quick one. When Gale makes it is is a beautiful chocolate brown. However when I made it it was a very light brown with lots of teeny weeny dark specks. I'm thinking maybe some of the chocolate 'froze' when the cold whipped cream was added. Your thoughts please!

FOR THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - 3 ounces (85 g) bittersweet chocolate (70% if possible), chopped or bittersweet baking chips - 1 ounce (30 g) unsweetened chocolate - 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream - ½ cup (120 ml) egg whites - ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar - 2 tablespoons bourbon

MAKE THE MOUSSE 1. In a large bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolates then remove from the heat to cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, whip the cream to stiff peaks and refrigerate. 3. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, drizzle in the sugar, and continue whipping until the whites are glossy and the sugar has dissolved. 4. Add one-third of the whites to the melted chocolate; whisk in quickly and thoroughly. Add a second third of the whites and fold until most of the streaks are gone. Add the final third and continue to fold until only a few streaks remain. Fold in the whipped cream, then fold in the bourbon. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 5. Transfer mousse to a piping bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip. Pipe mousse into one end of a chocolate shell, rotate and pipe into the other end to fill the whole tube. Repeat with remaining shells and freeze for 1 hour or until firm. When ready to serve, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Filled shells can be covered in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to two weeks. 6

Thank you!

 
Yep, my chocolate froze into tiny bits

my star tip clogged when I tried to fill them and then I could actually taste the little pieces. What I supposed to bring the whipped cream to room temp?

 
Could your chocolate/whipped egg whites mixture have been too warm when you added

the whipped cream? I'm picturing what you're describing, but it would have been a really cold whipped cream and the chocolate couldn't have been totally melted and stirred into the egg whites for it to reform, right?

I'm surprised she used chips. I thought they weren't meant to melt easily. I looked up six difference Gale Gand mousse recipes and none mention chips...just bittersweet, white, semisweet or milk chocolate.

 
I wonder if your unsweetened chocolate completely melted. or one of your

chocolates was grainy to begin with? Seems to me that whipped cream has to be cold for best results.

 
Ah - maybe that's it. Grainy chocolate before melting (I think)

The chocolates were fully melted - silky like:) However, the unsweetened chocolate was old and had some bloom to it. I was hesitant to use it but I didn't want to run to the store.

 
Blooms not an issue. It just means the fat has migrated to the surface. If fully melted

it would have blended back in. My Callebaut 11 pound block has a 3-year shelf life. If left that long it will develop a bloom but it always melts. I just tempered some a month ago and the finished product was perfect.

 
I don't think we're blaming "blooms". Dry grainy chocolate, particularly in

unsweetened, I have found pretty often personally.

 
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