Chocolate and Almond Mousse with Port

Every year (normally) I have my family around for my birthday. As my birthday is so close to xmas (27th) I ask them to come along and I celebrate by cooking for them something made by me entirely, so no peeking is aloud (into other peoples recipes), I can take past experiences in restaurants and cafés, and come up with my own thing.

So this birthday I decided to spoil them a little, well I do that every year... So I made for main course a Cod Fillet "en croute" with an Asian twist (Indian) and a plain rice portion with a special hot curried sauce (this inspired by Wagamamas, just the rice not the fish), and for desert I made a dark chocolate and almond mousse with an almond and port digestive base.

But on this post I will only provide you with the desert recipe, as I'll do another posting with the main meal, to make things simple. This desert was enough for 10 people.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 250mls double cream pots (one for the almond one for the chocolate)
• 8 chocolate squares ( dark chocolate cocoa from 30% to 50%)
• 9 Mcvites digestives (other brand will do)
• 2 soup spoons of Port Wine
• 1 + 1 teaspoons of almond essence
• 1 hand full of almonds (about 50grs) with the skin (chopped)
• 2 soup spoons of denmerra sugar
• 1 + 1 + 1 soup spoon of butter
• some white sugar
  

In a bowl crush all the digestives add one (full) spoon of butter, half of the almonds (chopped) a tea spoon of white sugar, one tea spoon of almond essence and the port, mix this very well and should be enough to place one soup spoon of this mixture into each one of the 10 ramekins, after doing that press mixture down with a flat object I used the bottom of a small glass.

On two separate bowls pour each of the creams and whip them until they are Chantilly, but remember to half way before that happens to add a tea spoon of sugar to each cream part, set them aside for a little while, while you do the flavouring.

Put two little pans on the stove one with a little water and a bowl inside that (bain Marie) inside the bowl put the 8 pieces of chocolate once hot enough the chocolate will become very soft, add now one soup spoon of butter mix well it starts to go harder and darker, remove bowl from heat and add one egg yolk and mix well, pour this mixture into one of the bowls of whipped cream and fold gently, once well mixed set it aside.

On the other pan, put a (full soup) spoon of butter, and the remaining almonds, let them sizzle for about 3 minutes them add the denmerra sugar and and a soup spoon or two of water, let this continue to boil until is near caramelized but not caramelized as such. Let this cool briefly than pour it into the second bowl of whipped cream but not directly into the cream, let it cool a little more, than fold int into the cream adding also a tea spoon of almond essence.

Spoon both types of cream into the ramekins two have two halves each colour (see picture), then decorate top, i did the chocolate side with chocolate shavings, and the almond part with a little more chopped almonds and refrigerated these for 30 minutes.

It was a great success with the guests. You can also use instead of port amaretto (almond liquor) I did not try but I bet would be nice too.