CHOCOLATE-RUM MOUSSE

Chocolate-Rum Mousse image

Chocolate-rum mousse, which ran in The Times in 1966, was a remarkably efficient recipe in two distinct ways. First, it invoked nearly every food trend of its moment: chocolate desserts were an exotic new fix; any respectable grown-up dessert contained rum; mousse suggested that you understood French cooking, or at least pretended to; two cups of cream was de rigueur; and the recipe assumed you owned one of the kitchen's latest appliances, the home blender. Second, the newfangled blender actually did make the recipe a wonder of efficiency: all you had to do was layer the ingredients and blend, and a dinner-party mousse was yours.

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Time 6m

Yield Serves 8

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

1/4 cup cold whole milk
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup milk, heated to boiling
6 tablespoons dark rum
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces
2 cups heavy cream
2 ice cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla

Steps:

Put the cold milk and gelatin in blender. Cover and blend at low speed to soften the gelatin.
Add boiling milk; blend until the gelatin dissolves. If gelatin granules cling to the container, use a rubber spatula to push them down.
When the gelatin is dissolved, add the rum, egg, sugar and salt. Blend at high speed and add chocolate pieces until smooth.
Add 1 cup of the cream and the ice cubes. Continue blending until the ice is liquefied. Pour into parfait or wine glasses and chill.
Add vanilla to the other cup of cream and whip until stiff. Top the mousse with whipped cream.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 388, UnsaturatedFat 10 grams, Carbohydrate 23 grams, Fat 30 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 5 grams, SaturatedFat 18 grams, Sodium 85 milligrams, Sugar 21 grams, TransFat 0 grams