Celebrating a special occasion calls for a special dessert. We are celebrating our anniversary this evening, so I went out on a limb. My husband loves chocolate and I love raspberries. In an effort to merge the two ingredients and make a somewhat low carb dessert, I played around with my ingredients a bit. There’s simply nothing better than a silky mousse made with good quality ingredients. A thick creamy mousse sounds so decadent.
When making the chocolate mousse, be sure to use a high-quality chocolate. I went with a 100% Cocao. I also used fresh raspberries for the raspberry mousse. Both contain heavy whipping cream. I used a Keto brownie made with almond meal flour to help eliminate some of the carbs. The stripped biscuit on the top was an adventure in and of itself. The technical name for the biscuit shown is called a Joconde Sponge with a decorative paste. I adapted the recipe for the Joconde Sponge from the Great British Baking Show. I love that show! All the creativity is mesmerizing!! Anyway… Let’s just say that I had the decorative paste all over me, the counter and everyplace else. The entire time I was making the paste I was thinking to myself “I am never doing this again” with a few other choice words, however when the dessert was finished, I loved how the Joconde added a finishing touch. So needless To say I may take a second crack at it!
P.S.
Food photography and the aspects of capturing pretty food is totally new to me. As I was trying to capture this shot, I had my camera on a tripod, which was also tethered to my laptop so that I could visually see what was happening as I moved things around without having to go look at the camera. I had already gotten a couple of good shots but wanted to try to bounce the light a different way with a light diffuser, I went to reposition my laptop forgetting that the camera was still attached and the next thing I new the camera and tripod were crashing into the triffles and mousse was flying everywhere. It was all over the tripod grip, the camera strap, tethering cord, my background, the table and the floor! I am thankful I did not get anything on the camera and that nothing was broken. This was one messy dessert!
Chocolate and Raspberry Trifle
- February 16, 2019
- 12
- 4 hr
- 702 Cals/Serving
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Ingredients
- Decorative Paste
- • 5 Tbs unsalted Butter, softened
- • 5 Tbs Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener
- • 2 Egg Whites
- • 3 Tbs Almond Flour, sifted
- • 3 Tbs Dagoba Cacao Powder, sifted
- • For the Joconde Sponge
- • 2 Eggs Whites
- • 1 Tbs Monkfruit Sweetener Classic
- • 4 ½ Tbs Ground Almond Slices
- • 4 ½ Tbs Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener
- • 2 eggs
- • 1 ½ Tbs Almond Flour, sifted
- • 1 ½ Tbs Unsalted Butter, melted
- Raspberry Mousse
- • 2 cups Fresh Raspberries
- • 1/2 cup Monkfruit Sweetener Classic
- • 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
- • 1-1/2 tsp Unflavored Gelatin
- • 1/4 cup Cold Water
- • 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- Chocolate Mousse
- • 2 eggs
- • 1/4 cup Monkfruit Sweetener Classic
- • 2 1/2 cups cold Heavy Whipping Cream, divided
- • 6 oz extra dark chocolate Guittard 100 %
- Brownies
- • 1 bar (3.5 oz) extra dark chocolate - Guittard 100 %
- • 4 1/2 oz butter
- • 3 large eggs
- • 15-20 drops Stevia Glycerite
- • 3/4 cup Tbs Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener
- • 1 cup Almond Flour
- • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dagoba Cacao Powder
- • 1/4 cup ground Chia Seeds
- • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions
- Step 1
- Joconde Sponge
- Step 2
- 1. Grease and line a 13in x 9in Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Cut a sheet of silicon to fit the base of the Swiss roll tin. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and lay the silicon sheet on top.
- Step 3
- 2. For the decorative paste, cream the butter and Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener together until light and fluffy and then gradually add the egg white, beating continuously. Fold in the flour and Dagoba Cacao Powder. Spread the paste thinly and evenly over the silicon mat with a palette knife. Drag a pastry diagonally through the paste to form a pinstripe pattern, scraping off the excess mixture after each drag. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 mins.
- Step 4
- 3. For the joconde sponge, heat the oven to 400˚. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Add the Monkfruit Sweetener Classic, one teaspoon at a time, whisking between each addition to make a glossy meringue. Cover with cling film and set aside.
- Step 5
- 4. Pour ground almonds and Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener into the bowl of a free-standing food mixer and add the whole eggs. Whisk together for 3-5 minutes, or until doubled in volume. Fold in the Almond Flour, and then gently fold in the meringue in three separate batches. Pour the melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold in, until incorporated.
- Step 6
- 5. Remove the sheet of silicon from the freezer and place into the base of the lined Swiss roll tin. Pour the Joconde sponge mixture over the pinstripe paste and level the surface with a palette knife. Bake for 5-7 minutes until pale, golden-brown and springy to touch.
- Step 7
- 6. Place a sheet of baking parchment over a cooling rack and turn the cake out onto it. Peel off the baking parchment and silicon sheet from the base of the cake and leave to cool completely.
- Step 8
- Raspberry Mousse
- Step 9
- 1. Place the raspberries in a food processor
- Step 10
- cover and puree. Strain and discard seeds. Transfer puree to a large bowl. Stir in Monkfruit Sweetener Classic and lemon juice, set aside.
- Step 11
- 2. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water
- Step 12
- let stand for 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir into raspberry mixture. Refrigerate until slightly thickened, about 1 hour.
- Step 13
- 3. Transfer gelatin mixture to a large bowl. Beat on high speed until foamy. Gradually add cream
- Step 14
- beat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set.
- Step 15
- Chocolate Mousse
- Step 16
- 1. Beat eggs and Monkfruit Sweetener Classic with your mixer for about 3 minutes.
- Step 17
- 2. Meanwhile heat 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan until just hot, not boiling. With mixer on low pour the hot cream into the egg mixture slowly until combined.
- Step 18
- 3. Next, add the egg/cream mixture back into the saucepan and over low heat, stir for five minutes constantly until thickened. Do not boil.
- Step 19
- 4. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate Guittard 100 % until melted. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled, stirring occasionally.
- Step 20
- 5. When the mixture is completely chilled and firm use your whisk attachment on your stand mixer to whip the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Remove chocolate from fridge and using the paddle attachment or a spoon fold/stir the whipped cream into the chocolate until incorporated and smooth. (I found using the paddle attachment on low speed worked best.)
- Step 21
- 6. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Step 22
- Brownies
- Step 23
- 1. Preheat oven to 350˚ and position the rack to the middle. Spray a 9×9 inch pan with baking spray and line with parchment so that the bottom and two opposite sides are mostly covered. Leave the excess parchment so that you can pull the brownies out of the pan when cool.
- Step 24
- 2. Break the chocolate Guittard 100 % into small pieces and add it and the butter into a small bowl placed over slowly simmering water. When most of the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl and stir the chocolate.
- Step 25
- 3. Place the eggs, Stevia Glycerite and Monkfruit Confectioners Sweetener into a medium bowl and mix to combine. Next beat in the chocolate. Add the dry ingredients and starting on low speed and gradually getting faster, mix until thoroughly combined. (starting on low prevents the cocoa powder from making a big cloud!)
- Step 26
- 4. Spread the thick brownie batter into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool in the pan. When cool, run a sharp thin knife around the edge and lift the brownies out of the pan with the parchment. (you will only use half a batch of the brownies for your trifle. You can freeze the leftovers and use at a later date.
- Step 27
- Assemble trifle alternating with ingredients ending with chocolate mousse. Garnish with brownie crumbles, raspberries, and Joconde sponge biscuit.
