Mousse is a massive, huge, immense, enormous, gigantic, mammoth (okay, add all the adjectives) favorite of this blog:-) Needless to say, I’ve tried out every possible technique under the sun to create this delicious dessert. In this blog itself, there are all kinds of mousse recipes…some with egg yolk, some with white, some with both, others with chocolate and cream and with gelatine. The ones I’ve tested out recently are the marshmallow mousse and the aquafaba mousse (both are egg less). I’ll share the second one soon but now let’s talk about Marshmallow Mousse.
The reason for taking so long to experiment with this was because the idea of having marshmallows meant it would taste sweet. Like really sweet. I like marshmallows but not everyone can tolerate something so sickly sweet that too in quite a big amount. Enter yogurt! My go to for all culinary balancing needs. The tartness of yogurt would balance out the sweetness to a great extent. So the base recipe for this mousse is nothing but marshmallows, half and half and yogurt. There are so many ways of diversifying upon this base recipe.
Want to cut down the sweetness further? Serve with raspberry or strawberry coulis or a slightly tart fruit compote. Or add lots of citrus zest..like lemon or lime. Or add spices like powdered ginger or cinnamon.
If you’ve made Marshmallows at home, they are nothing but hot sugar syrup and gelatine. When we melt them, we basically activate the gelatine once again. The texture of this kind of mouse is light, and tight. It does not have the kind of aeration or richness that eggs would provide. Then why make them you may ask? Well, I would make them
– when I want a dead easy, no fail recipe with few ingredients.
– when I’m creating something special for an event that requires desserts at room temperature (Egg and dairy based mousses generally need refrigeration). This one does not.
– When I’m allergic to eggs or will not eat eggs
– when I just want to create fancy looking mousse without toiling for hours. (So many of you commented on how neat the layers are).
I’ve created quite a few versions of this in the past few weeks but these are the two I shared on Instagram. The layering bit is my favourite. Typically in layered desserts, you have to wait for each layer to set up before you add another one. The good news is that for this one you just wait for 5-10 minutes only. So basically, in under 30 minutes you have a gorgeous dessert ready to serve. Regarding taste, they taste like marshmallows (YUM) unless you infuse them with some other flavours.
As you can see I’ve used food color and both fresh flowers and gum paste flowers in the two versions. Make them your own by adding decorations, sprinkles, flowers, dark chocolate chips or anything else you like. I hope you give them a try.
Stay tuned for for more mousse recipes coming your way.
Marshmallow Mousse
Makes 4-6
250 g marshmallows (use white if you are planning on colouring them)
200 ml half and half (half milk, half cream)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Over low heat, slowly cook the marshmallows and 2 tbsp of the half & half in a small saucepan whilst stirring continuously. They can burn easily so keep an eye on them. Remove from heat and continue to stir if they look like they might burn. (You could also do this in the microwave on low in short bursts of 10 seconds). Once marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the remaining half and half and yogurt and mix to blend.
Depending on the number of layers, divide the mixture between bowls and colour. To layer, gently spoon first layer into serving glasses. Chill for 5-10 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the layers. Refrigerate until needed. When serving, allow to stay in room temperature for 15 minutes.
