#171 Chocolate mousse cake
I’ve told you before about the notes app on my phone, haven’t I? It’s where I log bits and bobs from the week - newsworthy things to share with you.
This week’s list includes: hip thrusts, my reliance on my dictionary app (to decipher most articles I read - why is my vocabulary so poor?), a good soup, and the fact that I think Deirdre would be a superb name for a cat. Which is a teaser for just how thrilling this week’s chat is going to be!!!!
First though, a confession: I’m doing life quite badly at the moment, I’ve realised.
The thing is, you see, I’m constantly wishing time away, ticking off the days… until ‘that appointment is out of the way’, until Christmas is over, until New Year is done and dusted, until we’re through January (inc. my birthday), into February, and nearly, almost sensing the early promise of Spring… crocuses, tulips, brightness (at which point I will inevitably feel pressure to make the most of it and dread it all being over, but let’s gloss over that)! Is this familiar to anyone else or just me?
This week I caught myself in the act - longing for March I kid you not!!! - and I quickly realised how very terrible it is to think this way. Because one misses out on all the delicious days between now and then… all the moments that should be embraced, savoured and lived, not raced through at break-neck speed.
Is it the greyness that forces me (one?) into this mindset? Is it the shorter days and thus the inclination to hibernate? All slump, no bounce! Is it a lack of purpose or fulfilment in my life? Or depression? ‘SAD’?? I really don’t know but whatever it is, it’s frustrating, because I don’t want life to zoom by without me spotting it!
I certainly haven’t developed a foolproof strategy for overcoming this mindset, but I guess half the battle is acknowledging that it isn’t helpful, right? And maybe recognising what it is that I truly relish about this time of year… sofa, TV, coffee dates, (hot drinks in general), fleeces, hot water bottles, baths, puddings, so that I can cherish these moments a little bit more! Help me with this list, btw - what bits do you relish about this time of year?
Incidentally, I’m terribly sorry for being such a moaner, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing it and I know I’m lucky in SO many ways, I promise, I don’t take any of it - especially you! - for granted! I’m sharing this, being transparent with you, simply because it’s my reality and I think it’s important to keep things real in this increasingly superficial World.💖
In the spirit of savouring time, Mum and I saw friends on Tuesday, and it was lovely. We walked and talked, the sun shone, the river glistened, (I took no pictures and lived in the moment - groundbreaking). We ate soup (broccoli and Stilton soup that included a full jar of those posh butter beans, sounds weird, was immense IMHO!), and homemade bread, cake too (a totally OTT amaretto Tiramisu affair). It was mindful and joyous, and I didn’t wish for March once - round of applause please!
Other triumphs were shortbread (date and sesame, dipped in chocolate - divine), chocolate salami (using up leftover biscuits and fruit and nuts!), chocolate and nut clusters that look posh but are stupidly simple (almost healthy!?) and mindful to make - good dessert-style petit fours!! More Speculaas biscuits, ciabatta rolls too and a Christmas twist on a tea loaf (I literally substituted some tea for booze in my tea loaf recipe - added a little extra spice and some citrus zest and TA DA… it’s a halfway house between tea loaf and Christmas cake - genius!).
I also spent an afternoon with my goddaughter; she wore my shoes, I tried on hers (snug), we plaited each other’s hair and ate ‘plastic’ Red Leicester cheese whilst watching Pad Pad (Paddington for those ill-informed)….fun was had!
And now it’s Thursday again… shopping day, I’m leaving shortly and desperately hoping for GOOD cheese tasters… last week’s Cropwell Bishop Stilton was delicious - I was influenced, hence the broccoli stilton soup!
Just before I go though, let’s run through the GOOD BITS this week…
Those Hip thrusts: I saw Vogue Williams ‘hip thrusting for 30’ on I’m A Celebrity and now I shall also hip thrust, it just seems like a sensible habit, right?
Am I the only person who requires a dictionary app to translate big words from most pieces of text? This week’s discoveries: that buffeted isn’t the past tense of eating at a buffet, that avarice isn’t a species of avatar, and that diffident isn’t a misspelling of different. Enlightening!
Crosswords - mindful, educational, make you feel like a genius when you get an answer!
This quote I saw on Ashley Roberts insta - I love it and it feels very apt this week.
The MEGA Soup I mentioned above. I approximately used this Emily English recipe and made these amendments: I upped the liquid to 650ml of stock and 100ml milk, omitted the basil and went in with a pinch of nutmeg and fennel seeds (to taste). I used a full jar of Belazu’s butterbeans and switched the smoked cheese for stilton - I added a bit more than she suggests (around 100-120g) and only sprinkled it in as I was about to serve. D-LISH… and that’s coming from someone who doesn't LOVE soup!!
Sausages and mustard - what a pairing - even greater in a buttered bread roll.
There are Xmas gift guides everywhere, I’m not sure we need any more… but I’ve cherry-picked a few things that have caught my eye: Giraffe pjs, a Travel mug, an actual Mug, a cute puzzle, my kind of key ring, this BEAUTIFUL biscuit box, this BRILLIANT ‘kitchen essentials’ list by Eleanor Wilkinson who I LOVE - will let you know if I come across anything else fun!
I’m rewatching rivals and when ‘Deirdre’ popped up, I just thought, ‘what a delightful name’ - definitely perfect for a cat!
Glaize manicure sets - I know I have told you about this before, but I saw Glaize praised again in an article this week and it reminded me that I really must try them out - has anyone else tried them?
OK pals, that’s us done and dusted, below is FINALLY the recipe for THAT chocolate mousse cake that I’ve been gatekeeping from you over the past couple of weeks - it’s filthily good, you’re going to love it, I’m sure!
Do send me your ‘coping with Winter (life in general) strategies’ and, (I really hate asking this), but if you enjoyed reading my rambles and or like the recipe/info and want to support me please do like ❤️, comment and share this post/spread the comfort chronicles joy!! It really helps our little community here to grow!
Have a wonderful Sunday and see you again next weekend!
Oodles of love and massive hugs,
Steph X X X
Chocolate Mousse Cake
I saw Tom Read Wilson (who I adore btw) poetically refer to the I’m A Celebrity camp as ‘calefacient’, obviously I had to google what it meant, and it turns out, it’s the precise definition of this cake: ‘a drug or other substance that gives a sensation of warmth’. In fact, I may rebrand the newsletter to ‘Calefacient Chronicles’.
The point is, this cake come dessert is the epitome of comfort and joy. It will fill up your emotional cup, erase the worries of today, soothe the pain of yesterday, make you feel alive again. It’s medicine.
The first major win of this recipe is that the two elements are superb in their own right - it’s a buy-one-get-one-free recipe! I mean; you could feasibly (and should) just bake the cake element - serve it warm with a drizzle of cream or chocolate custard; it’s minimal effort soothe-ful joy.
Equally, this mousse is one to add to your recipe repertoire you can wheel it out on almost any occasion, it is guaranteed to impress ALL guests, kids too (or just yourself - no judgement). Keep it casual and dump the prepared mousse into a large bowl, fridge it until required. To serve, scoop out big dollops and serve with some boozy fruit, a little whipped crème fraîche, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and if you’re feeling fruity, a drizzle of EVOO (honestly, it works!)
Together, meanwhile, you have yourself a dessert masterpiece. The chocolate cake is a simple (two bowl, one balloon-whisk, no frills) affair - based on this recipe from a past newsletter - it’s moist, dark, delicious! Mounded above it is a layer of lighter-than-air chocolate mousse. This recipe is adapted from the one I used on Bake Off many moons ago. I’ve not met anyone who doesn’t think it’s magnificent - inc. Paul Hollywood - I should say now, it wasn’t all my wizardry, I think I found it on the Callebaut website and adapted it slightly from there. It’s the perfect balance of creamy, airy and light, but also tastes like chocolate (important, you know?). The method employed sounds more technical than it is, however, you do need to be organised, and a digital thermometer is necessary to ensure things are at the right temp when you combine them (chocolate is a fickle beast I tell you!). Bearing in mind the temperamental nature of chocolate in this instance, it’s also worth getting a decent quality chocolate - the same or equivalent to the one specified (I use Callebaut).
Ok, enough chit chat - can’t wait for you to try this one and let me know your thoughts! Happy Baking pals!
