Sometimes we enjoy a delicious dessert without thinking about the technology of their preparation, but also about the origin of the treat. Although this information is always very interesting and informative. Each dish has its own story, some of which are impressive. For example, what is mousse? An airy, sweet treat is familiar to many. But only true professionals can cook it, and even more so tell you where the dish came from.
What is mousse?
Translated from French, the word "mousse" is translated as foam. After all, it is precisely this consistency that it has, light and airy. This is a sweet dessert that has some kind of base, a base that gives it flavor notes. It can be fruits, berries, chocolate and even dessert alcohol. In order to create and fix a stable foam, whipped proteins and yolks, some types of starch, semolina and gelatin are used.
To improve the taste add sugar, honey, syrup or molasses. After cooking, the mousse is cooled and decorated before serving. At first glance, the technology is simple, but it has its own subtleties. It is necessary to study well what mousse is to prepare a real treat.
Classic
It is no secret that French court chefs invented the mousse in the 17th century. They knew the secrets of making this dessert. Today, the original version has changed a bit. In the classic recipe, only natural beaten egg foam is used, which is frozen. The use of even gelatin is possible only in extremely small doses.
Chocolate French mousse is the standard of this type of dessert, tasty and expensive. But it can also be prepared at home, using more affordable products. In Russia, the cooking recipe came only at the beginning of the 18th century and fell very close to the court. At first it was available only to nobles and kings, but today any housewife can cook it.
French recipe
To understand what mousse is, we cook it according to the classic French recipe. To do this, take 4 eggs, 200 grams of cognac, 100 grams of powdered sugar, 3 large spoons of boiling water, 175 grams of good chocolate and a pinch of salt. Before preparing the mousse, it is necessary to separate the proteins from the yolks and beat the latter with powdered sugar. Then gradually pour in the alcohol. We put the container in a water bath and continue to whisk until a stable, dense foam is formed. It takes about 10 minutes.
After that, immediately put the container on ice, continuing to whisk. The foam should not settle until the mousse has completely cooled. This mass must be left in the cold. Pour boiling water into a separate bowl and add a spoonful of coffee. There we put pieces of chocolate and put in a water bath. Melt and cool. In a third bowl, spread the butter and add the melted chocolate to it. All mix well. Now this mass is gradually added to container No. 1 (proteins with powdered sugar). At the same time, we continue to whisk and keep in the cold. Separately, whip the proteins with salt until a lush foam is formed and mix them with chocolate mass. We spread the mousse in the form and send it to the cold. The recipe is simple, but before you make the mousse, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the technology.
Raspberry mousse
For cooking, you need to take half a glass of cold water, 4 cups of fresh raspberries (you can replace frozen), 1 large spoon of gelatin, a glass of sugar, two protein and a half cup of cream (30%). What is mousse? This is, first of all, stable foam. Therefore, for starters, we soak gelatin, which will provide us with the desired consistency. Squeeze juice from raspberries (three quarters of a glass), add water and sugar to it and put on fire.
Cook the syrup. Then add and mix. At this moment, the mass should not boil, otherwise the gelatin will not have its effect. Cool the resulting mixture. Separately, beat the proteins to stable peaks and gradually introduce them into the syrup. Whip cream and add to the total mass. We must not forget that during the whole preparation, the mass should be constantly cooled on ice. Pour dessert into forms and put in the refrigerator. By the way, you can use mousse for the cake, forming the top layer from it.
Apple mousse
This dessert is very good for baby food. You will need a minimum set of ingredients: 150 grams of sugar, 350 grams of apples, a little citric acid, 80 grams of semolina, 750 grams of water. Peel the apples from the peel and seeds, cut into slices and boil in a small amount of water. Then we wipe them through a sieve to a state of mashed potatoes. Add sugar, a little citric acid for taste and bring to a boil. Now we introduce the semolina gradually, continuing to cook and stir constantly. Cool the resulting mixture and beat. It turns out a lush mass. Pour apple mousse for children into molds and cool. Serving to the table, you can pour dessert with any syrup.
Curd cream mousse with strawberries
This dessert can be served for breakfast and it will be a great start to any day. Delicate, light and tasty mousse will be appreciated by both adults and children. For cooking, you need to take 15 grams of gelatin, 250 grams of sour cream, 250 grams of good cottage cheese, 300 grams of strawberries, half a glass of sugar and 90 ml of water.
To begin with, we put gelatin to swell, pouring it with chilled, boiled water. We wash the strawberries and remove the stalks, then turn it into mashed potatoes in any convenient way, mixing with sugar. Add cottage cheese to this mass and thoroughly beat. Pour gelatin into a thin stream while continuing to work as a mixer. Pour the cottage cheese and sour cream mousse into molds and cool. By serving, you can decorate the treat with fresh fruit.
Cake Mousse
Mousse is very often used in the preparation of cakes. You can take any basis. It can be a biscuit or shortcrust pastry. You can use any mousse for the cake. The main thing is that he keeps his shape well. Next, we make mousse according to any recipe from any ingredients. We spread it on the base and send it to the refrigerator. When the layer hardens, you can form the next. Usually they use different types of mousse, which gives the cake a very beautiful appearance and delicious taste. For example, a layer of strawberry mousse and chocolate. It all depends on the baker’s imagination. In any case, properly cooked mousse remains an excellent delicacy that is loved by everyone.