There are few things that I enjoy more than seeing my daughter cook up something in the kitchen. She has developed a nice interest in cooking and is more and more interested in it as time goes by. I love the experiments she has done with cookies and crackers and her willingness to learn more and more about cooking.

This Christmas Eve my family and I enjoyed a traditional Icelandic dinner of “Hamborgahryggur”, a cold smoked saddle of pork. In the States it´s called Canadian bacon. The meat is cooked and then glazed with a brown sugar, Dijon-style mustard and ketchup mix. Our traditional sides always include caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, Waldorf salad and of course a good gravy. Dagrún was very engaged in all the cooking as usual and she told me that next year she plans to make the entire dinner.  She said, ” dad, you can just sit, relax, and enjoy!” We will see about that.  But I have to admit it is something I look forward to.

This year dessert was  Dagrún Ása´s contribution to Christmas dinner.  She made a Toblerone chocolate mousse.  It was very smooth, as a good mousse should be, and quite creamy with a great Swiss chocolate flavor as well.  And then there were those famous Toblerone honey and almond nougat crunches throughout. I must say, it was a great holiday dessert. (And besides, who doesn’t love chocolate?)

There are many ways of making a chocolate mousse. With or without cream, with whipped eggs and egg whites and also without both !! Some people use gelatin others don’t. There are endless ways to make a mousse.  This recipe was Dagrún Ása’s choice.

I took the opportunity to take some photos and then asked her to share this dessert here on the blog.  So, here we share with you her delightful, silky Toblerone chocolate mousse – her third contribution to our blog.

Check out her two earlier posts:
Sörur – Chocolate Glazed Buttercream Macaroons 
The Perfect Rack of Lamb – A Post from My Daughter 

I did earlier a post of her favorite salmon dish.
Dagrún Ása´s Favorite Salmon 

      Toblerone Chocolate Mousse    

2 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 pound Toblerone chocolate, roughly chopped
2/3 cup room temperature butter
4  room temperature eggs 

1. Whip the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
2. Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl that fits into the top of the pot.  Don’t let the water touch the bowl. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts.
   

3. When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan and stir in butter  until well incorporated. Whisk in eggs one at a time until everything is well blended. Let the mixture cool to almost room temperature. Just give it an occasional stir.

4. Use a spatula to gently fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream until almost blended. Then gently fold in the remaining cream until well mixed.

5. Divide the mousse equally into 8 dessert bowls or glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 -5 hours or overnight.
For serving:
1 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
3 ounces Toblerone chocolate, finely chopped (but leave some big pieces for garnish)
3-4 fresh strawberries, diced

Top each portion with whipped cream, sprinkle with chopped chocolate and add strawberries.

Use those bigger pieces of chocolate for extra garnish.

Happy new year everyone!  Here’s to more good cooking in 2016!

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