Baking Obsession

Cranberries are in abundance now. I believe it makes a perfect sense buying them and freezing for later use while they are so reasonably priced. I’m thinking about Christmas, in particular :) It’s probably too early but I’ve got this obtrusive idea… Does anybody else feel Christmas in the air? I even made sugar-glazed cranberries to decorate the mousse. But I didn’t use them as I was told it was quite premature. After all, we’ve just had Thanksgiving here. It’s probably the general holiday spirit, I guess…

A word about the mousse – the mousse was nice. For white chocolate haters – it tasted as it’s supposed to – cranberry-like, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Serves 8 (Number of servings will depend on your serving glasses capacity. Mine were about 80 ml each; it makes quite a satisfying portion after a good meal)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• Zest of 1 medium orange
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
• 3 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup whipping cream

Preparation:

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and becomes a jam-like, about 8-10 minutes total. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a medium bowl, pressing hard onto the solids. Add the orange zest and liqueur, stir. Cool to room temperature.

Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a wide skillet. Turn the burner off (if your stove is electric, remove the skillet from the burner) and wait for 30 seconds, then set the bowl of chocolate in the hot water. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the hot water. Let the chocolate cool to about 85 F (a small dab on your upper lip should feel slightly cool, not cold). If the chocolate mixture is too cold, the mousse may turn out grainy; if necessary, set the bowl in the pan of warm water for a few seconds before the next step.

Whip the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold about a third of the whipped cream into the cranberry mixture. Then fold in the melted chocolate. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Spoon or pipe into the serving glasses or bowls. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Cover with plastic wrap without touching the surface if refrigerate longer.