Friday, November 26, 2010

Chocolate Mousse Tart


We ate and we ate and we ate, we danced, we sat and of course we had dessert!  These cute little Turkey Sugar Cookies I made, got gobbled up!  There was a lovely pumpkin pie.


There was this tart and sassy Apple-Cranberry Pie, oh my!


I saw Emeril making a Chocolate Mousse Tart the other day on t.v. and I knew it would be mine!  I love pumpkin pie and all the other traditional Thanksgiving desserts, but there has to be something chocolate on my table.  He used a pastry crust, but I wanted all out chocolate overkill.  Served with some fresh whipping cream, oh yeah!  That should quiet the chocolate beast within; she gets a little rowdy sometimes if not fed chocolate on a regular basis.

Filling:
8 ounces dark chocolate
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)

Tart Shell:
10-11 whole chocolate graham crackers, crushed (I used 1 packet)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter,  and mix well.  Press crumb mixture into tart pan, covering the sides and bottom.  I have one that has a removable bottom, for easy serving.  Bake in 350 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes and let cool.

In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring.  Remove from the heat and beat with a heavy wooden spoon until smooth.  Return to the heat and add the yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.  Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and beat until stiff.

In a third bowl, add the cream, rest of sugar and Grand Marnier, beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until no white specks appear.  Gradually fold in the whipped cream, reserving about 1/2 cup for the garnish.  (I used all the whip cream in the mousse and made more for on top, because I love lots of whip cream.)

Spoon the mousse into the tart shell and refrigerate until well chilled.

Note:  This recipe has raw eggs, so if you have any concerns about eating raw eggs, this recipe probably isn't for you. You can make chocolate mousse without eggs; it's just richer with it.

Let me just tell you, this tart more than calmed the chocolate beast!  I'm thinking this tart shall become a new tradition over here.  Even though I ate enough last night to induce a food coma, I decided I needed some of this tart for breakfast, what a wonderful way to start the day; I'm floating on Tart 9 right now!

Besides, I needed the energy to go practice my dance moves, my sister and niece think they are so good because they beat me again; they are warned, it won't happen again!

Enjoy,

Gina

22 comments:

  1. yummy!!! i always make mousse at christmas time, this looks like the perfect replacement!

    Those cookies just looks absolutely delightful!! YUMM

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  2. this looks really yummy!! thanks for sharing this.. your desserts are so lovely.

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  3. That tart is gorgeous, Gina! I think I might take a stab at making it low carb, so I can have some. Thanks for sharing, sounds like you had a great Tgiving.

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  4. MMMMMMMMMMMMM! Gina, you know how I love Grand Marnier!! (Yesterday I had it not only in my our cranberry sauce, but our sweet potatoes, and an orange biscotti). This is definitely for me!!! Hope you all had a wonderful day, and by the sounds of your post, you did! XO

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  5. Like Kim, I'm a Grand Marnier fan. I featured it in three dishes on my table yesterday!! Looks so good...and I have a little award for you at my blog when you get a sec!

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  6. Gina
    what a beautiful table it must have been! I made a pumpkin pie and apple crostata, now you have me thinking about chocolate mousse! What a delicious tart it must have been....and your turkey cookie must have stole the show!! I'm glad you had a wonderful day!
    Dennis

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  7. Those sugar cookies are so cute.That apple-cranberry pie also looks yummy

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  8. Did you beat your niece in the dance competition? Everything looks delicious I would take 2 turkey cookies cause they look adorable and delish. Now the Chocolate Mousse Tart I would need a slice or two, so right you are about having to quiet that chocolate beast -it's a scary thing.

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  9. Your desserts are amazing, especially the chocolate tart. You can never go wrong with chocolate. Glad that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Dancing is fun:)

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  10. It looks like you had a nice Thanksgiving. Wow, I've never thought about making chocolate mousse into a tart...looks so delicious. I loved how you said it "calmed the chocolate beast." I can totally relate to intense chocolate cravings.

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  11. Hi Gina! I would have had at least two of those cookies and a slice of all of these yummy pies! You did such an amazing job with dessert. I would have been thrilled to eat at your table. This chocolate mousse tart looks OUTSTANDING. Thank you for sharing...have a great weekend!

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  12. HI Gina-I love them all! My favorite is the apple dessert! Gorgeous:)The cookies are so cute! We ate and danced too. Beautiful mousse tart. I hope you are having a lovely weekend with your family.

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  13. Sorry to report Spicie, she beat me again! I'm just going to have to practice a bit more!

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  14. LOVE that turkey cookie! so stinkin' cute!

    my sister in law brought a chocolate tart to thanksgiving and it was such a nice change. I bet that tart tasted so good!

    thank you for all your sweet comments, Gina! I appreciated your support!

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  15. Wwhat fantastic food; lloks so so good. What a fantastic day you had! Thank you for sharing those pictures.

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  16. OMGoodness. I love all of it. But that pie crust looked fabulous Gina! Wish I could have a slice of each dessert. Sounds like a fun time to me, especially if you danced. Hope you're enjoying the leftovers (=

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  17. That chocolate beast in me roared with hunger when it saw your chocolate mousse tart! And somehow it wanted to gobble those adorable Turkey cookies up too. Your Thanksgiving spread looks marvelous, Gina, and you only showed us the desserts..

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  18. Gina-Sounds like you all had a feast too. The cute little turkey cookie looks yummy...the pies
    are beautiful, and the sinful chocolate mousse looks divine.
    Thanks for sharing the awesome photos, and recipe of the mousse!

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  19. Gina, those desserts look fabulous! fell in love with your choco mousse and apple/cranberry pie!

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  20. Gina, sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The turkey cookies are darling and the chocolate mousse tart sounds out of this world! Love the addition of grand marnier, I'm thinking this recipe will make an appearance for our Christmas dinner! Thanks for sharing :o)

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  21. Nothing like some Thanksgiving night dancing (we played Dance Dance Revolution that evening and I totally beat Mountain Man).. that tart looks fabulous Gina.. you were speaking to my chocolate loving heart!

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