Sunday Rewind: Cooking Supplies at the Home Repair Store

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:

1. 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.
2. Mix and place crumbs into the bottom of dessert dishes.
3. 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.
4. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water.
5. 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.
6. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon mousse into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
7. 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.