Thursday, March 13, 2014

Ultimate Nutella Mousse


 If you hadn't already realized it, I have a bit of a thing for Nutella. It basically takes the greatest food ever (chocolate) and mixes it with hazelnuts to make the creamiest, sweetest, most indulgent topping for just about anything. 
After a while, slathering the chocolatey goodness on various forms of carbohydrates gets a little old. I love finding ways to incorporate my favorite foods into desserts, and this mousse does just that. 
It has (theoretically) two ingredients. Two ingredients! Mousse!! Okay, so it may be a bit of a faux mousse, but it plays the part pretty amazingly. It's fluffy and creamy and kind of makes you want to eat the whole bowl. Top it with homemade dark-chocolate-covered strawberries, and this 5-minute dessert just got classy. 
Enjoy! 

Ultimate Nutella Mousse
(adapted from Bakers Royale)

9 oz. Nutella
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
about 6 strawberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Place Nutella and espresso powder in microwave safe bowl. Heat on low for 10 second intervals until mixture is thinned a bit. Stir to incorporate the espresso powder. Set aside and cool to room temperature.
Whip 1 1/2 cups cream until soft peaks form (be careful not to let it reach stiff peaks). Gently fold whipped cream into Nutella mixture. The mousse will be soft. Fill a bowl (roughly 1-quart capacity) and cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Once the mousse is chilled, whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over the mousse, and top with chopped hazelnuts.
In the microwave or over a double boiler, heat the two chocolates separately. Dip the strawberries in the dark chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet; drizzle with white chocolate (I used a piping bag). 
Refrigerate strawberries for 1 hour, or until set; use as topping for mousse. 

*Note: This is really more of a concept than a rigid recipe; feel free to adapt it as you like!

2 comments:

Cannella Vita said...

Yum! this looks awesome! I will have to try this out soon! So easy!

Sophia said...

Erica, it's so quick to throw together and super delicious!