How to Make Chocolate Mousse With Poached Cherries

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 1 ½ hours

Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients needed to make Chocolate Mousse With Poached Cherries:

For the chocolate mousse:

• 4 oz dark chocolate
• 5 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 ½ oz caster sugar

For the pistachio caramel:

• 2 oz pistachios
• 2 fl oz water
• 3 ½ oz caster sugar

For the poached cherries:

• 12 cherries, stem and stones removed
• ½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
• 2 oz caster sugar
• 7 fl oz kirsch cherry liqueur

For the chocolate crumbs:

• 1 oz dark chocolate, pulsed into a grainy texture

Cooking instructions for Chocolate Mousse With Poached Cherries:

• To make the chocolate mousse, chop the chocolate roughly into coarse chunks and throw them into the upper vessel of a double boiler.
• Heat the chocolate over moderate heat until it just melts and turn off the heat.
• Beat it until it forms a glossy mixture and allow to cool to some extent.
• Beat the egg yolks into the melted chocolate until well combined into a smooth mixture.
• Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until it forms soft yet firm peaks and stir in the caster sugar, while beating them into the egg whites at the same time, until all of it is corporated into the blend to form a smooth, glossy mixture.
• Fold the above mixture into the melted chocolate-egg yolk mixture until they blend thoroughly to form a smooth mixture.
• Lightly butter four chef’s ring and spread a cling film across their bases.
• Divide the mousse blend between the rings and leave them in the refrigerator until they turn firm.
• Warm up your oven to 350 degrees F.
• To cook the pistachio caramel, heat a mixture of water and sugar in a saucepan, over moderate heat, without agitating it, until the sugar dissolves to form a golden brown caramel.
• Stir in the pistachios swiftly to coat well with the caramel and spread it across a silicone baking sheet; allow to cool until it hardens.
• Break it into smaller chunks and throw them into a food processor.
• Process them into a fine powder and spread it evenly across a fresh silicone baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until it melts and shape it into small rounds with the help of cookie cutter; set aside until it turns hard.
• For the poached cherries, pour the kirsch into a pan and whisk in the sugar as well as the vanilla pod and its seeds into the liqueur.
• Heat the mixture over moderate heat and bring it to a simmer.
• Throw in the cherries and cook them for about 5 minutes or until they are poached properly and turn slightly soft.
• Turn off the heat and keep it aside until the time of serving arrives
• For serving, run a sharp knife along the edges of the rings to loosen the sides.
• Flip one mousse onto each serving plate and place a pistachio caramel round on top of each mousse serving.
• Sprinkle chocolate crumbs on top of each serving and spread the poached cherries around the mousse.
• Serve right away.

 Image credit: Wikimedia Commons