Chocolate Chantilly a.k.a the Best Chocolate Mousse!

I stumbled upon something brilliant and i had to share it with you! Would you believe me if i said, you can make the lightest, the most delish chocolate mousse in under five minutes with just 2 ingredients?  Yes, i kid you not, this is the ultimate - Chocolate Chantilly! Brought into the world by Monsieur Hervé This and popularized by Mr Heston Blumenthal (oh, how i love these gentlemen now!), the Chocolate Chantilly is pure science combined with the love of chocolate-we fiddle around with molecular gastronomy to make the perfect mousse!

We all know how chocolate and water are not good together, how it will make the chocolate seize, grainy etc. Park that thought.
In this case, extremely good chocolate is combined with water, melted, then cooled and whisked over ice cubes to make this soft, dreamy mousse that can go with practically everything! That's it! no lengthy procedures, no fine print! If you are in  a rush to make dessert for guests, this is the answer. If you want a chocolatey something to go along with one of your desserts, THIS is the answer! 

Since the recipe uses only chocolate for the most part, it is absolutely important you use the best, the best chocolate you can lay your hands on. Seeing as the ingredients are only chocolate and water, it is important that you slip into a world of  quality chocolate. I had a pack of Scharffen Berger 62% and they were more than perfect for the occasion :)

P.S: Stay tuned for a brilliant dessert where this mousse shines as the perfect accompaniment! :)

Recipe adapted from here (since it is just the two of us, i quartered it and it worked wonders)

-66.25 g of the best chocolate

-1/4 cup water

-1 teaspoon Gianduia

-1 tablespoon castor sugar (optional)

-Fill a bowl with ice cold water and ice cubes, place a smaller bowl over the ice cubes and keep in the freezer till called for.

-Combine the chocolate, water and Gianduia or any other liqueur (Grand Mariner, Baileys etc) that you are using. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once melted, take the bowl with ice from the freezer and pour the melted into the bowl over the ice cubes. Using a balloon whisk or a hand blender, whisk it up till it thickens and becomes ribbony. Keep an eye on the texture of the chocolate and make sure it does not get grainy. If it does get grainy, just melt the chocolate again and start over again.

-Spoon into individual portion glasses and refrigerate till ready to eat!

Strawberry Verrine

Want a fancy-schmancy dessert to wow your fancy-schmancy dinner guests? Strawberry verrines are the way to go. They are simple and easy. Not to mention classy. Oooh and also, will make them wonder how the heck this working person/homemaker/wife/mother/all of the above/none of the above put together such a cool dessert. It's a breeze really. To demystify a verrine, it is a confection made by layering various beautiful ingredients in small cute looking glasses, originally from, where else, France.

I was lucky to lay my hands on a box of lovely and fresh (read expensive as hell) strawberries at this time of the year and the 'have-to-have-to-do-something-different!' feeling came over me.

So verrines have been on my to list for a looong time and i found this neat and easy-peasy recipe here at Pease Pudding and viola i knew i had to do it! Thank you PeasePudding! :)

There are three components to this gem of a dish: Strawberry mousse + Strawberry jelly + Fresh Strawberries.
(I halved the recipe and it yielded 4 medium sized servings. also, i increased the amount of gelatin required to make the jelly as opposed to the original recipe 'cos my jelly didn't set as well the first time when i followed the instructions in the original recipe to the T: Each brand has its own setting index i guess. either way, it tasted awesome.)

For the Strawberry mousse, you will need:

-1/2 cup strawberries washed and diced
-1/4 teaspoon gelatin
-1 tablespoon water
-3 tablespoons castor sugar
-1/3 cup cream

Mix the gelatin in the water and stir and keep aside.
Purée the strawberries till pulpy, add the gelatin mix it and place it in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove the pan from the heat. Keep aside to cool.
In the meantime, whip the cream to soft peak consistency (5 minutes or so).
Fold the whipped cream into the cooled strawberry mix.
Divide between serving glasses and refrigerate till set.

Once the mousse has set in the refrigerator (3 to 4 hours), we shall start with the jelly.
For the strawberry jelly, you will need:
-1 tablespoon peach schnapps or lemon juice
-1/2 cup strawberries washed and diced
-1 tablespoon water
-1/2 teaspoon gelatin
-2 tablespoons castor sugar

Mix the gelatin in the water and stir and keep aside.
 Purée the strawberries till pulpy, add the gelatin mix it and place it in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove the pan from the heat. Keep aside to cool.
Add the peach schnapps or lemon juice and mix. Allow to cool before pouring over the mousse lest it melts the mousse.
Let the jelly set before garnishing with freshly cut strawberries and maybe a sprig of mint.
and there you go, strawberry verrine! Enjoy! :)