I hosted a little dinner party last Saturday for my friends I’ve made since joining the YMCA. On the menu was my Garlic Yogurt Marinated Chicken Bites, Hummus & Pita Chips and Cheese-Cherry-Pinapple on toothpicks for appetizers. For the main course I baked some fresh salmon with a tandoori spice mix, made a vegetable pilaf, chicken marsala and a cabbage and potato vinaigrette salad. For dessert I made little Creme brûlées and a decadent dessert my mom always made when entertaining, called Chocolate on Clouds.
This delicious dessert is made of a rich and creamy rum chocolate mousse layered over light and fluffy pieces of angel food cake doused in rum and topped with fresh cream. Now, if you’re looking for a healthy low-calorie dessert, this is not it. But for my workout buddies, it was the perfect indulgent way to end a good meal celebrating our friendship and we figured we’d just have to workout a little harder on Monday (which we did 😉 )
While it’s not a dessert I’d make often or on a regular family night, it is perfect for dinner parties! You make it a day ahead and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. It doesn’t get much easier than that. So without further adieu…the recipe and step-by-step on how you can make it…
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate
- 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) Butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 (8 oz) pack of cool whip
- 1/2 cup rum (divided)
- 1 envelope Gelatine (unflavored)
- 3-4 tbsp water
- Pinch of salt
- 1 (10 oz) Angel Food Cake
- Fresh Cream for topping (optional)
- – Start by cracking and separating the 4 eggs into whites and yolks.
- – Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a stand-up mixer (or with a hand held cake beater) until stiff. (You should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the egg whites falling)
- – While the whites are whisking away, get a double boiler(a bowl placed on top of or in a pan of simmering water to prevent delicate foods from burning) going for the chocolate. Melt the chocolate along with 1/2 a stick of butter, stirring gently.
- – Transfer the stiff egg whites into another bowl and whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar, until they turn pale and creamy.
- – Now in a large mixing bowl, pour the melted chocolate into the egg yolks and quickly whisk them together.
- – Add 1/4 cup of rum (or any flavored liquor you like, or even orange or cherry juice to keep it non-alcoholic) and whisk it in.
- – Add one serving spoon of the egg whites to the warm chocolate mix and whisk it in to prevent it from curdling. And set the mix aside for a few minutes to cool a little.
- – Swap your whisk out for a spatula and very gently, fold in a big spoon of egg whites and then cool whip into the chocolate alternately until you use up all of them. With each addition of both, the mix should get lighter and fluffier. Avoid over mixing the mix and use a light hand to barely mix it.
- – Lastly, dissolve an envelope of unflavored gelatine in 3-4 tbsp of water and bring it to a boil while stirring. Once the gelatine is completely dissolved and turns almost clear, turn the heat off and allow it to cool.
- – Once the gelatine is cool, pour it into the mousse mix and fold it in well.
- – To assemble the dessert, tear up pieces of angel food cake into a big dish (or individual serving glasses) and sprinkle some rum over the pieces for flavoring. Then spoon over the mouse mix to cover the cake pieces. Repeat the layers.
- – Refrigerate the dessert for at least a couple hours (or upto 8 hours) and then top it with whipped cream/ fresh cream and serve cold.
- – You can garnish the Chocolate on Clouds dessert with a sprig of mint or with some grated chocolate over the top.
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Have been making this dessert for 50 yrs and more but much more simply. No messing about with gelatine etc A chocolate blancmange if you can find one OR chocolate custard.
EASY!!!!!