This mousse is a little rough looking, but what it lacks in appearance it more than makes up for in taste and texture. It’s like peanut butter, but in satin pillow form. Start by placing your soft butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle.
READ ONYou’ll have a coronary when you read the ingredients list for this, but the reality is it’s a very light mousse and in small quantities will only modestly shorten your life. My latest favorite cookbook author Roland Mesnier (a Frenchman who worked for years as the White House pastry chef) calls this peanut butter “cream”, but mousse is really what it is. You’ll need:
3.5 ounces (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
7.5 ounces (3/4 cup) smooth peanut butter
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) chilled whipping cream
Italian meringue is sturdy stuff. It holds up well when exposed to moisture as well as heat, which makes it great for baked Alaska. To make Italian meringue you’ll need:
For the egg whites
5 ounces (5) egg whites at room temperature
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1.75 ounces (1/4 cup) sugar
Ice cream cones are essentially tuiles…thin, sugar-rich cookies that can be molded into different shapes when they’re hot. I say this a lot, but they’re simple to make and they taste great. Oh, and did I mention that they take about twenty minutes from start to finish? Start by preheating your oven to 350. Combine your egg whites, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
READ ONI said I had a recipe, I didn’t say it was my own. This one is from the king of ice cream, pastry chef David Lebovitz. His book The Perfect Scoop became an instant classic when it was published four years ago. Aside from all the luscious, easy-to-prepare ice cream recipes, there are naturally several for vessels. This is one of them.
2 large egg whites
3 ounces (scant half cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3.25 ounces (2/3 cup) flour
1 ounce (2 tablespoons melted butter)
Actually a Bavarian cream, mango mousse takes a bit of work, but the technical frills are worth the extra-silky and luxurious result. Start by peeling two large, ripe mangoes. Yes, I know this is a composite shot, but as you already know, I only have two hands.
This is rich for a fruit mousse, but then you only live once.
2-3 ripe 1-pound mangoes
3 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
Peel the mangoes and scoop the flesh away from the seeds. You want about 20 ounces of fruit. Purée the flesh and the sugar in a food processor until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve.
READ ONChocolate poured fondant is most commonly used for decorating Napoleons and petits fours. It’s a snap to make, but pictures always help. So here goes. Just melt some poured fondant in a small pan:
Just because a component fails in one application doesn’t mean it isn’t good for another. This preparation is too thin and creamy for use in a layered pastry, but would be excellent as a filling for éclairs, in Paris-Brest or in any number of other applications where its eggy silkiness would be an asset. It’s made from whole milk, so it’s a bit lighter than a standard pastry cream (often made with half heavy cream), and even though it has the same amount of sugar it doesn’t taste as sweet. To make it you’ll need:
the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
32 ounces (1 quart) whole milk
8 ounces sugar (1 cup plus one tablespoon)
12 egg yolks
2 ounces (1/4 cup) cornstarch
Here’s another buttercream alternative that’s extremely easy. It’s standard ganache, a 50-50 combination of chocolate and heavy cream by weight — only whipped! You start by making the ganache, any quantity you wish, you can use either standard or white chocolate.
READ ON