Chocolate mousse with shiny frosting or mirror chocolate

If any of you like chocolate, this dessert will really excite you, so much so that you will have tears of taste. Imagine a 70% dark chocolate mousse  covered in one of the best-kept secrets of pastry chefs: mirror chocolate or sparkling icing, the result is just great. You can have a dessert of high pastry within reach of your kitchens, in addition to being able to freeze the ingredients as well as the chocolate coulant and have the best dessert for a romantic dinner with your partner or a meal with friends, without last minute complications Just defrost and finish the process in a few minutes.

Those of you who are passionate about chocolate will know that they call it ” The drink of the gods “. It was introduced to Europe by the Spanish, specifically by Hernán Cortés in 1519. He tried cocoa on one of his trips and marveled at its flavor, although it was very different from the current one, he took samples to King Carlos I. For a time, the Chocolate ceased to be a drink of the gods to be an exclusive food for the Spanish court and aristocracy, finally in the 16th century its consumption spread to the rest of Europe.

In addition to being great, it is an ingredient that helps us in the current crisis, its excellent effects against sadness, anxiety and irritability are well known thanks to a lot of studies. It contains theobromine, caffeine and theophylline , which stimulate various physiological actions including that of the nervous system, blood circulation and has diuretic effects. That is, eating chocolate in moderation should be obligatory, a small ounce a day of chocolate with 70% cocoa or higher will only bring us little benefits for our health, so… do you dare with today’s dessert?

Preparation of the chocolate mousse

1. We chose the chocolate to use, I have decided on one at 70%, but if you like it with more power on the market, you have chocolates with more cocoa. Chop the chocolate, the finer it is the better it will melt.
2. We heat the chopped chocolate in a bain-marie over low heat, almost lukewarm, without stirring with the rods until we obtain a homogeneous and smooth cream. We should not heat the chocolate more than necessary with 3-4 minutes will be enough. We remove from the fire and let it temper.
3. Hydrate the neutral gelatin leaves in cold water for 3 to 6 minutes or so. They hydrate earlier if they are cut and we know that they are hydrated because they acquire a viscous and rubbery consistency. Once they are hydrated, drain them and reserve.
4. We heat the liquid cream without boiling, 2-3 minutes over medium heat, we boil a part of this liquid cream to dissolve the gelatin that we have reserved. Mix until well integrated.
5. In a large bowl add the warm cream, the cream with the previous gelatin and chocolate cream. We integrate well with some rods. We reserve.
6. We beat the rest of the cream until it is semi-assembled, without reaching the top. We are going to need 400 ml of cream or milk cream to assemble (about two 200 ml bricks), that is, it has a high fat content. We will whip the cream with little sugar as this dessert has a shiny icing that is very sweet. I use the mixer with the electric wand attachment which is more comfortable than with manual wands.
7. We use a large bowl, if it is cold much better, like the cream or milk cream that must come out of the fridge. Why cold? The cream is fat and if it gets hot it loses consistency, if it is not cold it will be difficult for it to rise as we want. The ideal temperature is around 10º C.
8. Add the cold cream to the bowl and beat until it goes liquid to a kind of cream, with a little foam. This process will take us 3-4 minutes, nothing more. Once we have reached this kind of dense liquid cream, add the sugar, if it is glass better, and beat until it reaches almost solid state. Easy isn’t it? I assure you that with the trick of the cold it comes out perfect. We reserve.
9. We handle this semi-whipped cream with a silicone spatula and add the previous cream with wrapping movements from the bottom up to prevent it from dismounting. This step must be done smoothly and without haste, only with patience will the mousse be good.
10. We put the mousse in individual silicone containers, I use a heart mold but you can do it in any container you like, with the hearts it comes out for 8 people, one heart for each one. We keep in the fridge and it must rest for at least an hour. Once the gelatin starts to work we put the mousse in the freezer for another hour. Meanwhile we are going to prepare the shiny frosting.

Preparing the glossy or mirror chocolate icing

The famous icing that we see in patisseries only has one secret, temperature control (from 30 ºC to 100 ºC), it is highly advisable to have a thermometer in the kitchen, the investment is minimal since you have them from 8 euros and they will help you to make more exclusive desserts and with a higher point of professionalism. It is very important to control the temperatures of the chocolate to be able to temper it , that is, to  give it the ideal temperature to be able to perform various techniques, ensure that your creations are going to have the shine, finish, perfect flavor and texture, from Easter eggs to the best chocolates in our neighborhood .

1. For the icing we have followed Pierre Hermé’s recipe from the book “All the flavors of chocolate”, in addition to doing it in the chocolate workshop with Esther de Chocolatísimo , an expert and professional in the world of chocolate. I have found a lot of information about this technique in various chocolate themed books, how to coat surfaces and edges of semifredds, mousses and bavares. A world of chocolate.
2. We heat the water in a large and high saucepan because it splashes a lot, add the sugar and let it boil over high heat for about 3 minutes until a light syrup is formed. We add the cream or milk cream, stir well to integrate with the syrup.
3. We sift the cocoa powder with a strainer and gradually integrate it into the cream, let it boil and stir so that the mixture does not stick, the temperature it must reach is 105ºC (check it with the thermometer). As soon as we put a spoon in the saucepan and see that the frosting covers the surface of the spoon well and does not release much from the sides, it is when we have to remove from the fire.
4. We hydrate the gelatin leaves just like we did when preparing the mousse. In this case we are going to use about 25 g for a mixture with 1/2 liter of liquid.
5. When the cream is at 60º C add the hydrated and drained neutral gelatin. Mix well and until dissolved, let cool. This glaze must be used to bathe the cakes or what we are going to glaze at 29º C. If we do it the day before, it is best to microwave it in fractions of a minute so that it does not reach as high a temperature as in the casserole. We reserve while removing the mousse from the freezer.
6. Remember that it is important to respect the temperatures to have the desired brightness both in a glaze, in a ganache or in a chocolate.

Final assembly

1. We choose a support where to place the mousse for the final chocolate bath, if you do not have it, the oven rack is perfect for you. Take the mousse out of the freezer and remove from the mold, place them on the rack and pour the chocolate glaze over them, leaving it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
2. We place the chocolate mousse on a plate and decorate with a little gold powder, some raspberries, blueberries, red fruit compote … imagination to power, as you like. I hope you enjoy it.