The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!
What to say about this month’s Daring Bakers challenge…
I should really start with the fact that I’m not a big fan of maple syrup… Sure, I’ll drizzle it on my pancakes or waffles… And, I like to use it as a sweetener in baked goods or granola. But, I tend to like it with other flavors. So, right off the bat, I had a bit of a bad feeling.
In the end, the mousse ended up being exactly what I feared… Very maple syrupy. To me, it was like drinking maple syrup directly from the jar… I found it to be very lackluster and one-note. For me, it really needed something… Unfortunately, for once, I followed the recipe exactly as written and didn’t mix things up at all.
Don’t let my criticism bring you down, though… If you love (really love) maple syrup, you just might like it. My husband did.
The recipe for the maple mousse is really quite simple… In fact, my husband said he thought he could make it. I think he’s right. So, that aspect of the challenge really wasn’t very challenging. I’m assuming that a simple recipe was chosen to encourage all of the bakers to focus their creativity and effort on the edible containers. That’s all fine and good. But, I wasn’t feeling too inspired by the edible container challenge… I had a hard time putting time and effort into a container for something I really didn’t like.
In the end, I used some (store bought… GASP) phyllo dough to make phyllo cups for the mousse. It was almost as easy as the mousse. I slacked. I admit it.
In case you are interested in giving the mousse a try, I’ve included the recipe in this post. I think it would be much better with some spices/toppings/etc… And, if you love maple syrup. A lot.
Maple Mousse
- 1 cup pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (35% fat content), divided
Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple
syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t
curdle). Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed.
Meanwhile, measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.
Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
These phyllo cups are very elegant! Double ticks because I find phyllo a nightmare to work with.
Your presentation of these is beautiful, simple and elegant.
I used phyllo pastry for the first time last week. Store bought as I know that I could never make it as light and flaky.
I really like maple syrup, but after a while, it becomes sickly to me, and I *hate* the smell of it on my hands. I actually started using maple sugar in baking instead of syrup. I wonder if that would change the overall outcome and mapleness of this, since it’s toned down a lot in its dehydrated form. Then you could add your spices and stuff too. Obviously you might need to add some other liquid to the mix. Interesting. I might play around with that. But I love the idea of the phyllo dough cups. I think they’re beautiful.
WOW. This looks like my ultimate dessert. Since I grew up in New England, maple is my favorite flavor – I love those sugary maple candies in the shape of maple leaves. Will HAVE to try this!
Lovely presentation of edible containers…
Cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts – Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts
I know you said it was TOO maple syrup = but it looks heavenly, so I’m going to give it a go. My daughter is a pasty chef, so I’ll ask her for some ideas to maybe spice it up a bit as you suggested.
I am really impressed with the consistency of the mousse, it holds beautifully… Especially if you did’nt like preparing it!!
Gorgeous! I love maple anything so I would totally inhale these. Lovely job on the challenge!
The phyllo cups looks wonderful.
Yummy! :)
Not a fan of maple mousse either (ahem) but at least you did the challenge. I love the presentation!