Chocolate Mousse Smores Bars Food

CHOCOLATY S'MORES BARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows; cook and stir until blended. Remove from heat. Stir in cereal until coated., Press into a greased 13x9-in. pan using a buttered spatula. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

S'MORES CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, arrange eight 3-by-3-inch round ring molds. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until finely ground. Add flour, salt, butter, and sugar; pulse to combine. Transfer mixture to another rimmed baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, coarsely chop until no large clumps remain. Bake 10 minutes more. Remove and chop again; set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, melt milk chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Transfer graham cracker mixture to a large bowl. Add melted milk chocolate and stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup to each ring mold and press with a small spoon to pack tightly. Refrigerate until set.
• Mousse Filling: In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon cold water; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Melt semisweet chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat; add egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.
• In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Whisk one-third of egg-white mixture into semisweet-chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture. Gently fold in whipped cream. Divide mousse evenly among ring molds (about 1/4 cup each). Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
• Meringue Topping: Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips. Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Add cornstarch and vanilla. Continue whisking until meringue is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), 6 to 8 minutes.
• Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip; pipe on top of mousse to fill mold. Using a small offset spatula, smooth meringue to make it flush with top of mold.
• Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes. To unmold, place ring mold on top of a narrow glass or spice jar; gently pull mold down. If necessary, briefly torch sides of molds with a kitchen torch to loosen (be careful not to overheat). Transfer to a heatproof plate. Repeat process with remaining molds. Use kitchen torch to brown tops of meringues. Serve immediately.

S'MORES MOUSSE

Steps:

• For the mousse: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Microwave the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish in 30-second increments until melted; set aside.
• In the stand mixer with a clean bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt on medium-high speed. Meanwhile, heat the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer to 240 degrees F. With the mixer running, stream the hot sugar syrup into the yolks and beat until room temperature. Fold in the slightly cooled melted chocolate, then the whipped cream. Serve immediately or chill before serving.
• For the topping: Spoon the mousse into small glasses or jars and top with the graham crackers, mini marshmallows and chocolate shavings.

SPICY SMOKY S'MORES BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil. You want to leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides. These are going to serve as your handles to remove the bars from the pan in 1 piece, so make sure that there is enough of the overhang for you to have a solid grip. Grease the foil well with the softened butter.
• In your food processor, grind the graham crackers into a fine meal (you need 2 cups). In a large bowl, combine your crumbs with the sugar, sea salt and melted butter. The mixture should look and feel like wet sand. Set aside a heaping 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Evenly press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom the foil-lined pan. Pop your crust into the oven and bake until it is golden brown and your kitchen smells of graham crackers, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack or on a dishtowel on your counter.
• Melt the milk chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously until fully melted. Do not turn up the heat to hurry this process, you must keep it on low. Alternately, you can microwave the chocolate on low power, stirring after 2 minutes. Once the chocolate is fully melted, it's time to add the chipotle pepper powder, if using, and stir it in completely.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled graham cracker crust. Spread the chocolate evenly over the crust with a butter knife. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate and press them lightly into the chocolate. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over and in between the marshmallows so that you cannot see the chocolate peaking through the marshmallows. Broil the bars 6 inches from the flame until the marshmallows are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Refrigerate the bars until the chocolate is hard, 2 hours or so. Grab the ends of the foil liner and lift the bars out of the pan in 1 piece. Move to a cutting board and cut into 24 squares.