Monday, January 21, 2013

Raspberry Mousse


Valentine's Day is one of those days that sneaks up on me. This year, I appear to have my act together since this is the second Valentine's-Day-appropriate dessert I've posted this month. Now, I'm torn between my Molten Lava Cakes and this mousse! They're both sweetened with honey, flour- and gluten-free, and pretty darn easy to make. I guess the deciding factor is whether your 'honey' (ha ha) likes chocolate or fruit.


I was nervous about the crust as it was baking because it tasted so bland, but when you stir the honey in at the end, everything changes.

This mousse is bright and fun and makes me crave summer berries. Making this in the dead of winter pretty much necessitates frozen raspberries. Unless you like paying $5 for dry and marginal berries. No thank you.


Next time, I'd like to try blackberry and lime together. Still working from the same basic recipe, but using blackberries instead of the raspberries and lime juice and zest in place of the lemon. That would change the whole look of this mousse and would probably be equally amazing.

I must be subconsciously craving spring because all my shots lately look so light and airy! I wasn't doing that on purpose. I swear.

Plus, the temps just plummeted here in Wisconsin and I'm not really happy about it. As strange as it was to have melting snow and water running down the streets, it secretely made me smile. Since it's zero today, I'm staying in! It's hard for me to appreciate weather that forces me inside.

Guess I'll just stay in with my chocolates, trail mix, and cookbooks. Can't really complain about that...


Raspberry Mousse
Adapted from this recipe
Makes 4 large servings

2 ounces / scant 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
2 ounces / scant 1/2 cup raw almonds
2 ounces / 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons honey, plus 1 teaspoon
16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temp
9 ounces / 2 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor or powerful blender, grind the hazelnuts and almonds until it creates a fine meal (not so far that you start making nut butter). Add melted butter and pulse together until combined.

Spread on the lined baking sheet. If the nuts make small clusters, it's fine. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove when nuts have darkened slightly in color and give off a nutty aroma. Be very careful not to burn. While still warm, drizzle 1 tablespoon honey over and stir to combine. Allow to cool on pan.

Place the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

If you don't want seeds in your mousse, press the raspberries through a fine-meshed sieve. I skipped this step and left my seeds in. Beat the raspberries into the cream cheese until fully combined. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of honey. Stir to combine. Transfer to another bowl if using a stand mixer and refrigerate.

Using stand mixer bowl or other large bowl, whip heavy whipping cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon honey. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, whipping for another minute or two and cream becomes more firm. If it's firm enough to hold it's shape when scooped with a spoon, that's a good time to stop.

Remove 1/2 cup of the whipping cream from the bowl and gently stir into the raspberry mousse until no white streaks remain.

Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of nuts into four 6-ounce glasses and pack firmly with your fingers. Spoon or pipe the raspberry layer over the crust, dividing evenly between the four glasses. Top with a generous portion of the whipped cream.

Serve immediately or after chilling for a few hours. If storing, place in a covered container to prevent the surface of the mousse and whipping cream from drying out.



Pinit

Sweet 2 Eat Baking

22 comments:

  1. These are beautiful! I love the pink hue, and can just imagine how velvety that mouse is. Yum!

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    Replies
    1. Well thank you Morgan! Besides eating them, my favorite part was looking at them :) The color is even better in person...

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  • sally @ sallys baking addictionJan 23, 2013, 9:11:00 AM

    These are GORGEOUS! I love that we both posted pink treats today. :) And there is something about mousse that is just so elegant and luscious. I love the hazelnut and almond crust/layer on the bottom - never seen anything like that in parfait/mousse before! They both pair so wonderfully with raspberry.

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes you just need to eat something full of color, right Sally? I know you'd agree with that one!

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  • YUM! This looks delicious!!! I will be making it very soon. Thanks, Loretta! I came on here to find a different recipe that I'd seen earlier but now I have two things to make. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mar! Hope you like them both! I love this one...

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  • Saw this yumminess featured at Whatcha' Whipped Up link party ... looks delish! Pinning! Thanks for sharing ;)
    Congrats on the well deserved feature ;)

    ~Brenda @ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Brenda! Love the name of your blog. Sounds like something I'd appreciate...

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  • The Better BakerJan 30, 2013, 6:41:00 AM

    Looks gorgeous. Raspberries are my favorite fruit, but the blackberry/lime combo sounds amazing too. YUUUUMMMMMMM-OOO!!

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    Replies
    1. Why thank you! I seriously can't wait to try the blackberry lime version because I love limes (and blackberries).

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  • Fun! I made raspberry mousse, too! Or actually Mr. T did but whatever. :)

    Yours has such a pretty color! And I love that you added a crust. Very nice! And I'm with you on frozen raspberries. I use them for everything but when I need some for a picture, I end up paying the $5. It's so silly but they look so much better than frozen!

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    1. Even better when someone else makes it, right? All the benefits, none of the work.

      The only problem I've found with frozen raspberries (besides that they lose their shape) is that they seem to lose most of their sweetness when frozen. It's not really a huge deal for me, but just what I've noticed.

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  • Hey! I cant wait to make this! how much would you say this actually makes?

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    Replies
    1. It makes 4 hefty servings. And I'm guessing here, but each serving is probably about 1/2 a cup. It was a while back...I hope you love it as much as I did!

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