White Chocolate Mousse With Strawberry Compote

Since a long time i have been wanting to make something out of white chocolate. I have been going through a lot of recipes which could make cookies, cakes, chocolates and mousses. So i decided to experiment with white chocolate and marshmallows and thus make white chocolate mousse..

Here’s some tips and facts about white chocolate:

Since many don't use white chocolate, i would like to tell them that, it is difficult to work with it, since, it contains more cocoa butter than dark chocolate does and therefore difficult to temper . Its a bit tricky and you got to be moving very fast while making anything to do with white chocolate. Also it is more sweeter compared to any other chocolate.

White chocolate has none of the cacao mass, hence the delicate, ivory-like color, which it gets from the cocoa butter. Instead it’s rich with cocoa butter, which gives it that suave, subtle taste, that I find compliments dark chocolate desserts and bolder flavors.

Both white and dark chocolates are emulsions. Adding small amounts of liquid, like water or milk, will cause the emulsion to break or seize. Therefore, any milk that’s added to white chocolate must be first either dried into a powder or cooked to a paste, removing the water, before it’s used. So you’ll often find the ingredient ‘milkfat’ on the label.

Because white chocolate contains a dairy product, it’s highly perishable. Purchase it in small quantities as needed. Store it in a cool, dark place, but not the refrigerator, since it’s high-fat content makes it a good medium for absorbing other odours…

Due to the higher fat and sugar content, white chocolate melts very easily and at a lower temperature than dark chocolate, but more care should be taken when using it. Avoid excessive or direct heat. I like to pour a hot liquid over it and use the heat from that to melt the white chocolate.

Did you know???

In the 1930s, a white chocolate bar was launched in Europe by Swiss company Nestlé.

In North America, Kuno Baedeker developed a white chocolate while working for the Merckens Chocolate Company in 1945.

The Dessert Summary!

Getting back to the dessert. This light and airy mousse will make you fall in love with white chocolate for sure. Where white chocolate and whipped cream play hide and seek with your tastebuds. Its silky smooth texture paired with strawberries its a delightful combo.

Ingredients:

• White Chocolate - 1 Cup
• Milk - 1/4 Cup
• Whipped Cream - 4-5 Cups
• Vanilla Essence - 1.5 Tsp
• Marshmallows- 6-8  large pcs (Optional)

Method:

Take a microwave safe glass bowl melt the chocolate and milk at a pulse of about 50 seconds interval. Usually white chocolate melts because of the heat of the milk and the bowl so keep whisking it after the first melt. You will see that there are no lumps and it almost looks and smells like condensed milk. Add vanilla essence to this. Keep this aside till it reaches room temperature.

Meanwhile whip the cream and refrigerate it for atleast an hour.

You can use marshmallows, as this gives a gooey fudgy texture to the mousse and they taste delicious.. Here you need to take a large bowl and add your marshmallows to it and microwave it. 

You will notice that they bloom up real quick so keep an eye on them so that they don't overflow.

Add your creamy marshmallows to the chocolate-milk mix. You will notice it forming lumps , do not panic. Just use a blender and blend this mix well and strain it to have a silky smooth flowy consistency.

Now fold in the cream to the chocolate mix a little by little using the cut and fold method. Now this will start to look creamy like whipped cream and setting faster as it has marshmallows in it.

Here i suggest to use fresh mashed strawberries or compote as the sourness of strawberries goes really well with white chocolate mousse.

Take your desired serving glass make the first layer of strawberry compote and pour the white chocolate mousse on this and do the top layer with fresh strawberries/compote.

Refrigerate this for atleast 6-8 hours and serve chilled.

A few tips:

• You can avoid marshmallows, it is optional.
• Vanilla gives a wonderful fragrance and enhances the taste of white chocolate.
• You could use this as a filling as well for your cakes or serve it with custard.
• You can also serve it with chocolate shavings or ganache.

Do try this and leave me a comment.