Daring Bakers Make Biscuit Joconde Imprimes, part Two

Our happy plans of celebrating some birthdays with this marvelous dessert over the weekend were shot to pieces when Hey, Babe came home from work with a stomach virus.  I suddenly found myself with an enormous dessert and no one to share it with, though I really can't complain about that part.  It is unfortunate that the change in plans happened so last minute, if the party had been canceled sooner I would have been able to put off making it, make a smaller version, or even try to freeze it right away.  However, that wasn't the case.

I wasn't sure how well the mousse was going to freeze since I've never tried it before.  Some Google searching didn't give me any promising reports for a mousse made with gelatin, noting weeping and separating in some cases.  Not only that, but I had no idea how to package the mousse to protect it in the freezer.  I didn't have a big enough container to fit it in as a whole and I was afraid that anything I could wrap it in would just stick to it and ruin it.  So I just ate the whole thing myself.

I'm kidding! Although I really could have because whoa, it was the best one I've made to date.  I ended up cutting the mousse into pieces and freezing them in smaller containers and when I defrost a piece I will be able to find out how well this particular recipe freezes for future reference.  I had hope that Hey, Babe would recover quickly so I optimistically left a piece out for us to share.  Hey, Babe not recovering fast enough, plus the fact that Little Man also caught the bug, plus the mountains of gross laundry that resulted from all that sent me to the fridge often to console myself.  Needless to say, the unfrozen piece is long gone.  Poor Hey, Babe will have to wait until I defrost another piece before he can try it.

At first I wasn't sure that the caramel layer came through over the strong flavor of the white-mocha layer.  After several taste tests I have decided that it doesn't (and really can't) come through over the mocha layer, but it definitely complements it.  I am pretty sure that this is my new favorite triple mousse cake.  And thanks to some unfortunate luck on Hey, Babe's part, I will get to eat it several more times.  Hmm, I wonder how it tastes frozen?

Triple Layer Mousse
Ingredients:
Milk Chocolate Mousse:
10 oz. Milk Chocolate
1 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
1 tsp. unflavored Gelatin
2 Tb. cool Water

White Chocolate-Mocha Mousse:
10 oz. White Chocolate
1 tsp. unflavored Gelatin (or 2 sheets)
1 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
1 ½ TB. Instant coffee granules

Caramel Mousse:
For the caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
For the mousse base:
1 tsp powdered gelatin
2 tsp cool water
1 egg yolk
1 TB sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup heavy cream


Instructions
For the Milk Chocolate Mousse:
Chop the milk chocolate and place it in a double boiler. Pour ½ c. of the heavy cream over the chocolate and allow the gentle heat of the simmering water below melt the chocolate. Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until smooth.

While the chocolate is melting, pour the 2 TB of cool water into a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let sit until the gelatin has completely dissolved and begins to thicken into a gel. Add the gel and stir it into the milk chocolate mixture until it has completely melted. Allow chocolate mixture to begin cooling so it does not melt the whipped cream you will be adding.

Using your mixer, whip the remaining 1 c. of heavy cream to soft peaks. Check the chocolate, you want it around 80°F or cool but not stiff. Add about half of the whipped cream to the melted chocolate, whisking and folding gently until it is incorporated. Fold in the remaining whipped cream once the first half is whisked in. When the chocolate and cream are evenly blended, pour the mousse into your chosen vessel. I had a layer of the Joconde cut to the size of my Springform pan and placed in the bottom. But this can also be poured over a flourless dark chocolate cake, or into glasses to be served individually. Smooth the top and put in the fridge.


For the White Chocolate-Mocha Mousse:
Wait around 20 minutes after the first mousse was made before you begin to give it a bit of time to set and then proceed in the exact same manner as the first mousse with the exception of adding the coffee granules to the ½ cup of heavy cream before pouring over the white chocolate (unless you prefer to leave the white chocolate mousse plain, in which case omit the coffee). Pour the finished white chocolate mousse over the previous layer and place back in the fridge.

For the Caramel Mousse:
For the caramel:
Place the sugar in a small heavy bottomed saucepan set over high heat. Cook until the sugar has melted and is beginning to turn darker in color. Remove from the heat (the residual heat from the bottom of the pan will continue cooking it until it is a darker color) and add the heavy cream and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until completely smooth, add the salt and stir a bit more until it is incorporated. Scrape out into a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare the mousse base:
Measure the cool water into a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin over top to soften. Set aside. In the now empty caramel pot, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar until very pale. Add the milk and vanilla and heat slowly over medium heat until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the softened gelatin and stir until it all dissolves into the cream. Add the waiting caramel back to the pot and whisk well to combine. Let cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Carefully whisk and fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the caramel base. Continue on and gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Pour the finished caramel mousse over the previous layer, smoothing carefully. Allow the assembled layers of mousse to chill in the fridge at least an hour (a few more would be better) before serving.