White Chocolate Mousse With Pomegranate Sauce Food

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• Two days before you plan to serve the dessert, in a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Strain into another bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, remove the mixture from the refrigerator and, using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whip it into fluffy, soft peaks. Return to the refrigerator.
• In a clean dry bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and continue whipping until glossy and stiff, about 30 seconds more. Fold into the white chocolate mixture, and then spoon the mixture (or pipe through a pastry bag) into glasses or chocolate bags.
• Melt chocolate over hot water. Using a thin small clear 4-sided cellophane bag cut the top off to desired height. Un-crease the bag so it stands up and open. Using a paintbrush, coat the inside of the bag well with chocolate. Put in the freezer to set up until very hard, about 30 minutes. Cut the bag a little and pull it away from the chocolate. Store chilled until ready to serve. To serve, fill it with white chocolate mousse then lay it on a plate on its side so it looks like it's spilling over. Garnish it with a cascade of mixed berries and a mint sprig. You can fill it with truffles, too.
• Notes about the recipe: Ganache is a word that we've been seeing on more and more dessert menus. It has a rich, fancy, very French sound, but ganache is essentially just a combination of chocolate and water or cream. Depending on the proportions, the mixture can be used in a variety of ways: as a glaze, a filling, or a candy center, to name just the ways we use it in this book. With enough cream added, it becomes whip-able, and that's the foundation of this white-chocolate mousse. White chocolate is devastatingly popular, but it's also not exactly chocolate. It's mostly cocoa butter, extracted from cocoa beans and enhanced with sugar and vanilla. White chocolate is not the same thing as the "confectionery coating" or "white coating" you see in the market; real white chocolate contains cocoa butter. Note that you'll need two days for making this dessert.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a large glass bowl, place the chopped white chocolate and set aside.
• Add the egg yolks and sugar to a small bowl and whisk until pale in color.
• In a saucepan, over low heat, bring 1/4 cup of the cream to a simmer, and slowly add the cream into the yolk and sugar mixture to temper. Pour the creamy mixture back into pan and stir with a wooden spoon until it coats the back of it.
• Pour hot mix into a fine mesh sieve placed directly over bowl with the chopped chocolate. Stir until completely smooth.
• In another bowl, whip remaining 1 cup of the cream to almost stiff peaks. Fold half the whipped cream into the white chocolate mix to lighten and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
• Spoon the white chocolate mousse into 4 serving cups and refrigerate until set, approximately 1 hour.
• Garnish each serving with 3 blackberries and a sprig of mint, if using.

WHITE CHOCOLATE POTS DU CREME

Steps:

• Combine the cream and milk in a heavy bottom, 2 quart saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Bring the water in a double boiler to a simmer. Place the chocolate in the top half and stir with a rubber spatula until melted. Whisk the egg yolks into the melted chocolate. Slowly pour the boiling cream mixture into the chocolate, whisking constantly. Bring to a temperature of 160 degrees, about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a stainless steel bowl. Cool in an ice bath, stirring constantly with a wire whisk to a temperature of 90 degrees F., about 4 to 5 minutes. Evenly divide the mixture into 8 small pot de creme forms or glass custard cups. Cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours to set before serving. Spoon the sauce over the top of each pot de creme and serve with the Florentines.
• Remove the seeds from 2 pomegranates and set aside. Remove the seeds from the other 2 pomegranates and place in a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Boil until all of the seeds burst and the mixture begins to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain and allow to cool. Stir in the whole pomegranate seeds.
• Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2000
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla, baking soda and salt and beat until smooth. In a food processor or blender, combine the oats and pecan pieces and pulse several times to grind. Add this to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. The dough will be stiff and sticky. Drop by the teaspoonful, about 3 inches apart, onto the prepared pan. Flatten the dough slightly with your fingertips. Bake for 6 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and carefully roll the cookies into cylinder shapes-like a cookie cigar while they are still hot. Cool completely on wire racks.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• In heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine chocolate and 2/3 cup cream.
• Cook and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Cool to room temperature.
• In small mixing bowl, beat remaining cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.
• Fold about 1/4 cup into chocolate mixture.
• Fold in remaining whipped cream mixture.
• Spoon into dessert dishes.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.