As requested by St. Pat himself, I was asked to write about one of the best desserts I have ever made. The goal was to make a dessert that I had a picture of but had no idea what was in it and how to make it really “stand” out or should I say up. In researching German desserts, I came across a towering dessert that was not only visually appealing but was sure to taste great. I was cooking for 8 and would need to purchase 8 stainless steel molds. This turned out to be my biggest challenge, it is nearly impossible to find these at a reasonable rate. While in the local home repair store, I came across some PVC couplings that were .84 cents rather than 6.00. That’s a huge savings, so I bought them and took a dremel and ground down the lip inside and sanded them and ran them through the dishwasher. We’ve got molds! If you do go this route, I found that the best way to avoid sticking was to put some wax paper on the inside of the PVC molds which will allow them to slide off without disturbing the dessert. Next it was time to create the dish and after 3 times, perfection was achieved.
German Chocolate Mousse
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Servings: 4 servings | Difficulty: medium
Ingredients:
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate (coarsely chopped)
- 1/2 cup water (divided ¼ cup and ¼ cup)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/4 cup whipped cream
- 1 package of honey graham crackers
Directions:
- Place one package of graham crackers into a large zip lock bag. Roll with rolling pin. Empty bag into bowl. Add a little bit of water and sugar to make crumbs bind.
- Mix and place crumbs into the bottom of dessert dishes.
- In a microwave or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes.
- In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water.
- Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice and stir until cooled, about 5-10 minutes.
- Fold in whipped cream. Spoon mousse into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- A little cocoa powder on the plate is probably overkill but it looks great.
Dessert Accents Chocolate Candy
Use any plastic mold with desired design. Using a disposable decorating bag, add melted chocolate to clean, dry mold until level. Tap mold gently on surface minimize air bubbles. Refrigerate until bottom of mold appears frosty or until candy is firm. Turn mold over onto flat surface and gently twist to release candy.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
This is something i should do. It looks yummy. Excellent work
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Wow looks really good! You really had no idea what was on the dessert before making them?
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Great idea! Looks fantastic!
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Love it!
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Love love love this!!!
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Great idea for molds. But what about Mini Souffle Dishes? That recipe looks great.
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These look and sound so good. I can’t eat chocolate anymore but might have to make them for my hubby 🙂 He would love the yummy fancy goodness
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I like the ingenuity. A lot of people tend to stray away from using stuff like that for food because they think something bad will happen. Really, that only happens if they don’t buy new ones. As my roommate would say, well done sir.
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What a beautiful recipe and what a great idea to use PVC couplings. I like that kind of inventiveness.
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These look amazing – well done for finding the tools to make them in a much cheaper place!! I’m going to have to try them, although not sure we have the crackers – do you think digestive biscuits with melted butter would work – like a cheesecake base?
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I’m surprised how many comments are on here. To answer your questions:
Q. You really had no idea what was on the dessert before making them?
A. Yes, I really had no idea. I figured I’d give it a try and not only did it taste great but eating the mistakes was very good for me.
Q. What about Mini Souffle Dishes?
A. Mini Souffle Dishes or Custard Glasses would work just great, but I was trying to score major presentation points.
Q. Do you think digestive biscuits with melted butter would work – like a cheesecake base?
A. I would think so, but only one way to find out, give it a try. Like Wayne Gretzky says “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.
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So ambitious! I’m impressed and left wanting dessert. 🙂
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Yum!…looks easy enough..will definitely try..thanks!
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I think it is stupid to fork out the big bucks for simple things like that too. But I get paranoid about “food grade” plastics and whatnot. Another tool from the hardware store: blowtorch–waaaay better than those rinky dinky creme brulee torches from kitchen stores.
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Ha! Like MacGuyver with those PVC pipes! Very smart.
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Thanks for stopping by Ranting Chef! I have to dive in to some of these recipes soon. My fiance and I love to cook about as much as anything. Cheers!
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Wow…that looks SO good. But to be honest, I think I’d have more trouble with the dremel than with the mousse. I’ll have to give this one a try.
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Looks yummy!
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Thanks for the post. This looks absolutely delicious.
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Wow using PVC is super resourceful, well done! congrats on the savings and the great looking dessert 🙂
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home Depot can be great for all kind of kitchen tools. I keep a burnzamatic plumbing torch in my kitchen for creme brulee or crisping duck skin and lots of other stuff. Mostly Creme brulee.
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Love your hardware store ideas! The dessert molds made with PVC pipe and lined with wax paper — that was my fav! Thanks! 😀
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Thanks for the “like” on Cardboardmetravels today. Enjoyed stopping by your blog, too.
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I will have to keep my eyes peeled for kitchenware next time I make a run to the hardware store. Your dessert looks awesome, thanks for the awesome tip! 🙂
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Those look divine!
Thanks for liking my post, by the way. I’ll have to stop over often. We love cooking, too!
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Looks delish, could probably work for the dorm too.
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Very nicely done!
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This looks delicious. I love any excuse to work in some graham crackers. Definitely adding this to the “must try” list.
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Nothing like a little ingenuity to turn an idea into perfection. Great job!
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What a gorgeous dessert! Looks delicious 🙂
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beautiful and resourceful! Thanks for stopping by my blog and thanks for sharing!
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Guess what, I am making this for dessert for Easter tomorrow, well actually gonna make it now, wish me luck 😀
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This looks delicious!! And completely agree! I always find the hardest part is finding the right size and shape moulds when baking, but it’s so worth the trouble in the end 🙂
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