Chocolate Mousse

There is something so special about chocolate mousse. It’s light, fluffy, and extremely satisfying. I taught this class in March in one of my free online classes with Edmonton Public Library and it was a really successful class with minimal equipment required!

Chocolate Mousse

Makes: 4–6 servings

Ingredients

6 oz (aprox. 170 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

⅔ cup half-and-half

4 tbsp butter, cut into small cubes

Pinch of salt

2 large egg yolks

5 large egg whites

2 Tbsp packed light or dark brown sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar

Optional Topping of chocolate shavings and whipped cream

Method

Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the half-and-half with butter and a pinch of salt to a simmer, swirling until the butter melts. 

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2–3 minutes, whisk until smooth.

Stir in the egg yolks until incorporated and let cool to room temperature. 

In a clean bowl, combine the egg whites, brown sugar, and cream of tartar. Whip until soft peaks form. Having soft peaks will ensure a light and airy texture to the mousse. 

Fold about one-third of the whipped whites into the chocolate base to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. The mixture should be soft and pourable. 

Pour the mousse to a large serving dish or individual bowls and refrigerate at least 4 hours (up to 12 hours). Leaving it overnight is preferred as the flavours meld together. Before serving, you can top the mousse with chocolate shavings and/or whipped cream. 

Spiced Mandarin Orange Cake

This is the easiest cake I have ever made!

This spiced mandarin almond cake starts by simmering mandarin oranges with warm winter spices, leaving your kitchen smelling like a citrusy holiday hug. The batter comes together within a couple minutes once the oranges have been cooked and is perfect served with a little Chantilly cream or ice cream. It’s also dairy and gluten free!

Very few people know this, but my Grandma grew up in Nagoya, Japan on a mandarin orange farm. The photo above is from her family’s orange farm when we visited in 2006. It was really amazing to be able to pick oranges straight from the tree and just how sweet and delicious they were.

Spiced Mandarin Orange Cake

Amara Yamamoto

Ingredients

4 Mandarin Oranges

1 Cinnamon stick

6 Cloves, whole

5 All Spice berries, whole

5 Cardamom pods

6 Eggs

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

225g or 1 ¼ cup Granulated Sugar

250g or 2 ¼ cup Almond Flour

Instructions

Wash and place the oranges in a medium sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the oranges (they will float but you want a lot of water in the pan). Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, all spice, and cardamom pods in and place on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let cook for 1.5-2 hours or until the oranges are extremely soft and can be easily pierced by a spoon. 

Remove the oranges and place in a bowl to cool. Discard the spices. Let the oranges cool fully. 

Preheat the oven to 375º f.

Prepare a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper on the bottom and grease the sides. You can also use a regular 9 inch cake pan, just make sure to parchment paper the bottom and grease the pan well. 

Place the oranges into a blender or a food processor. Blend until they are a smooth paste. 

In a bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together. Add the vanilla and baking powder, mix together. Add in the orange purée and mix. Add in the almond flour and mix well. The mixture can not be over mixed as there is no gluten. 

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and then bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

If the cake starts to brown too much on top (at around 30-40 minutes), cover with aluminum foil or parchment paper. 

Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan.