White Chocolate Mousse With Pomegranate Granita Recipes

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine butter, baking chips, 3/4 cup cream and sugar; cook and stir over low heat until smooth and sugar is dissolved. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat., In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute. Add a small amount of hot white chocolate mixture; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in remaining white chocolate mixture. Place bowl in a pan of ice water; stir occasionally until mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes., In another bowl, beat remaining 1-1/4 cups cream until soft peaks form. Add a third of the whipped cream to the chilled white chocolate mixture; beat on low speed just until blended. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate, covered, at least 30 minutes or until serving., For chocolate cones, make eight paper cones to coat with chocolate. Cut four 8-in. circles from parchment paper; cut each circle in half. Form each into a 3-in.-wide cone, overlapping edges and being sure the cone is closed at the pointed end., Brush about half of the melted chocolate on the inside of the paper cones, beginning at the seam. Stand cones upright in champagne flutes or narrow drinking glasses; refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes. Add a second coat of chocolate; refrigerate until serving., For sauce, in a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and water until blended; stir in pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool completely., To serve, spoon sauce onto dessert plates. Carefully peel parchment paper from chocolate cones. Fill cones with mousse; arrange carefully over sauce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

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 MOUSSE WITH POMEGRANATE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups pomegranate juice and 1/4 cup sugar in 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Stir mixture until sugar dissolves. Cover and freeze until granita is firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Combine remaining 2 cups pomegranate juice and 3 tablespoons sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Boil until mixture is syrupy and reduced to generous 1/2 cup, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer syrup to small bowl. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Granita and pomegranate syrup can be made 3 days ahead. Keep granita frozen. Keep pomegranate syrup chilled.
• Place chopped white chocolate and pinch of salt in medium metal bowl. Pour 1/2 cup cream into small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean and bring to boil, whisking to blend. Remove vanilla bean. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate in bowl; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool until barely lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1/2 cup cream in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in barely lukewarm melted chocolate mixture in 2 additions, then fold in crème fraîche. Divide mousse among 6 dessert glasses, leaving enough space at top of glasses to spoon granita over. Cover and chill until mixture firms up slightly, at least 8 hours or overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Using fork, scrape surface of granita, forming icy flakes. Top each glass of mousse with generous amount of granita, dividing equally. Drizzle each lightly with pomegranate syrup. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve immediately.

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.