Chocolate Mousse Squares with Gianduja

Croquant au gianduja

This recipe comes from, The Table Beckons, from the multi-starred chef Alain Senderens. I translated and adapted the book some years back.  You will need gianduja (aka gianduia)--chocolate which has been mixed with ground roasted nuts--for this recipe.  It can be a pain to find, one on-line source is www.chocolatesource.com but you need to order 5 kg.  For smaller quantities try Market Hall Foods.

serves 6

1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate,

3/4 pound gianduja,

3 tablespoons butter,

1 cup heavy cream,

raspberry coulis (see recipe below).

Break the chocolate into small pieces, put in a bowl and set over hot--not boiling--water.  Stir until melted.  Spread the chocolate on a piece of parchment to a thickness of little more than 1/16 of an inch.  When the chocolate is almost firm, cut into 18 same-size rectangles.  Refrigerate.

Break the gianduja into small pieces and melt in the same way as the chocolate, above.  Incorporate the butter.  Let cool briefly.  Beat the cream until firm peaks form.  Fold 1/3 of the cream into the melted gianduja and then fold in the remainder.

To assemble, spoon the chocolate mousse into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.  Pipe 1/12 of the mousse onto a rectangle of chocolate, add another layer of chocolate, another layer of mousse and a final rectangle of chocolate.  Repeat with the remainder.

Serve on a puddle of the raspberry coulis.

To make raspberry coulis:  defrost a 10 or 12-ounce bag frozen rapberries.  Purée in a food processor until just liquid.  You don’t want to break up the seeds.  Add 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar and a squeeze of lemon.  Strain.