March Birthday: Trois Mousses au Chocolat ~ 最美的協奏曲: 巧克力三重奏

Happy birthday to you, my fellow March superstars^^ Here to Pisces ~ Aries Power! I apologize for my belated March Birthday sweets post. Life has been a little mad lately with wedding planning (sadly, not my own) and birthdays!

Not long ago, I revealed to all of you that I am a chocoholic. Was it a surprise to you that I picked something chocolaty as March’s birthday sweet?! Probably not^^ However, I had a difficult time choosing what I should make because the list is endless! Finally, it came down to this!

The recipes are from the award winning book Bittersweet by Alice Medrich – a must-have if you are a chocoholic like me! Like the name of the book gives out, this whole book is dedicated to chocolate desserts (and more)! It is filled with Chocolates 101 and hundred of recipes; however, it is a pity that it hasn’t gotten more pictures (I’m very visual). This impressive little cake that you see here, it is made using a combination of 3 different recipes, Milk & White Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Marquise. This is the richest and most beautiful dessert I have made so far; a dessert that showcases chocolate in all its decadent glory. Consists of three layers of luscious, creamy chocolate mousse; decadent dark, milk and white chocolate, and topped with white chocolate curl. As Medrich pointed out they are great by themselves but extraordinary when teamed together. You want to maximize the flavors by employing more of the rich & dark chocolate marquise and add lesser of the sweeter mousses.


I made this once for my bgf’s (best girl friend) birthday. It was last year around this time but in a much larger version, an 8-inch cake. When it was served, it was gone before I finished telling people what it was made of. Yeah, it was that good =) I have topped the cake with chocolate curl to gives it a luxurious, light, and airy appeal, exactly how it tastes like. You can opt for a more artsy presentation by serving it with raspberry coulis (perfect marriage to chocolate) or top it with stunning caramelized hazelnuts shaped like tear drop as Medrich did. Oh, for those caffeine fans, it also goes well with espresso ^^

Prep:
- If using mousse rings, cut squares of 3x3 foils and draw a 2 inch circle on each.
- If using serving glasses, wash and dry.

I thought you should know:
- Only prepare each mousse before using, as they get set fast.
- You can infuse the cream for the milk and/or white chocolate mousse to have different flavors.
- It is critical not to over whip the cream. It should only barely beginning to hold a shape.

Trois Mousse au Chocolat
Makes 6 2X3 mousse rings or 6 5oz glasses

Harden Chocolate Circle (omit this step if not using mousse rings)

1oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Draw a 2 inch circle on a 3x3 square foil; repeat that 6 times. Align the foils on a jelly roll pan. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl in a pot of barely simmering water, stir until chocolate fully melted then remove from heat. Divide the melted chocolate among the foils, spread it to fully cover the circles then set a mousse ring over each circle. Place in fridge to harden the chocolate.


Chocolate Marquise
Makes 2 ¼ cups

4oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4tbs unsalted butter, diced
2 eggs (L size)
2tbs granulated sugar
2tbs water

Place the chocolate plus the butter in a stainless bowl (or any heatproof bowls); place it over a pot of barely simmering water. Stir with a rubber spatula frequently until the chocolates is nearly melted then remove it and continue to stir until completely melted and smooth (no lumps); set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg and sugar until well blended then whisk in the water. Place the egg mixture over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring constantly until it reads 160F/80C on the candy thermometer; remove from pot.

Using an electric mixer; beat the warm egg mixture at high speed for 3-4 minutes or when it forms soft peak. Now fold 1/3 of it into the chocolate, fold till nearly blended. Then fold in ½ of the remaining egg mixture until blended then add in the remaining and fold until fully incorporated.

Immediately pour or pipe the mixture into the moulds until half full. Smooth out with the back of the spoon. Place in the fridge and chill until set; about 1 hour.

Milk Chocolate Mousse
Makes 2 cups

3oz milk chocolate, finely chopped
2tbs water
½ cup heavy cream

Bring 1 inch of water to a shimmer in a wide skillet (frying pan will do too); remove from heat. Place the chopped chocolate and the water in a heat proof bowl then place the bowl into the simmer water. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth then remove it. Set aside to cool. Once it registered 85F on candy thermometer, prepare the cream.

Place the cream in a bowl then whip with a hand mixer until it gets thickened; it should be pourable and fluffy. Fold the cream into the chocolate; fold till incorporated. Pour it into the moulds on top of the chocolate marquise layer leaving 1/3 space for the white chocolate mousse. Chill to set, about 1 hour.

White Chocolate Mousse
Makes 2 cups

3oz white chocolate, finely chopped
2tbs water
½ cup heavy cream

Prepare it the same way as the Milk Chocolate Mousse. Fill the moulds completely then use an icing spatula to spread and level the mousse. Place in fridge and chill until set.

Unmold the cakes only before serving. To unmold, peel off the foil, place it on plate then wrap a hot towel around the mould then pull upward. Decorate the cake then serve.



抱歉nee, 請接受我遲來了的祝賀﹐ (灑花&尖叫)生日快樂~~~~~
無它﹐最近忙著plan婚禮的細節。嘿…不是我啦﹗是幫朋友的忙。誰叫我的另類嗜好是wedding planning﹐ 而且還是免費勞工﹗搶手的很~

在看到這個甜點之前﹐ 你應該早就意料到三月的生日獻禮會是和巧克力有關的吧﹗因為不久前我才披露我是一名Chocoholic。我的生日月份當然是做我愛吃的囉。其實在無數的巧克力食譜裡選一個也不是容易的事。我可是反復想了很久才決定做這個巧克力三重奏的﹐ 就是不能馬虎嘛=)

食譜來自巧克力達人Alice Medrich的得獎的Bittersweet一書﹔這是一本不容錯過的好書﹐特別是我們這些Chocoholic﹐ 更是要將其收藏。除了有上百個巧克力食譜﹐ 還收錄了很多挑選巧克力的心得跟資訊。唯一的遺憾是相片不夠多﹐ 要不然就完美了。

說到這個巧克力三重奏是起用三種口味的慕斯食譜組合的。是我目前做過最讓我傾心﹐ 讓人目眩的甜點。薄薄的黑巧克力圓片為底﹐ 從下而上分別是黑巧克力﹐ 牛奶巧克力及白巧克力三種不同口味的慕斯﹐ 鋪陳出三種不同層次讓味蕾為之一亮的鮮明口感。美味的要訣在於巧克力慕斯的比例。黑巧克力的量是牛奶巧克力及白巧克力的總和﹐ 這樣才能取得絕妙的均衡與和諧滋味喔﹗

味道要怎樣形容好呢…去年做過一次送人﹐ 我還沒完整的說完它的製作過程﹐ 它已整個讓人解決掉了﹗看這麼多巧克力似乎很甜﹐其實不然。慕斯質地非常濃郁細緻軟滑﹐ 將慕斯一起融合在嘴巴裡，漸層的風味在舌尖上化開﹐ 讓整體的口感更為豐富﹐ 而且香醇久久不散卻不甜膩﹐ 入口即溶﹐ 享用過程中充滿驚喜﹐ 令人十分驚艷﹐ 一吃就傾心了﹗裝飾方面﹐ Medrich用焦化榛果針來做裝飾﹐ 美極了。我只在慕斯上灑了些白巧克力卷﹐ 然而它就流露著華麗飄逸﹑雍容優雅的氣質。配蔓越莓漿又是另一種美感。還有﹐ 它和咖啡類飲料也是絕配喲~

巧克力三重奏絕對是一種令人無法抵抗﹐眼睛和味蕾無法忘懷的甜點﹗

巧克力三重奏
直徑2吋X高3吋的圓模框6個 或 5oz的杯子6個

事前準備:
- 如果起用圓模框﹔剪6塊3吋X3吋的鋁箔纸﹐然後在每一張上畫一個直徑2吋的圓圈。
- 如果起用杯子﹔洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐備用。

要注意什麼呢?
- 只可一次製作一個慕斯﹐因為很難在慕斯定型前做出層次。
- 千萬不要過度打發鮮奶油﹗
- 在混合巧克力和鮮奶油時﹐先加入1/3份量的鮮奶油都是為了在最初的時點確實攪拌乳化。沒有完全乳化的話﹐慕斯會是乾乾的。

黑巧克力圓片 - 慕斯底 (不起用圓模框可省略這步驟)
2吋圓片6個

1oz 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎

剪6塊3吋X3吋的鋁箔纸﹐然後在上面畫一個直徑2吋的圓圈﹐然後重複以上的步驟五次。將鋁箔纸排放在一方型烤盤裡﹐備用。用平底鍋燒開約一吋的水﹐快要沸騰前熄火。將切碎的巧克力放進一個耐熱的碗裡﹐再放進平底鍋裡加熱。不斷地攪拌至完全融化的狀態﹐取出﹐稍微放涼。將巧克力分六等份﹐攤排及抹平至完全覆蓋圓圈﹐再將圓模框擺放在上面。放進冰箱冷藏凝固。

黑巧克力慕斯
2 ¼ 杯份量

4oz 苦甜巧克力﹐切碎
4湯匙 無鹽奶油﹐切丁
2個 全蛋(L尺寸)
2湯匙 砂糖
2湯匙 水

用平底鍋燒開約一吋的水﹐快要沸騰前熄火備用。將切碎的巧克力和無鹽奶油放進一個耐熱的碗裡﹐再放進平底鍋裡加熱。用橡皮刀不停地攪拌至融化﹐取出﹐繼續攪拌至完全融化﹐靜置備用。

蛋和砂糖用打蛋器攪拌至混合後﹐加入水再攪拌至混合。蛋漿以隔水加熱法不斷地攪拌至160°F/80°C﹐取出。用手提攪拌器以高速打發蛋漿至出現尖角的起泡程度﹐約3-4分鐘。將1/3份量的發泡蛋漿拌入巧克力裡﹐攪拌混合後﹐拌入剩餘一半的蛋漿﹐再攪拌。最後拌入剩下的蛋漿﹐確實攪拌至混合。立刻將慕斯倒入圓模框裡至模具的一半﹐抹平﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐約一小時。


牛奶巧克力慕斯
2杯份量

3oz 牛奶巧克力﹐切碎
2湯匙 水
½杯 40%鮮奶油/ 忌廉

用平底鍋燒開約一吋的水﹐快要沸騰前熄火備用。將切碎的巧克力和2湯匙水放進一個耐熱的碗裡﹐再放進平底鍋裡加熱。不斷地攪拌至完全融化的狀態。取出﹐稍微靜置放涼至85°F/42°C後﹔打發鮮奶油。將鮮奶油隔著冰水打發至僅僅稠化程度﹔就是仍在流動狀態﹐還沒有顯現尖角前。加入巧克力裡﹐用切拌法(用橡皮刀源邊往下刮翻)將1/3份量的發泡鮮奶油拌入巧克力裡﹐攪拌乳化後﹐拌入剩餘一半的鮮奶油﹐再攪拌乳化。最後拌入剩餘的鮮奶油﹐確實攪拌乳化。將慕斯倒在已定形的黑巧克力慕斯上至模具剩1/3空間﹐抹平﹐放進冰箱冷藏凝固﹐約一小時。

白巧克力慕斯
2杯份量

3oz 白巧克力﹐切碎
2湯匙 水
½杯 40%鮮奶油/ 忌廉

重複以上牛奶巧克力慕斯的做法。將白巧克力慕斯倒進模具填滿﹐最後用長型抹刀將表面均勻漂亮地抹平﹐放入冰箱冷藏凝固。食用前將鋁箔纸撕掉﹐將慕斯連模具放在碟子上﹐再以溫毛巾溫熱模型脫模。最後裝飾慕斯即完成。