Chocolate Mousse...with a twist

I know, another blackcurrant recipe. But bare with me, this one's a cracker. 

As I said in my last post, our blackcurrant bush is really going to town this year so we're making the most of it. Given I wear the baking crown in this house and we were all out of sweet treats, the kitchen called. Problem was, I really didn't want to turn on the oven. This heat (which I'm loving, by the way) really is not oven-friendly. I was, however, in the mood for chocolate. Inspiration struck - chocolate mousse was the answer. A beautifully light, chilled dessert that really hits the spot.

I could have folded through the blackcurrants to have a tart contrast to the sweet chocolate but didn't want to just stop there. Instead, I cooked the blackcurrants until they were bursting juicily then folded in a little cream and white chocolate to make a beautiful blackcurrant-white chocolate truffle mix. Dang, it was good! 

Finally, because I don't like to make life easy for myself, I made edible containers for my mousses. I painted silicone cupcake liners with white chocolate then unmolded them to have white chocolate pots. Whilst this isn't technically all that challenging, doing it in 25+ degree heat may not be the best idea. 

I don't like to toot my own horn but you really need to try these. They are so good. My oldest brother even told me "these are one of the best things you've ever made...and that's saying something" before going back for seconds. 

Mousse ingredients:
85g dark chocolate
1/2 tsp coffee granules
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp boiling water
50g greek yogurt
2 egg whites
1 tbsp caster sugar

Method:
Start by melting the dark chocolate either in a bain marie or in the microwave. In a small bowl combine the coffee, cocoa powder and boiling water to a smooth paste. Add this to the melted chocolate and mix until blended. 
Add the greek yogurt and mix again to fully combine. (Side note - at this point you have a really delicious and light truffle mixture)
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar and continue whisking until thick and glossy.
Fold one third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen then add this mixture back into the remaining egg whites. Fold until fully mixed and no white bits remain.
Chill this in the fridge for at least an hour.

Blackcurrant sauce ingredients:
100g blackcurrants
1 tbsp caster sugar
2tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp double cream
25g white chocolate, melted

Method:
In a saucepan heat the blackcurrants, sugar and water until the blackcurrants are softened and about to burst.
Transfer the berries to a bowl and add the cream and white chocolate. Mix until fully combined. Taste and add more white chocolate if you would like the sauce a little sweeter. Don't be afraid to crush some of the blackcurrants whilst mixing, it only adds to the flavour and beautiful purple colour.

White chocolate cups:
Melt 150g white chocolate. Paint a thin layer over 6 silicone cupcake liners. Place them in the freezer for 5 minutes until the chocolate is set. Paint another layer. You have to do this quite quickly because the melted chocolate sets almost as soon as it comes into contact with the frozen chocolate. Once a second layer has been spread return to the freezer for 20 minutes.
Take the molds out of the freezer and check that there are no patches where the chocolate is a bit thin - you don't want these cracking. 

To construct, a spooned a little of the blackcurrant sauce into the bottom of each white chocolate cup. I then filled the cup to the top with a big spoonful of chocolate mousse. For a final flourish I added a little more blackcurrant sauce to the top.

My cups were certainly not the neatest thing I've seen in a long time. But they're going to be filled with beautiful chocolatey goodness and tart blackcurrant sauce so who cares, right?

(Keep these in the fridge until ready to serve)