Sea Salt Chocolate Mousse with Biscoff Crumble and Cranberry Consommé
Rocher of chocolate mousse on a bed of biscoff crumble with cranberry consommé
Want to know a secret? For my final, in my pastry certificate program, I tried to make a mousse “slice” with a biscoff base and a drizzle of cherry consommé. I underestimated my time allotment for setting the mousse and let’s just say… it looked less than delicious. So, I’m here for a round of redemption!
It’s annoyingly hard to find tart frozen cherries in the grocery store BUT miraculously, I did find some frozen cranberries - which offer an equally delicious flavor and texture balance to this situation. If you don’t know, a fruit consommé is another yummy way to prepare fruits for a sassy topping. Even though on the regular I am not a fruit mixed with chocolate gal, I do love a black forest cake - and that the cake and the fruit are in their own respective layers. For this recipe, you have a rocher (or however you decide to plate it) of silky smooth mousse on top of a bed of crunchy Biscoff crumbles, brought all together by a sweet and tart cranberry consommé that wraps it all up in flavor and texture perfection.
Get ready to hit all of your chocolate, tart, smooth, chewy, crunchy cravings.
Quick note, the mousse does need at least twelve hours to set before you start to assemble so I’d recommend making the mousse the day before you plan to serve this dish.
Equipment:
Stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment
Yields: 6+ servings
Ingredients:
CONSOMMÉ
200g frozen cranberries*
1 tsp lemon juice
25g powdered sugar
BISCOFF CRUMBLE
60g - biscoff, crumbled
20g - butter, melted
MOUSSE
1 gelatin sheet (silver strength/160 bloom)
224g (1 cup) heavy cream
156g whole milk
154g (5.5 oz) dark OR bittersweet chocolate, chips or finely chopped
Sea salt (for topping), optional
Directions:
CONSOMMÉ
Place 1 cm of water into a large pot and bring to a boil.
In a glass or metal bowl, place your cranberries, lemon juice, and sugar, and stir to combine. Place your bowl on the pot, above the boiling water, and place a lid on top of the bowl that fits as snugly as possible.
After about 3-5 minutes, remove the lid briefly, tightly cover and wrap your bowl with foil, and place the lid back on. Turn the stove down to low and cook for one hour.
If desired, strain cranberries out of the juice. I prefer to leave it in and then add a little drizzle extra to my parfait. You can save any excess for another use - mocktail (or cocktail) anyone?
Store airtight in the fridge until ready to use. Must be completely cool before assembly.
BISCOFF CRUMBLE
Preheat oven to 356F (180C) CONVECTION
In a mini food processor, break up your biscoff cookies until just crumbled. They don’t need to be pulverized but they’ll probably be close.
Melt butter and pour over biscoff crumbles. Stir to combine, make sure can hold together but not too wet.
Place on a parchment-lined sheet and pat together to make an even, flat circle (or rectangle or whatever shape works based on how you spread it), about ¼” thick
Bake 6-7 minutes, remove and cool completely
For assembly, just break as desired into bits.
MOUSSE
Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of ice water until soft, about 20 minutes. (If using powdered gelatin, sprinkle 2 tsp [6g] gelatin over 6 tsp [30g] water in a small bowl, stir, and let sit for 20 minutes to bloom.)
In a small pot, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Remove from heat.
Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour half of the hot milk over the chocolate and let it stand for 30 seconds. Stir gently with a spatula until the milk has melted the chocolate. Once melted, pour in the remaining milk, and stir to combine.
Switch to a hand blender and emulsify the ganache until smooth, glossy, and free of any lumps.
Squeeze out any excess water from your bloomed gelatin sheets. Whisk the bloomed gelatin into the hot ganache until the gelatin has dissolved. Let cool to 90 to 95°F (32 to 35°C).
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream until it forms medium-stiff peaks.
Using a large rubber spatula, slowly pour the ganache into the whipped cream as you constantly fold until fully incorporated. Be careful not to overmix, so as not to deflate the airy texture of the mousse.
Cover the mousse with plastic wrap or wax paper pressed directly on the surface, to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours to set.
ASSEMBLY
Parfait: In a parfait or trifle dish, place a layer of your biscoff at the bottom, top with a layer of the set mousse, and then top with a layer of cranberry consommé. Repeat to the top of the dish. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
Plating: Using a spoon, scoop a little of the cranberry liquid from the bowl and drizzle it around the edge of the plate, place an oval of biscoff crumbles in the center. With a warm (not hot) spoon, scoop a rocher or quenelle* of mousse from the bowl and place on the crumbles. Carefully top with one or two cranberries, placing a few cranberries around the edge within the drizzle as well. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
Store airtight in the fridge for two days.
Notes:
If you prefer cherries instead of cranberries, go for it! They have a similar stability and sharpness that pairs perfectly with the mousse and crumble.
You can also make some fresh whipped cream to dollop on top before serving if desired!
Here is a helpful video on how to do a rocher scoop with your mousse, if you want to try to be fancyyy with your plating. I’m still working on that skill
I adapted the consommé recipe above from Chef Ashley’s, which I received during my patisserie course in Scotland. The mousse recipe comes from Dominic Ansel.
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