Mocha Mousse Espresso Cupcakesrobynne Food

FROZEN MOCHA MOUSSE

Steps:

• Break 3 ounces of the chocolate into pieces and place the pieces in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk in the coffee liqueur, water and espresso granules and heat the mixture until the chocolate just melts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is the texture of mayonnaise. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla, and slowly pour in the cooled chocolate mixture.
• Put the egg whites and salt in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the whites form soft (not dry!) peaks. Fold them carefully into the chocolate mixture. In the same bowl (no need to clean it) beat the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks and fold it carefully into the chocolate mixture. Grate the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and fold it into the mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a 10-cup souffle dish, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours or overnight.
• For the whipped cream, place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip on medium and then high speed until it reach stiff peaks. Spoon the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the edge of the mousse with the whipped cream, and sprinkle extra chocolate shavings over the center of the mousse for decoration. Serve frozen.

MOCHA MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the pudding mix with the milk and coffee until very thick. In another large bowl, beat the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla using an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Reserve 1/4 cup for garnish. Stir one-third of the whipped cream into the pudding to lighten it. Fold the remaining whipped cream gently into the pudding. Spoon into dessert glasses and refrigerate until ready to serve. Mousse can be made ahead up to 4 hours in advance. When ready to serve, top each with a small dollop of the reserved whipped cream and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

MOCHA MOUSSE PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Add the butter and pulse a few times until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the ice water and vodka and pulse until the dough starts coming together but is still crumbly. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a disk, using the plastic wrap to help you. Wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edge with your fingers. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Line the crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until the edge is dry, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and continue baking until dry all over, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Combine 3/4 cup heavy cream and the butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, then immediately pour over the chocolate. Add the vanilla and salt (do not stir), cover with plastic wrap and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk until melted and smooth. (If there are pieces of unmelted chocolate, microwave in 15-second intervals until smooth.) Set aside to cool.
• Beat the remaining 1 3/4 cups heavy cream and the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture in three batches (do not overmix; the filling should be light and airy). Transfer to the cooled pie crust and smooth the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Remove the pie from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Make the topping: Beat the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Stir the chocolate syrup and espresso powder in a small bowl until dissolved. Fold about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate syrup mixture into the whipped cream, then spread on the pie. Drizzle with the remaining syrup mixture; sprinkle with the espresso beans.

MOCHA MOUSSE

Steps:

• Stir 1 tablespoon chilled brewed espresso or strong coffee into 2 cups prepared chocolate pudding. Beat 3/4 cup heavy cream with 1 tablespoon sugar until soft peaks form. Fold into the mocha pudding. Top with chocolate shavings.

MOCHA MOUSSE ESPRESSO CUPCAKES~ROBYNNE

Steps:

• 1. Prepare and bake cake as directed on box. Allow to cool completely.
• 2. While cupcakes are cooling, add espresso powder to vanilla and let it dissolve. Mix the mousse ingredients together with a hand mixer until ingredients are incorporated and filling is creamy. Spoon mousse into a ziploc bag and seal. Refrigerate until ready to fill cupcakes.
• 3. When cupcakes are cool, take a paring knife and cut a circle in the top of the cupcake and gently lift and remove circle. Cut a bottom corner of the ziploc bag filled with mousse and squeeze mousse into the hole you made in the cupcakes. Place circle back on top of the filling. Don't worry that it stick up, you will never see it under the frosting. Do this to all the cupcakes. I had some pudding left over.
• 4. Dissolve espresso powder in vanilla. Combine frosting ingredients in a large bowl. Begin mixing on low speed until combined. Whip the frosting on high until fluffy and holds it's shape when peaks are formed. Be sure to taste the frosting, adding more espresso powder/vanilla as needed.
• 5. Frost cupcakes and top with chocolate sprinkles and espresso bean.

DARK CHOCOLATE MOCHA MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Butter a metal 8-inch square cake pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper; lightly butter the parchment. Combine the cocoa and espresso powders in a medium bowl. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the milk is steaming and the butter melts. Whisk into the cocoa mixture; let cool to room temperature.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until very pale, thick and pillowy, 5 to 8 minutes. Beat 30 to 45 more seconds to stabilize the egg foam.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the cocoa mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the flour mixture in 2 additions. Beat just until the batter is smooth and no dry flour remains.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and gently tap against the counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out the cake onto a rack. Peel off the parchment but let it rest gently on top of the cake while it cools completely. Wipe the cake pan clean and reserve.
• Make the ganache: Combine 1/2 cup heavy cream, 4 ounces chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan. Gently cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth. Let cool.
• Make the mousse: Combine the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and 4 ounces chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup heavy cream and the gelatin powder in a small microwave- safe bowl. Let stand until the gelatin absorbs the liquid, about 5 minutes, then microwave until melted, 20 to 30 seconds, whisking. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
• Combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, the sugar and espresso powder in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed to dissolve the sugar, about 1 minute. Stream in the cooled gelatin mixture, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is thick and stiff peaks form. Fold in the cooled chocolate mixture in 2 or 3 batches until the mousse is well blended.
• Assemble the cake: Line the reserved cake pan with 2 crisscrossed strips of parchment paper (this will help you lift out the finished cake). Carefully slice the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Lay the best layer cut-side up in the bottom of the pan and brush with some of the chocolate liqueur, if using. (Use a plate or small cutting board to move the layers; if your top cake layer is domed, use it for the middle of the cake.) Evenly spread half of the mousse on top with an offset spatula, all the way to the edges. Top with a second cake layer. Brush again with chocolate liqueur, then spread half of the ganache evenly on top. Add the final cake layer, cut-side up, and brush with the remaining liqueur. Top with the remaining mousse and ganache. (The assembled cake should fill the pan.)
• Refrigerate the cake until the top is set, about 30 minutes, then wrap the whole cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to set completely.
• Lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment pieces and transfer to a cutting board. Using a hot, dry serrated knife, slice the cake, wiping the knife in between cuts for clean edges.

EASY MOCHA MOUSSE

Steps:

• Heat half of the cream in a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
• Place the chocolate and coffee into a large heatproof bowl. When the cream comes to the boil, pour it over the chocolate. Leave for a few minutes for the chocolate to start to melt, then whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the remaining half of the cream. (Adding this cold cream helps cool the mixture down faster).
• Refrigerate until very well chilled - at least several hours or ideally overnight.If you're in a hurry you can place the bowl in the freezer to speed the cooling process. Just make sure you check and stir it regularly to make sure it doesn't actually freeze!
• Once the mousse mix is fully chilled, whip it with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. If it seems like it's still a little too soft to pipe, you can refrigerate the bowl of mousse again for 10 minutes or so until it firms up some more.
• Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star or round piping tip and pipe into serving glasses. You can also just spoon the mousse into the glasses if you prefer.
• Put the instant coffee, caster sugar and boiling water into a bowl. Whip with an electric mixer (or use a hand whisk and a strong arm) until thick and foamy, and much lighter in colour.
• Put the cream, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until thickened, and soft peaks form when you lift up the mixer.
• Spoon the toppings onto each of the mousses. I found it handy to use an ice cream scoop, but a spoon will do the job just fine too.
• Serve the mousse immediately, or store, covered or in an airtight container, in the fridge. The mousse will keep well for several days, but the whipped coffee topping looks its best for up to a day, then it will start to slowly deflate. It still tastes the same, it just doesn't look so pretty.