Salted Butter Caramel, Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse

I wanna start off by telling you all where I get these glasses. I was on Qantas Airway and I saw they use these glasses to serve wines to passengers. They're pretty good stuffs, we Australians hate drinking liquors from plastic cups. And they are so small , just over 1/3 cup capacity per glass. I didn't exactly smuggled them, I asked a very cute air-steward if I can bring these home with me because I collect props for my photography and these are money-can't-buy good stuff. He asked me how many do I want and I said two if possible and he said 'be-right-back' and walked off. And he graciously came back with two of these lovely glasses for me....And said they're complimentary from Qantas and they're even dishwasher safe. How awesome is that??? So if you like these glasses, the next time you fly, choose Qantas and you'll get them for absolutely nothing! I hop on the plane a lot, I hope you do too....I spent more hours in the plane then back in Malaysia this year...

These are adapted from Helen of Tartelette. They are like what the title says, mousses in three different flavours, layered together in a small glas, finished off with more Dutch Cocoa Powder and a pinch of salt. I've used Murray River Pink Salt Flakes. They're lovely, dissolved right in your mouth and blend so well with the caramel and the chocolate layer. I am so loving salt in my chocolates now! Not too much, just a pinch and I felt it brings out the flavour of both the caramel and the chocolates better.

I quarter her recipe and made enough to layer into two of these small glasses perfectly. Below is my version and what I've used, apart from the gelatine and sugar content, everything else is practically the same. But I like how they can be made into small portions so easily. One for lunch and one for dinner, these are my main meals for now. Sugar rush keeps me happy and keeps me full so it's gonna be like that for a while....


Salted Butter Caramel, Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse
(serves 1-2)


For the caramel:
2 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 tbsp water
1/8 teaspoon Murray River Pink Salt Flakes
1 tbsp thickened cream
1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook until caramel in color. Things happened very quickly here, if it is turning too brown, quickly remove from heat and shock over ice bath. When you see an amber colour of caramel, remove it from the heat and add the salt, heavy cream and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until completely smooth and let it cool completely to room temperature.

For the chocolate:
30g dark semisweet chocolate (I use Lindt's 85% Cocoa Content)

Melt the chocolates in a microwave or use a Bain-Marie if you like but it's just 30g of chocolates. Cool it to room temperature. It should be flowy when needed.

For the vanilla mousse base:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp castor sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp vanilla bean paste
1tsp gelatine powder, sprinkled over 2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup thickened cream

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and the castor sugar until very pale. Scald the milk in a milk pot and acclimatize it with the creamy yolk mixture, whisking vigorously while tempering. Pour the mixture back into the milk pot over medium low heat and cook until the cream coats the back of a spoon and thickened slightly. Constant stirring is required else you'll get scrambled eggs at the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and add the softened gelatin paste and whisk until it is completely dissolved into the cream. Cool that to room temperature before use.

While that is happening, whip the heavy cream with the vanilla bean paste to soft peaks and fold it into the cooled cream base. Divide the base into three equal portions. One portion that stays untouched will be your vanilla mousse layer.

To assemble, fold in one part of the base into the cooled caramel and mix until well combined. This is your salted butter caramel mousse layer. Pour that into your serving glasses and freeze for 5mins. Pour the plain base (your vanilla mousse) over the caramel mousse and freeze 5 mins again. Finally, mix the last part of the base with the melted but cooled, flowy chocolate and pour it into the glasses. This is your chocolate mousse layer. Chill overnight, covered with plastic wrap.

Upon serving, give it a light dusting if cocoa powder and a pinch of salt flakes and serve.



Assemble:
Add a couple of tablespoons of the base to the caramel to lighten it a bit and stir with a spoon. Gently fold the rest of the alloted mousse base into the caramel with a spatula.
Do the same for the chocolate portion.
Layer all three parts evenly into dishes or ramekins and refrigerate for an hour.