The first time I had a chocolate mousse that really stuck in my memory was many moons ago, in Sri Lanka. I was still in school and there was this one cafe in the building that my dad used to work at. And sometimes when I visited my father at his office after school, I would also remember to stop by that cafe. I would borrow some money from dad and go over there just to have their chocolate mousse served in a little coffee cup with some whipped cream on top, while sharing some light banter with this funny dessert bar worker who used to work there at the time and also while listening to the bands that often played there. I’ve been serving chocolate mousse in little cups like that ever since, because that memory is strong and the light, airy, intense taste of chocolate mousse always takes me down memory lane back to those days. Now I have these ADORABLE multi-coloured coffee cups that I can’t get enough of. So much so that I’m the only one allowed to handle them. And I thought they’d be perfect to serve these gorgeous things in.
Several weeks ago I shared with you all this delicious Paris Brest with Whipped Chocolate filling that I made for the Daring Bakers challenge. A classic Paris-Brest is traditionally made with a praline mousseline cream (mousseline cream + praline paste). However I finished the praline before I could use it in the recipe. Really. It was that good to eat just on it’s own! Have you ever had hazelnut praline paste on toast? It’s like this heavenly Nutella paste (without the chocolate) that you couldn’t possibly stop eating just on it’s own. Do you see that praline paste in the picture below? That picture doesn’t do it any justice! If you taste it, I guarantee you will not stop till you finish it. Unless you have the will power of a higher being. Maybe not even then. The flavour and the texture of that praline paste really fascinated me. I thought it would be an amazing base to work with for a chocolate mousse. The caramel notes with hazelnut flavour infused into the chocolate mousse seemed like a great idea and I was absolutely right! This is one sublime chocolate mousse. You can make this with almonds as well. I haven’t tried it with other types of nuts, but you are more than welcome to.
I haven’t met many people who don’t like a good chocolate mousse. Actually I haven’t met anyone like that. This is a fantastic recipe for anyone who wants to try a light, airy, decadent chocolate mousse with different but incredibly delicious flavours. And I also like that it can easily be made dairy-free if you make it with coconut cream and a dairy-free dark chocolate (see the ingredients list). Even though the crunch of the praline is lost here, the addition of the caramelized praline gives it an amazingly nutty (and of course caramel) flavour. You probably won’t notice the coconut flavour either (depends on the coconut cream you use of course) if you decide to take that route, because of the chocolate and praline flavours. I was forced to eat a spoonful of this beautiful mousse so I could show you how airy it was inside! Yes, it was a sacrifice, but one I was willing to make for the sake of knowledge and posterity! Check out the picture below to see what I mean 🙂
Could you help me settle a debate by the way? Mr K is a chocolate mousse purist and he refuses to add anything on top of it and prefers it just the way it is. Whereas I like to have it with a little whipped cream or creme fraiche! Which do you think is better? How do you like yours? With extra topping? or not? However you decide to have it, you will love this one! You can find me hanging out (more than I probably ought to) on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS. And remember to subscribe for future posts and recipes by entering your email address below or on the side bar 🙂
