Valentine's Day is one of those days that sneaks up on me. This year, I appear to have my act together since this is the second Valentine's-Day-appropriate dessert I've posted this month. Now, I'm torn between my Molten Lava Cakes and this mousse! They're both sweetened with honey, flour- and gluten-free, and pretty darn easy to make. I guess the deciding factor is whether your 'honey' (ha ha) likes chocolate or fruit.
I was nervous about the crust as it was baking because it tasted so bland, but when you stir the honey in at the end, everything changes.
This mousse is bright and fun and makes me crave summer berries. Making this in the dead of winter pretty much necessitates frozen raspberries. Unless you like paying $5 for dry and marginal berries. No thank you.
Next time, I'd like to try blackberry and lime together. Still working from the same basic recipe, but using blackberries instead of the raspberries and lime juice and zest in place of the lemon. That would change the whole look of this mousse and would probably be equally amazing.
I must be subconsciously craving spring because all my shots lately look so light and airy! I wasn't doing that on purpose. I swear.
Plus, the temps just plummeted here in Wisconsin and I'm not really happy about it. As strange as it was to have melting snow and water running down the streets, it secretely made me smile. Since it's zero today, I'm staying in! It's hard for me to appreciate weather that forces me inside.
Guess I'll just stay in with my chocolates, trail mix, and cookbooks. Can't really complain about that...
Raspberry Mousse
Adapted from this recipe
Makes 4 large servings
2 ounces / scant 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
2 ounces / scant 1/2 cup raw almonds
2 ounces / 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons honey, plus 1 teaspoon
16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temp
9 ounces / 2 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor or powerful blender, grind the hazelnuts and almonds until it creates a fine meal (not so far that you start making nut butter). Add melted butter and pulse together until combined.
Spread on the lined baking sheet. If the nuts make small clusters, it's fine. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove when nuts have darkened slightly in color and give off a nutty aroma. Be very careful not to burn. While still warm, drizzle 1 tablespoon honey over and stir to combine. Allow to cool on pan.
Place the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
If you don't want seeds in your mousse, press the raspberries through a fine-meshed sieve. I skipped this step and left my seeds in. Beat the raspberries into the cream cheese until fully combined. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of honey. Stir to combine. Transfer to another bowl if using a stand mixer and refrigerate.
Using stand mixer bowl or other large bowl, whip heavy whipping cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon honey. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, whipping for another minute or two and cream becomes more firm. If it's firm enough to hold it's shape when scooped with a spoon, that's a good time to stop.
Remove 1/2 cup of the whipping cream from the bowl and gently stir into the raspberry mousse until no white streaks remain.
Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of nuts into four 6-ounce glasses and pack firmly with your fingers. Spoon or pipe the raspberry layer over the crust, dividing evenly between the four glasses. Top with a generous portion of the whipped cream.
Serve immediately or after chilling for a few hours. If storing, place in a covered container to prevent the surface of the mousse and whipping cream from drying out.
These are beautiful! I love the pink hue, and can just imagine how velvety that mouse is. Yum!
ReplyDeleteWell thank you Morgan! Besides eating them, my favorite part was looking at them :) The color is even better in person...
DeleteI just love the color of this mousse: it looks so refined and luxurious. A perfect dessert for Valentine's day!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you think that Julia since that's what I was aiming for! Thanks for your comment.
DeleteThese are GORGEOUS! I love that we both posted pink treats today. :) And there is something about mousse that is just so elegant and luscious. I love the hazelnut and almond crust/layer on the bottom - never seen anything like that in parfait/mousse before! They both pair so wonderfully with raspberry.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just need to eat something full of color, right Sally? I know you'd agree with that one!
DeleteBe still my heart. I LOVE raspberries, and this is so pretty! Almost too pretty to eat. nahhhhh....
ReplyDeleteGood one, Aimee! I don't think "too pretty to eat exists!" At least that I've found :)
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