Mousse is an elegant, decadent dessert that's always a great way to end a meal—it's also dangerously easy to make. I had been thinking about making a recipe like this for quite a bit of time now, and have finally gotten around to it.
At the bottom, I made a sweet, vanilla-y Nilla wafer crust, followed by layers of chocolate, peanut butter, and banana mousses. If you're looking to simplify a bit or just save some prep time, all of three of the mousse recipes can easily stand on their own just fine. Even making all three recipes doesn't take that much of your time, though. Each of the recipes is some combination of making whipped cream, then mixing with the flavoring ingredients in a way that doesn't make it flat.
That's a key here. Mixing too much can make your mousse a bit dense. If you do it right, they will come out very light and airy. It's also great topped with some chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, or whipped cream. You could also use some ground toasted hazelnuts or, if you want to be really decadent, top it off with some chocolate ganache!
There are so, so many different ways that you can play with this recipe. Is the chocolate too light for you? Add some more—use 6 or 8 oz instead. Just be careful, it'll also get richer and denser. Different fruits could also be great! You can do that by making a coulis first or by puréeing a different fruit. Not all fruits will work, and some may need something like gelatin to help them firm up when they set, but it's always fun to try different things.
Three-layer Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Banana Mousse
Makes: 6-8 servings
Active time: about 30 minutes
Total time: about 3 hours
For the crust (optional)
30 vanilla wafer cookies
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Place the cookies and sugar into a food processor and pulse until reduced to fine crumbs. Alternately, place them in a large zipper bag and crush them using a rolling pin.
3. Mix the crumbs together with the melted butter. Divide into six to eight even portions, and press them into the bottom of 6-ounce ramekins.
4. Bake crusts for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
For the chocolate mousse
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1. Whisk together ⅓ cup of heavy cream and the egg yolk in a small saucepan. Thicken, over medium heat, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
2. Place chocolate in cream mixture, remove from heat, and whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to slightly cool.
3. While the chocolate cools, beat together the remaining cream, sugar, and vanillia extract with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
4. Scoop about a quarter of the whipped cream into the chocolate, and fold together to lighten it. Then, fold the lightened chocolate into the remaining whipped cream until relatively uniform. It should still be a little bit streaky though.
5. Distribute the mixture evenly into your ramekins (or serving dishes). Refrigerate for about an hour before putting any more layers on top.
For the peanut butter mousse
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup smooth peanut butter
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1. With a mixer, beat together the peanut butter and 2 Tbsp of the cream until light and fluffy.
2. Beat together the remaining ingredients until stiff peaks form.
3. Transfer about a quarter of the whipped cream into the peanut butter and fold together to lighten. Fold the lightened peanut butter into the remaining whipped cream until relatively uniform.
4. Transfer evenly into ramekins and refrigerate while working on the banana mousse.
For the banana mousse
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large banana, puréed
1. Beat together the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
2. Fold a quarter of the whipped cream into the banana purée to lighten it up. Fold the lightened banana mixture into the remaining whipped cream until smooth.
3. Transfer evenly into ramekins, then refrigerate for at least another hour, preferably longer, until needed.