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Chocolate mousse with crème fraîche sorbet and vanilla squash
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Nigel Mendham's sophisticated dark chocolate mousse recipe is served alongside tender balls of poached squash and a vibrant squash purée, perfectly utilising the natural sweetness of a savoury ingredient. A scoop of crème fraîche sorbet adds creamy richness without being too cloying, while chocolate soil and a chocolate and almond tuile bring fantastic texture to the plate.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Chocolate mousse
- 150g of 70% dark chocolate, melted
- 250ml of double cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 125g of sugar
- 60ml of water
Crème fraîche sorbet
- 500g of crème fraîche
- 150g of sugar
- 75g of glucose
- 200g of water
- 50g of lemon juice
- 12g of sorbet stabiliser
Squash purée
- 1 potimarron squash
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 4 tbsp of sugar syrup
- 1 pinch of rock salt
Chocolate tuile
- 187g of caster sugar
- 37g of ground almonds
- 37g of cocoa powder
- 37g of plain flour
- 75ml of fresh orange juice
- 94g of butter, softened
Chocolate soil
- 25g of 70% dark chocolate
- 25g of caramel chocolate
- 30g of butter, melted
- 40g of cocoa powder
- 60g of caster sugar
- 30g of plain flour
Poached squash spheres
- 1 potimarron squash
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 4 tbsp of sugar syrup
To serve
- 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 1 dash of pumpkin seed oil
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
- Electric hand whisk
- Sugar thermometer
- Water bath
- Vacuum bags
- Chamber sealer
- Food processor
- Parisian scoop / melon baller
- 5cm pastry cutter
- Blender
Method
1
Begin by preparing the crème fraîche sorbet. Add the sugar, glucose and water to a pan and place over a medium heat. Once the mixture has come up to the boil and the sugar dissolved into the liquid, remove from the heat and set aside to cool
- 150g of sugar
- 75g of glucose
- 200g of water
2
Once cool, whisk the crème fraîche, lemon juice and stabiliser into the syrup, then churn in an ice cream maker according the manufacturers' instructions and freeze until ready to serve
- 500g of crème fraîche
- 50g of lemon juice
- 12g of sorbet stabiliser
3
Preheat a water bath to 85°C
5
Bring the sugar syrup up to 104°C, then remove from the heat and slowly trickle the hot liquid into the beaten eggs, whisking continuously until the mixture has cooled completely (the base of the bowl should feel cool to the touch)
6
Gently fold in the melted chocolate until combined. In a separate bowl, gently whip the double cream to soft peaks and fold it carefully into the chocolate mixture. Cover the mousse (or transfer to a suitable container) and chill in the fridge until ready to serve
- 150g of 70% dark chocolate, melted
- 250ml of double cream
7
To make the squash purée, peel and deseed the squash and chop the flesh into small pieces. Place in a vacuum bag with the vanilla and sugar syrup, then seal and cook in the water bath for 55 minutes
- 1 potimarron squash
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 4 tbsp of sugar syrup
8
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate soil by gently melting the chocolates together in a bowl set over a bowl of barely simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the surface of the water
- 25g of 70% dark chocolate
- 25g of caramel chocolate
9
Once melted and smooth, gently stir in the other ingredients until fully combined. Transfer to the fridge and chill for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is just firm to the touch
- 30g of butter, melted
- 40g of cocoa powder
- 60g of caster sugar
- 30g of plain flour
10
For the chocolate tuile, place all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to the fridge and allow to chill for 30 minutes
- 187g of caster sugar
- 37g of ground almonds
- 37g of cocoa powder
- 37g of plain flour
- 75ml of fresh orange juice
- 94g of butter, softened
11
To make the squash spheres, slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. Use a melon baller to scoop out spheres from the flesh, placing these in a vacuum bag with the vanilla and sugar syrup
- 1 potimarron squash
- 4 tbsp of sugar syrup
- 1/2 vanilla pod
12
Seal the vacuum bag, then add to the water bath with the squash purée and cook for the final 8 minutes. After this time, remove both bags from the water bath, set the bag for the purée to one side and chill the bag of squash spheres in a bowl of iced water to cool
13
Discarding the vanilla pod, transfer the contents of the purée bag to a blender and blitz to form a smooth purée. Season to taste with a little salt, then transfer to a piping bag and reserve until ready to serve
- 1 pinch of rock salt
14
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
15
Remove the chocolate soil mixture from the fridge and spread out on a silicone mat to an even thickness of roughly 5mm. Bake for 15–20 minutes until firm and crisp, then set aside to cool
16
Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/gas mark 3½
17
Spread the chilled chocolate tuille mixture out in a very thin, even layer across another silicone mat and bake for 6–8 minutes until just set. Allow to cool slightly, then stamp out round discs using a 5cm pastry cutter. Reserve until ready to serve
18
Once the soil sheet has cooled, break into rough pieces and place in a food processor. Blitz briefly to form an even crumble, then transfer to an airtight container and set aside until ready to serve
19
Mix together the toasted pumpkin seeds with a little pumpkin seed oil. Drain the squash spheres from the cooking liquid ready to plate
- 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 1 dash of pumpkin seed oil
20
To serve, add a spoonful of the crumble to each serving plate and top with a scoop of chocolate mousse. Divide the squash spheres between plates and pipe a few mounds of the squash purée alongside them, topping with a quenelle of the crème fraîche sorbet. Drizzle the oil and seeds over the top and garnish with a chocolate tuile
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