Recipe: White Chocolate and Pasilla Chile Mousse

White Chocolate and Pasilla Chile Mousse

Makes 8 servings

Here is a Southwestern twist on classic chocolate mousse adapted from a recipe by chef Jeffrey Axell of Phoenix. Fresh dark brown pasilla chiles add a medium-hot burst of flavor to the cool and creamy mousse flavored with rum. When the cooking of the American Southwest began to eclipse California cuisine in the late 1980s, chefs began to experiment with all the "new" chiles—even adding them to chocolate desserts, like this one. Serve with Warm Spiced Berries (see page 348 of the book) or fresh fruit.

8 ounces white chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons water
One 1/4-ounce package unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons seeded and chopped fresh pasilla chile

1. Put the chocolate and sugar in a medium-size heatproof mixing bowl. In a small heavy saucepan, heat 1 cup of the cream with the vanilla bean half and the rum.

2. As soon as the cream starts to boil, remove from the heat. Strain through a sieve over the chocolate and sugar in the bowl and discard the vanilla bean. Whisk the mixture to melt the chocolate and dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

3. Pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set the bowl in a pan of hot water and set aside until the gelatin has dissolved. Whisk the gelatin inixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the pasilla chile. With an electric mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of cream in a small mixing bowl until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the crearn into the chocolate-chile mixture. Spoon the mousse into a glass bowl and chill for at least 2 hours serving.

Buy the Book!

from:
All-American Desserts
400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes
for America's Best Loved Desserts
by Judith A. Fertig
The Harvard Common Press
Hardcover: $32.95
ISBN 1-55832-190-X
Paperback: $18.95
ISBN 1-55832-191-8
Recipe reprinted by permission.