This delicious chocolate mousse with baked oranges and pistachio cream was the perfect dessert after a luxurious main course of beef wellington. I was having some friends over for a dinner party and trying to come up with a light, tasty finish to the meal. On the way home from work I was listening to the Cook the Perfect podcast from BBC4 Woman’s Hour, where Lorraine Pascal talked about her chocolate mousse – perfect! I adjusted her recipe just a little, and combined with Grand Marnier Baked Oranges and whipped pistachio cream for the ultimate treat.
Chocolate Mousse with Baked Oranges and Pistachio Cream
Serves 6
Ingredients
Preparation method
Heat the double cream slowly in a small pan on a medium heat.
Snap the chocolate up into small pieces. Once the cream is just starting to steam, remove it from the heat and add the chocolate. Don’t stir, just leave it to sit and melt for 5 minutes.
Separate the eggs, and whisk the whites into a medium peak. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and whisk it up again until the whites begin to become shiny. While continuing to whisk, add another tablespoon of the sugar. Make sure that the whites are whisked up well and all of the sugar is dissolved before whisking in the final tablespoon of sugar.
Stir the chocolate and cream together, add the egg yolks and stir to combine. Take a spoonful and stir into the stiff egg whites to loosen, then gradually pour the rest of the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Gently fold them together, keeping as much air as possible in.
Divide between 6 serving bowls and leave to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Pistachio cream
- 200 ml double cream
- 50 g pistachio nuts
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
Chop the nuts finely. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then fold in the nuts and vanilla sugar.
Serving
Decorate the chocolate mousse with a drizzle of melted white chocolate. Arrange a couple of orange slices of these delicious Grand Marnier Baked Oranges on top, then a good spoonful of the pistachio cream. Serve immediately.
