More Mousse-Adventures in Baking

There was something about the simplicity of having only three ingredients that intrigued me. But after another chocolate baking experience that left me scratching my head and asking, "what went wrong?" I think I've learned my chocolate "study bake" lesson -- Alice does know best.

With the thesis out of my hands and in the hands of readers, and before diving into another round of papers, I decided to rest my weary brain by breaking with some baking.

My mom had a solid 7-oz. milk chocolate Hershey kiss which needed to be used, and on-line, I found a simple recipe for Milk Chocolate Mousse cupcakes that looked easy and required the exact amount of chocolate I needed to use. Stepping away from my beloved Alice and her Bittersweet recipes yet again, I thought this would be a breeze "study bake" with only 3 eggs, 1/8 cup plus 1 T flour, along with the 7-oz. of chocolate. Little did I know.

My mom wasn't sure when she received this enormous chocolate kiss as a gift. It had been sitting around for a while, and I wondered if it had "bloomed."

Chocolate "blooms" when it develops a gray appearance. This discoloration does not indicate spoilage but is only a cosmetic effect which occurs as the cocoa butter in the chocolate separates, floats to the surface, and crystallizes. Bloom doesn't effect taste; it just doesn't look very pretty.

When I unwrapped the chocolate kiss, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it still had that brown Hershey kiss color. I was expecting it to be discolored, which is the reason I thought to use it, but nonetheless, into the make-shift double boiler it went.

Now if this was an Alice recipe, it would probably have read -"melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler." But since this was NOT an Alice recipe, and since I am still an ignorant amateur in baking with chocolate, I placed the solid chunk of chocolate in the double boiler, over simmering water.

Imagine Jeopardy music if you will, because it took a LONG time for those 7 ounces of chocolate to melt. It wasn't until a few minutes into this melting ordeal that I realized that chopping it first would have cut the time down considerably.

The Family Circle recipe for these Milk Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes indicates that prep time is 5 minutes, with total time being 19 minutes. I didn't set an official time, but it took at least 10 minutes to get the chocolate melted! So much for a short and simple "study bake". Oh Alice, I miss you.

As the block melted down, I kept expecting the milk chocolate to become more liquidity, similar to the dark chocolate melting I have grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, it never achieved that consistency. Now if this were an Alice recipe, she would have mentioned that milk chocolate melts differently than dark and because of the milk fat, doesn't attain the smooth satiny flow I've grown accustomed to working with.

After a long while of continuous stirring so as to not burn the chocolate, I figured this is the way this chocolate will be and I decided to continue on with the next recipe step. "Stir eggs and flour into melted chocolate with wire whisk or wooden spoon." Sounds easy enough.

However, as I incorporated the eggs into the melted chocolate, I began to see yellow and quickly realized the eggs were beginning to cook. The chocolate was too hot! If this were an Alice recipe, she would have indicated the proper chocolate temperature and I would have stuck in my thermometer and added the eggs at just the right time. But no.

Instead of looking like a cupcake batter, my concoction was beginning to look like chocolate scrambled eggs! I quickly added the flour and continued to furiously whisk. I don't have a picture of what this looked like, because I needed to keep beating the ingredients before the eggs really cooked up solid. Who knows what would have happened if I stopped to take a picture?

With the chocolate cooled and ingredients incorporated, I laded the lumpy yellowy batter into the lined cupcake tins, and baked at 325 degrees. For baking time, the recipe says, "12 minutes or until sides of cupcakes are set but centers are still liquid." After 10 minutes, I checked and realized I had no idea what I was looking for. How do I know the sides are set and centers are liquidy? Alice would have provided better indication on how to determine doneness. I decided to simply pull them out of the oven after 12 minutes and let these cupcakes be what they will be.

As soon as the suggested 10 minute cooling period was done, I grabbed one, peeled off the liner, and broke it open. To my disappointment, no liquid. And after a first bite, I don't know why the chocolate custard taste of this cupcake surprised me. This warm dense and doughy cupcake was definitely more egg-like than mousse-like in both consistency and taste. There was nothing light, airy, or fluffy about this Milk Chocolate "Mousse" Cupcake.

It wasn't bad. Yet it wasn't very good either. It was a bit odd and I was disappointed. And as my mom said, "They are sweet." And sweet they were, especially in comparison to all the bittersweet chocolate desserts I have been attempting.

I am definitely learning my lesson. Alice knows best. It is back to bittersweet baking I go. Or maybe, rather than baking, I'll just go back to eating and reviewing chocolate. There are definitely less disappointments in that department.