Valentine's Dessert

My mom always chose dessert first, then decided what to make for dinner as an afterthought - a practice I have apparently inherited. While my own boyfriend was busy with work and class, my family had late activities so they were free for dinner. A self-admitted chocoholic, I chose to make a chocolate mousse found in one of my new cookbooks, The Eating Well Desert Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Bring Dessert Back into Your Life. (p.s. I love this book!)

Let me talk about this book, just as a sidenote. This book uses healthy ingredients focusing on fresh flavors and a variety of ingredients. All the recipes are given using low/non-fat milk/sour cream/yogurt etc, and share the nutritional information. They suggest variations and give random notes helping both your methods, and letting to customize the flavors to your liking. I've made a couple recipes already (despite only getting the book last week!) and have paged through the book drooling several times. I definitely suggest buying it, especially if you need to reintroduce dessert to your life. Dessert does not have to be ridiculously decadent forcing you to go to the gym for 5 hours; dessert can be yours again and you don't have to feel guilty!

Here's the recipe along with my comments.

Chocolate Mousse a l'Orange

Ingredients

3/4 c low-fat milk
6 2in-long strips of orange zest*
1 t unflavored gelatin
2 T orange liqueur - Grand Marnier etc. **
1 large egg and 4 egg whites
1 c packed brown sugar, divided
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder***
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 t vanilla
1/2 t cream of tartar

Notes:

*I just used my zesting tool and had a couple teaspoons, this is just used to infuse the milk so as long as it is zesty who cares about the size and shape!

**I shop for deals and couldn't bring myself to splurge on the orange cognac, but it seems Grand Marnier is always the liqueur mentioned in recipes... Triple Sec worked just fine!

*** They specify a preference for Dutch-process, but I used Hershey's.

Directions
6 servings

50 minutes + chilling time

I tend to like more, but shorter, steps rather than paragraphs calling themselves one step, so I'll try to do so.

Chocolate Mix
1. Infuse milk with zest by heating both in a small saucepan until steaming. Remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes. Discard zest (using a sieve if you have zest shreds like I did) and save milk in a saucepan.
2. While waiting for the milk to steep, sprinkle gelatin over liqueur in a small bowl and let sit until softened. This is also a good time to chop your chocolate or wash your dessert dishes.

3. Add to your milk saucepan: the whole egg, 1/4 brown sugar, and cocoa. Whisk until smooth. Cook over low heat whisking constantly until thickened (5 minutes). Do not add your egg to a hot saucepan without other things in it  while you read the rest of the step like I did- it will start to cook!

4. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture stirring until dissolved. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until melted. Set aside to let cool (30 minutes).

Meringue

5. While that's cooling, cook your meringue: bring an inch or so of water to a simmer in a wide saucepan. In a heatproof bowl that will fit over the saucepan, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, 3 T water, and remaining brown sugar. Make sure to choose a bowl large enough to hold the meringue after it expands.

6. Set the bowl over the water, not in the pan, just over it (similar to a double boiler) and beat with an electric mixer on low speed, moving constantly, until an instant-read thermometer reads 140 degrees F (3-5 minutes).
7. Increase the speed to high and beat for another 3.5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat until cool (4-5 minutes longer).

8. Whisk 1/4 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

9. With a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the meringue until fully incorporated. Spoon into 6 dessert glasses and chill until set - about 3 hours. The mousse can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

I garnished with a Triple Sec flavored whipped cream, candied orange zest, and chocolate shavings. Next time I will hopefully be prepared with better pictures. The mousse is very rich so the lightness of the whipped cream was appreciated. I also thought it added more of that subtle orange flavor. This recipe definitely was not overwhelmed by a citrus flavor, but had a subtle hint so the main taste was still delicious chocolaty goodness. I think this mousse would also be worth trying with different flavors - perhaps peppermint, coconut, almond? I love chocolate mousse. This was fabulous and only 250 calories per serving. It was perfect for a nice Valentine's dessert, and certainly was much too good for kids.