I have been thinking a lot about my mother lately. Maybe that’s what Mother’s Day is for. Not only for the living but to shore up all the memories of days with a parent who is no longer here. Today I thought about what a great cook my mother was. She could master the most complicated dishes (think Julia Child and the esoteric ingredients and a million steps to complete dinner) and yet, she had all kinds of great shortcuts that, looking back, were absolutely genius. She could elevate the most mundane of comfort foods like chocolate pudding to the level of a fine French dessert.
Take this simple mousse. Yes, it starts with simple, purchased chocolate pudding mix. Jello now has a natural chocolate pudding mix without a lot of additives and it had a very fresh and clean flavor. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/chocolate-jell-o-simply-good-pu-5161.aspx. Chocolate pudding has evolved.
The chocolate pudding mix is blended with a pint of good quality coffee ice cream. A less expensive variety of ice cream with minimal butterfat will cause the mousse to be runny. I absolutely love Graeters Ice Cream.https://www.graeters.com/coffee Handmade. Family business in Ohio. You can buy the ice cream online and in select grocery stores. It is lovingly mixed by hand to create a smoothness and richness that ice cream nowadays seems to lack. This ice cream is the real deal. Haagen Dazs would be a readily available substitute. https://www.haagendazs.us/products/2455/ice-cream/coffee/?gclid=CJeo4raqm9QCFZ24wAody7kBng&gclsrc=aw.ds
To make the mousse all you do is combine the chocolate pudding mix (adding less milk than the directions call for) and a pint of softened ice cream. Beat, beat, beat and refrigerate until ready to serve. I topped the mousse with an Espresso Whipped Cream simply made by combining espresso powder, heavy cream and a little powdered sugar.
You will be so surprised at how “moussey” and fluffy this dessert turns out with the addition of the softened ice cream. It is best made the same day so the fluff doesn’t deflate! Thanks Mom for another great recipe and the ever-present memories of you in the kitchen taking care of me, your only child. It is only when you reach a certain age and have your own children that you can realize the time and effort our parents spent to make our lives better. Not perfect. But as close as they could get.
My Mother’s Three Ingredient Mocha Mousse with Espresso Whipped Cream
This mouse is a simple and elegant dessert that can be "whipped up" in just a few minutes. Left to sit in the fridge it thickens and fluffs up. You are going to love this!
Ingredients
For the Espresso Whipped Cream
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
For the Mocha Mousse
- One 3.9 ounce package Simply Good "Jello Choco Late" Instant Pudding mix
- 1 ½ cups whole milk no substitutes
- 1 pint good quality coffee ice cream such as Graeters or Haagen Dazs thawed for no more than 30-40 minutes at room temperature until the package just yields to gentle pressure
Optional Garnish:
- Chocolate covered espresso beans
Instructions
For the Espresso Whipped Cream
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Put the beaters and a medium size metal bowl in the freezer for at least a half hour.
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Put the dissolved espresso and powdered sugar in the bowl and add the cream. Beat until stiff peaks form.
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Refrigerate until ready to serve. You do not need to wash the beaters.
For the Mocha Mousse
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In a medium size bowl with the beaters from the whipped cream, beat the pudding mix and milk. Scoop in the softened ice cream and beat until the mixture is just blended. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until thick.
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When ready to serve, spoon the mousse into individual serving dishes, top with the whipped cream and garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean, if desired.