Pudding And Mousse

Some of the easiest and quickest desserts by far are pudding and mousse types of desserts. These are great because of how simple they are to prepare, how few ingredients they require, and their quick cooking time. They are also really great complements to other desserts and go well with fruit and other selections that can be prepared in advance before a meal or a party. Plus there are endless varieties of pudding and mousse so you can find something that works for any occasion, at any time of the year, no matter what your tastes are.

Chocolate mouse is by far one of the most popular varieties and with good reason too as it’s very tasty and goes well with other desserts and almost any meal. It’s also great mixed in with some berries or some homemade whipped cream and garnish of a mint leave. Plus it’s very quick and simple to make - just follow the instructions below and you’ll have a great batch of chocolate mousse in no time.

First you’ll want to assemble all your ingredients. You’ll need:

one cup of semisweet chocolate chips
five tablespoons of boiling water
four eggs that have been separated

Roughly chop the chocolate into small shreds and then in a bowl combine it with the boiling water to melt it. Once the chocolate is evenly melted at the four egg yolks, one at a time, and blend well after each one.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they are stiff (you can add a tablespoon of sugar or two here to give them a nice firmness and a lovely sheen) and form standing peaks. Then fold one third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture before slowly folding the rest in. Fold gently until the mixture is even. Spoon your chocolate mousse into cup and put it in the refrigerator for at least two hours until it is set. This will make enough to feed about six people in small glasses.

This is just a basic chocolate mousse recipe but you can do plenty to it to make your own fun variations. The simplest way to go about it is to simply add some of your favorite flavoring to make it taste differently. You can add coffee, rum, orange flavoring, mint, raspberries, other types of fruit, or you could make it with darker chocolate or white chocolate and see what you like the very best. Mousse is great when you chill it and bring it out just after dinner but you can also add it as a side to a dessert like a cake or a as an addition to a platter of fruit or other small treats. Make it fun by presenting it in a pretty clear glass with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on it.

Pudding is very similar to chocolate mousse in that they are both prepared similarly and with the same ingredients and most of them are served chilled as well. The difference is in the consistency and the taste because pudding can often be a lot smoother and creamier than mousse as well as a lot thicker were mousse is more light and fluffy because of the egg whites in it. While mousse is easily flavored with different syrups or other such alterations pudding is a little more difficult to switch up that way because of its consistency and the different ingredients so you just have to be careful with anything extra that you add.

Chocolate pudding however is delicious though and makes a great dessert, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for something in the oven to turn out one way or another. Most pudding you can put together in just a few minutes (plus the time it takes to chill in the fridge) and without any serious mishaps. It’s so basic that there’s little that can go wrong and you don’t have to worry about anything sinking or burning or collapsing. Pudding is also great because of the fact that pretty much everyone likes it and that it can be appealing to both children and adults so there’s not a lot of room for error here. For a basic chocolate pudding recipe follow the tips below:

First you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

one cup of sugar
two tablespoons of cornstarch
one fourth of a teaspoon of salt
two cups of milk
two ounces of unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
two egg yolks
two tablespoons of butter
two teaspoons of vanilla

In a saucepan over heat you’re going to want to combine the sugar, the salt and the cornstarch together. Stir in the milk and then gradually at the chocolate, regulating the temperature so that it doesn’t burn and not letting it boil. Once the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture has thickened you can remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Once it’s had the chance to cool down you can add the egg yolks, one at a time, and stir them into the mixture. Return the pudding to the heat and allow it to cook for another two minutes. Take it off the heat again and add the butter and the vanilla. Let it cool all the way down and then let it chill in the fridge before you serve it. Just as with the chocolate mousse you’ll want to serve this in some pretty glasses with a garnish and some whipped cream. When it comes to adding other flavors and ingredients to your pudding you’ll want to make sure that the ration of cornstarch and chocolate (or whatever your main ingredient or flavoring is) is enough to give your pudding a nice thick and creamy texture while still retaining the flavor. You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t add too many different flavors or you’ll make the pudding too rich and not as much fun to eat.

Regardless of which recipe you use here they are both very simple and very quick to prepare and they’ll be well loved by whoever you serve them to so have fun and enjoy!