Moose Mousse Valentine's Dessert

 Mousse was something I had never made but always wanted to try.  When I saw this mousse recipe made on Twin Cities Live, I knew I would be making it for Valentine's Day.  Since my nephew's nickname for my husband is 'Moose', I decided to make 'Moose Mousse' for our Valentine's dessert!

To make the chocolate antlers, find a drawing of moose antlers on google images.  Copy/paste it into powerpoint and adjust it to the size that will work with your serving dish.  Since I was making two moose, I copied 4 antlers and printed.


Cover the printed paper with wax paper to trace the antlers in melted chocolate.

I decided to go with pink antlers for contrast and for Valentine's Day, but any color will work.  To get the pink, melt a chunk of white almond bark with two red candy melt discs.


After melting the chocolate in a plastic bag, snip the corner of the bag with a scissors and it's ready to pipe onto the wax paper.  Outline the antler first, then go back and fill in with more chocolate.


Using a large muffin scoop, scoop mousse into a martini glass.  The humps created by the scoop give the head and nose their shape. The mousse didn't set-up like I wanted it to, so I had to whip mine in the mixer before scooping.


To create the moose face, add the hardened chocolate antlers, raspberries stuffed with white chocolate chips for eyes, a strawberry slice tongue, and the typical mint leaf garnish with the tongue so it looks like he's eating it!

Blender Chocolate Mousse 

Courtesy of The Cooking Mom

Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon coffee liqueur or vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh whipped cream (optional)
1/2 cup fresh berries (optional)

Directions:
Place chocolate chips, egg and coffee liqueur or vanilla in blender and chop. Heat cream until very hot and small bubbles appear at edge. Carefully pour hot cream into the blender. Blend until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour into dessert dishes or pretty wine or martini glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it firms up a bit. Serve with fresh berries and/or whipped cream on top. Makes enough for 2 to 3 servings depending on the size of the dish.