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Chocolate and orange mousse with drunken prunes

This delicious chocolate and orange mousse with drunken prunes recipe is straight from the current issue of NADIA magazine. We enjoyed it as part of our First Birthday potluck feast! Check out the magazine to see the rest of the recipes.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 6
Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

Drunken prunes

  • ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 orange zested (in fine threads)
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 12-16 pitted prunes
  • ¼ cup brandy

Mousse

  • 200 g dark chocolate I used Whittaker’s 72% Dark Ghana, broken into pieces
  • 25 g butter
  • ½ cup cream
  • 4 eggs separated
  • ¼ cup espresso or strong coffee
  • 2 oranges finely grated zest
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions
 

  • To make prunes, add all ingredients, except brandy, to a small pot. Bring to a boil on a high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until prunes are plump and liquid has almost disappeared. Remove from heat, pour over brandy and stir well. Allow to cool completely. Store prunes and syrup in an airtight container in the fridge, bringing them back to room temperature before serving.
  • For mousse, place chocolate, butter and cream in a microwave-proof bowl and heat in microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, until just melted (about 2 minutes). Remove and stir well until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.
  • While chocolate is melting, whisk egg yolks in a bowl for about 1 minute until silky. Gently stir the yolks into the hot chocolate mixture. Stir in the espresso and orange zest.
  • Whip egg whites until soft peaks form, then add maple syrup and continue to whip until mixture forms a glossy, almost meringue-like consistency.
  • Take about a third of the egg whites and stir into the chocolate mixture until well incorporated. Then, as gently as possible, fold through the remaining egg whites. Be careful not to over-mix – stop as soon as there are no streaks remaining. Divide mousse between six to eight ramekins or small glasses and refrigerate for at least a few hours to chill.
  • To serve, spoon a couple of drunken prunes onto each chocolate mousse.

Notes

This would be a great dinner party dessert. You can make everything the morning of, or the day before. Just make sure to bring the drunken prunes out of the fridge to give them time to come to room temperature – they’re much tastier that way!
This recipe is from the October/November issue of NADIA magazine.