Desserts
Dark chocolate mousse with cranberries & lime
| 300g | good quality chocolate (should contain 60/70 % cocoa) |
| 2 | eggs |
| 500ml | double cream |
| 50ml | dark rum |
| 4 tablespoons | dried cranberries, chopped |
| 2 | limes - Zest and juice |
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water without over heating.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl over boiling water for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- In a small bowl, lightly whisk the cream.
- In a separate bowl, quickly whisk the chocolate into the eggs and add the rum, lime juice, zest & chopped cranberries.
- Stir to combine and then fold in the cream.
- Pour into individual ramekins and place in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate until set and serve.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
