Easy Chocolate Mousse with Sweet Phyllo Crisps

  2.3 – 3 reviews  • Low Sodium
Level: Intermediate
Total: 4 hr 20 min
Active: 1 hr 30 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 cup toasted blanched almonds, finely chopped
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. Zest from 1/2 orange
  4. 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  5. 1/2 recipe Phyllo Dough (an 18-by-36-inch piece), allowed to dry for 10 minutes, recipe follows
  6. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  7. Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
  8. 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  9. 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  10. 2 cups steaming hot water
  11. Generous pinch fine sea salt
  12. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  13. Generous pinch fine sea salt
  14. 1/2 cup room-temperature water
  15. 1 tablespoon canola oil
  16. 1 large egg, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. For the sweet phyllo crisps: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, toss together the almonds, granulated sugar and orange zest. Add the almond extract and stir together until the mixture is barely damp.
  3. Cut the piece of phyllo in half lengthwise, then cut each of the 2 strips in half crosswise so you have a total of 4 pieces. Brush a piece of phyllo with the butter and sprinkle with the almond filling. Fold the piece of phyllo into thirds using a business letter fold, brushing each fold with butter and sprinkling with additional filling as you go. Then fold one corner over into a triangle and continue folding down the length, buttering and sprinkling as you go until it is folded into a triangular shape, similar to a paper football. Repeat with the rest of the cut phyllo pieces and filling.
  4. Brush the outside of each triangle with butter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
  5. Transfer the triangles to the prepared baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. For the chocolate mousse: Reserve a medium heat-safe bowl for the chocolate. Fill a second bowl that’s slightly larger than the chocolate bowl with ice and set aside.
  7. Combine the chocolate and espresso powder in the reserved bowl. Pour over the hot water. Allow to sit a few minutes to melt the chocolate, then whisk until the chocolate is completely combined with the liquid. Sit the bowl of chocolate in the bowl with the ice bath and continue whisking the mixture until the mixture lightens and thickens, about 5 minutes. Use a hand mixer if needed.
  8. Divide the mixture among 4 serving dishes. The mixture may look as if it’s still jiggly even when it’s set. Don’t worry! Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve each dish of mousse topped with a crisp. 
  9. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the water, oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and using a wooden spoon or a Danish whisk, stir the mixture until a shaggy dough comes together.
  10. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until the dough is a bit smoother. Then “slap” the dough and turn it over and knead it until smooth; this could take between 5 to 10 minutes. You can also mix the dough in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. This takes about 10 minutes. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest a room temperature for 2 hours.
  11. Cover a table (at least 36 inches square) with a clean tablecloth. Sprinkle the cloth all over with flour. Gently press the dough into a rough 12-by-12-inch square and then gently pull the dough into a large square, about 36 inches. Use a pair of clean kitchen scissors to cut the thicker edges off the perimeter and discard them. Allow the dough to rest to dry out just a bit, about 5 minutes.
  12. Adapted from “Pie it Forward: Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes and Other Pastries Reinvented” by Gesine Bullock-Prado © Abrams 2012. Provided courtesy of Gesine Bullock-Prado. All rights reserved.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 4 servings
Calories 1211
Total Fat 64 g
Saturated Fat 26 g
Carbohydrates 159 g
Dietary Fiber 12 g
Sugar 95 g
Protein 21 g
Cholesterol 62 mg
Sodium 119 mg

Reviews

Laura Jones
When I saw this on the show, I had to try it. It looked so easy and delicious. Well, I had a similar experience to the other review. It was soup. I was sad. I thought there must be some mistake with the recipe. Well, it’s just not as complete as it should be because it finally worked. It’s a bit more work than it looked on TV (isn’t it always.) Here is what I learned.  water needs to hot, but not boiling. Really let it sit until the chocolate melts, mixing the entire time. The whisk on my hand mixer was not strong enough to work in air, but the whisk on my immersion blender was. That made a difference. I whisked it for 5 min and it was pretty soupy, so I just let it sit in the ice water bath for about 30 min and whisked again. Then it thickened a bit more. I let it sit in the bath for another 20 min before putting in the refrigerator. It needs much more than 2 hours to set up. Overnight was better, but it will not be really firm. And, in the end,  you’re eating pure chocolate, so how is that bad. I used as a topping for banana cake and it was a hit. I would give it 5 stars if recipe provided more info. It tastes great.
Christopher Bradley
I tried the chocolate mousse part of this recipe, intending to use it as pie filling. This recipe did not work for me. I am a seasoned cook, and I make high-end desserts all the time, but this never got beyond chocolate soup. I whisked endlessly. Still soup. I put the bowl in the freezer repeatedly. Still soup. I whisked in half a can of reddiwhip. Still soup. I don’t know if it is missing a step, or an ingredient, but it never whipped up to anything close to mousse-like texture. I went ahead and poured it into mini shortbread crusts because I know my kids will just laugh and eat it, because it does taste good. Maybe it will set up in the fridge. (BTW, I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate.)

 

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