How do you make your mousses/cake fillings?

The Chocolate Mousse I serve uses whipped cream, merangue, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, Callebaut chocolate, ruby port, and a locally-brewed stout.

Peace,
kmf

It's all about depth, there. The ruby port adds a fruity edge that some say Callebaut is lacking, but the stout adds a certain personality that is distinctive. I probably get more comments about this mousse than about any other menu item.

Since you on the west coast, try using Rogue "Shakespeare Stout" out of Newport Oregon, or Arrogant ******* Ale from Stone Brewery in San Diego.

Peace,
kmf

Oh, c'mon. That's silly. The server censored the name of that beer. Lemme see if I can get around the censors with a few carefully place spaces.

It's Arrogant B a s t a r d .

Peace,
kmf

Hum, I use different techiques for different flavored mousses. I started listing things but it's too much info./thoughts to list.

Not as a filling, I like the lightness of whites added.

With fruit mousses' in cakes I go with whipped cream with gelatin only.

But chocolate mousse I go several ways...generally chocolate mousses always add egg whites with cream (lightness) but for white choc. mousse techniquely I make a bavarian. It's richer/less grainy than a straight white choc. mousse. But with chocolate mousses adding nuts I usually add butter and fruit mousses with chocolate always add whites.

See if were talking mousse, I think of no gelatin...once it has gelatin in it falls into bavarian (to me), although many recipes dissagree with this. So this all gets complicated doesn't it.

Although I've never used a neutral mousse powder...I can't even tell you how it works...so how and why do you use it?

d. I usually post pretty earily while I'm trying to wake up or very late after a long day so that's my best attempt at an excuse for being so dumb. "Hi Wendy it's d." DAAAAAAAA, Gosh I feel stupid.

I had never really thought about this topic until you asked this question. It's stayed in the back of my mind since you wrote it and I need to think this through better. Having only myself as my educator (and what a poor job I do sometimes)I never really stopped to think I could go about making my mousses easier then I'm currently doing. (I just came back here to reread and rethink and I find you saying "hi" to me and my thoughts dissapeared to embarrasment for my stupidity.)

As I progress becoming a pastry chef I've had my light bulb going on moments...this subject has that potential... I'm not nearly the experimentor that you are...I don't have the chemistry knowledge the way you do.

But your question is really a good one...it's simple and huge both at the same time.

I've never thought about having a "base" on hand and working out from there daily. It seems like a great idea, kind of obvious. But I'm a slave to my recipes and make an anglaise or pate a bomb multipe times a day, because each recipe varied, instead of seeing the larger picture of making my own anglaise and working from there.

But to do that, you have to have a basic proportion guideline so you don't wind up with a weak mousse when you need a strong one or visa versa. If your like me, you really want to keep the gelatin as low as possible....Through trials I could come-up with my own formula (more of stealing what I like from the great chefs), but I don't really have the time or opportunity to have failures as I test. So how are you working, do you have a base formula you work off of or are you just winging it (so to speak)? or was this something I would have learned at culinary school?

I'm always humbled as I work someone greats'(like Michel Rouxs')recipes. They seem to hit the proportions so well and then they'll do something different that makes me wild with enthusism. I'm finding this with Joel Bellouets' recipes too. Then I think about working thru the series of Death By Chocolate where I have never seen anyone put together mousse so simply....I have mixed thoughts about that now. I so rarely get to eat my completed product as my customer does that I don't even know what I'm serving sometimes. How can I make the judgement that a more complex mousse is any better then the quick one when it's in a completed torte (is it worth the effort)? Do you really ever get the time to taste your product assembled?


Since I've never used the neutral mousse mix I can't judge it but it seems one dimensional (which is fine sometimes when your really busy).

Where to begin?

P.S. I've gotten sleepy so I'm not sure if I've made any sense?????????

Yes, I really thought you did go to culinary school. You know the tech. stuff so much more than I, it's hard to beleive you hunkered down that hard on your own to get the science down. When I seriously try reading the tech stuff I start to fall asleep (literally).

Please tell me where you learned bakers percentages? I know I need to (and I want to) learn this but I haven't come across it in any books I've got.


I bought some compounds from driedopple when we were all talking about it at "web." so far I haven't been very happy with them. I got pistachio, raspberry, lemon, almoretto (can't spell). I was hoping that I could use them in my mousses and frostings to shortcut the process etc...but by the time you add enough to taste they thin down your product too much and I still wasn't so happy with the flavors they weren't clean/natural. The pistachio has a perfuminess to it.....

Are you using these? Previously I was using Karps lemon emulsion (I really like it in frostings!)and almond emulsion. My pistichio paste I think was from karps too, which was far more intense than driedopple.

I don't own Professional Baking (I'd be happy to get it so

Sorry, my key board froze up and I just hit "add reply" before I lost that too.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is we don't have the same books so it's hard to talk about recipes with-out the other being able to see them to know what your speaking about. I don't mind buying books, but it will take me a couple of days to locate them. In the mean time we can post recipes....

I mostly make mousses that have chocolate or white chocolate in them. For fruit mousses (I never have any exotic fruits on hand) I have to stop by the grocery store myself to pick these items up...and they don't have much in the mid-west. I'm always going with strawberry or raspberry mousses only, since we always have both on hand and my clients seem to always go with what they know.

I get shy about experimenting because I've had a couple failures with my consistancy when I've played around. I had one mousse that was so strong you could have built a house on it and others that wouldn't hold with-out freezing to slice it. I can see adjusting your flavoring, whipped cream and meringues but playing with gelatin scares me, I just don't have a basic figure in my head to work off of, like : I'll need 4 sheets of gelatin with 1 lb. whipped cream to 10 oz. meringue and 6 oz. of flavoring, etc...

Which ties into many of the European pro books (like Hermes, Bellouet, Roux...) they seem to work as your proposing but they aren't pre-slicing their cakes. They would be a good place to start but as I read them I fear their strenght. I need to re-read the Roux Brothers book, I really think he works this way. Hears another thought, how do you stop from making 4 meringues a day?....I've used instant meringue powder and found it to work pretty well, have you ever played with it?.

It all would be o.k. if I didn't have a chef watching my every move waiting to find fault in me so he could tell me how to do it right....I have to play with products I have on hand because if I get in something like passsion fruit in he'll be all over me waiting to tell me how no one will ever buy that, all the other pastry chefs made that kind of stuff!


Can you post your base recipe from Professional Baking so I can compare it to a couple that I frequently use? Plus where you've gone from there.

P.S. I make a peanut butter mousse, then combine it with a layer of ganche in my torte or a layer of chocolate bavarian. But I haven't made a mousse with both choc. and peanut butter....add peanut butter (or any nut butter to your ganches they work well).

I'm stuck on dulce de leche s' popularity right now in all the publications. Where does it differ from Carmel?

Here's a nifty little formula for figuring out gelatin amounts. Mix 1 oz powdered gelatin with 5 oz of water. You can keep this in the fridge, but since it' all protein it won't last forever. 1 oz of this mixture is enough to gel 1 lb of mousse. You want a little firmer, add 1/4 oz more and a little less for less firm. To convert to sheets...I figure the gelatin above is one part in six. If there are 10 sheets to an ounce, then one part in six is 1.6 sheets. You could use that as a starting point..1.6 sheets per lb of mousse.
Have you ever used Hero products? All of their flavoring compounds that I have used have been high quality. I use lemon, orange, raspberry and coffee. They also make bakery jams I use on the Danish.

BigHat:
You mentioned Hero products in the preceeding post. Have you or anyone else out there ever tried their preserves? Ooohhhh, the best I ever had. 'been buying them for 26 years. :D

Okay, lemme add my mousse's 2 cents worth.

Baker's German Chocolate, melted and folded into whipped cream. The preceeding mixture is then folded into a meringue. Chill. It's a recipe from Raymon Oliver's LA CUISINE.

We buy from a company called Sid Wainer's, one of the premier food service suppliers around here. They have anything you can think of. They recently started carrying bakery jams and confitures with their own label. The apricot confiture is to die for. The smell of apricot to me is THE smell of the bakeshop, just like the smell of bordelaise reduction brings me right back to the kitchen. I'm not positive, but I think I've seen Hero stuff in the grocery store.

dolce 'd leche is caramelized sweeted and condenced milk done right in the can! use caution as it can explode. I just do it in a sauce pan on very low heat for 'bout two hours. Also done with goats milk for more intence earthy flavor.


Mousses can be made so many ways, just be sure to cook your eggs either by making swiss, italian meringue and zabaglione style or pate a bombe yolks.

I like to keep pate a bombe in the freezer and whip up a mousse whenever I want.

Flavor compounds and mousse setting powders have come a long way and are very helpful. Don't be afraid to try either, they may make your life a little easier!

(not always a bad thing)

;)

I was making dulce de leche in chocolate cups last year and watched in stupified amazement as the cups began to melt as I piped in the too-warm stuff. Also made Pierre Herme's creme brulee ice cream with caramel swirled into it and called that dulce de leche ice cream for an Argentinian wine dinner. That was good stuff.

Ditto on the "Hero" compounds. I use raspberry, lemon, and pistachio.
Braun mocha
Flachsmann Passion Fruit from Albert Uster is fabulous, don't get Dohler, not good!
Braun Neutral for mousses. Easy.

I guess I'm abit slow but we have so many topics going now it's a bit confuising. Hope this makes sense....


We are talking compounds, purees and preserves....I use the hero preserves too and braun mocha compound. Actually I don't choose what I use, since my chef does all the ordering and doesn't listen to my imput... occasionally I order my product when he's willing to admit he doesn't understand or is too busy. I find this most frustrating!! Some of the stuff he gets me is just horrible. (Sorry, sometimes I just rant...needing someone who understands)

The frozen bombe recipe looks very much like what I've been doing for Frozen Souffles, even like the tortoni in the choc. spago book. Explain more please....what are you doing with the frozen bombe? Are you using this in your tortes or selling it as it's own item? We don't sell "mousse" they won't buy it, I make and use mousse in other desserts not as a seperate item. Is that what you were refering to?

d. I've done alot of work out of the Spago book if you ever want input...it's a very good book. Did you read us talking about it under the book thread at this site?

I have seen Gilsens book many times. I own Practical Baking (5th addition) by Sultan. The Modern Patissier by William Barker and Bo Friebergs book. We've kind of talked about his before...many of us are not thrilled with pro-book recipes because they don't always taste great. BUT< BUT they do help with knowledge and some recipes are very good...it's just hard to weed through all of them. I'm also most interested in the Amendola book m.brown mentioned on another thread, where can I buy it? It would be very nice to have some real imput on a couple probooks, that saves alot of time and confusion! I will get the Gilsens book asap...but that will be a week or so.

I'm open to the mousse mixes, absolutely. But I need some dirrection because I don't really understand how you use them. Could anyone offer a sample recipe using it so I could understand what your doing?

I've never heard of keeping pate a bombe in your freezer? Hum....just defrost and fold in? Really? O.k.... so do you have a base formula you use m.brown or do you just wing it to taste?

So are you using that formula day in and day out thebighat? How did you learn that proportion? I hate to sound so stupid but I get frustrated/nervous just relaxing and following your instructions with the gelatin(which I trust is good advice). It just starts to get confusing because (maybe I've read too many recipes) I can't find that standardized proportions when I look at all my favorite mousse recipes. I get crazy worrying that it won't hold up to slicing, but not be grossly firm. EEK! I don't know why I'm so bothered by this, I take risks everyday all day long. I rarely get burned by a recipe anymore but I still can with gelatin proportions.

Would anyone be interested in posting their (tried and true) favorite mousse recipes as a resource? As another topic so things don't become to confusing...or maybe thats here already (I've never looked at the archieves here)?

I'm always in the process of creating/needing new tortes. It's one thing to work on the flavor combinations but if you could do that with known good recipes it would shortcut the process a bit and add to your resources.

I have many that are great, I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested?

No, I'm not using much at all, but that's only because this summer at the country club is The Summer of The Cookie. I'm not making any desserts at all. But I guarantee that it works. I got it from an instructor at..ta-dah!! culinary school. This instructor was voted one of the top ten pastry chefs in the country two years running by Pastry Arts magazine, so I kinda sorta think she knew her stuff. I've seen the phrase "self-taught" in this thread and I think that is absolutely legitimate. I considered myself self-taught till I got to school and then learned other ways to do things, and I'm sure if I worked at another shop, I'd learn other ways to do things. That's one thing about this line of work..always something new to learn and have fun with.

Here's a sample of what you get in culinary school..copious homework. There's some Bavarian cream and mousse recipes in here, but this is a very long file.

some homework notes

Wow,
Looks like my notes from school. But, I never had the time to redo them. It's still in my binders all handwritten. You are so organized.

Dear W.DeBord: I certainly would be interested in a few "recipes" for mousse fillings. I am getting so confused! So many of the products (that sound wonderful) are not available in my area, and a just a few recipes would make life simpler for me! Thanks so much.

I can find references for tons of mousse recipes, that wasen't exactly what I meant. I was talking about sharing my personal tried and true recipes, the backbone of my recipe file type recipes in exchange for those from others in the same position, only the best for the best...oh, well.


d. I'm confused abit, so you don't like eggs in your mousse (I must have misunderstood along the way, what is eggie to you? adding whites or working with pate a bombs?)....than the way Desaulniers works his mousses should please you.?.? Hum, which recipes did you try that you weren't crazy about from him, maybe you just hit the wrong ones.....they fit the decription of non-eggie totally.

I'm not following something.....

I was reading while waiting at my zillion and one stop lights on my path to work yesterday and right in the beginning of Au Coeur Des Saveurs is pages of info on making mousses. I thought that was going to be a great find!.......and then I read, it's like 3 or 4 pages about making chocolate mousse talking about temp.s, ingred. and proceedure with reference to starting with a "Base" but nothing about professional proceedures inregard to repetitive mousse proceedures. So close..........

Still hoping to learn some answers from previous questions posted on this thread....any input?

If your open... definately try his chocolate strawberry mousse (I do that cake alot when I need something quick with a simple quick presentation). His chocolate carmel mousse and choc. raspbery mousses are pretty good too...actually there are MANY (I haven't opened any of his books in awhile so I can't list more off the top of my head).


I would certainly agree his basic chocolate mousse with no whites is nothing to repeat but I use his other chocolate mousse as my everyday mousse.


6 oz. choc.
1 1/2 c. cream
3 whites
2 tbsp. sugar (put into whites when full)

There are alot of terrific recipes in his first 3 books (I have the 4th but have only I've only done 1 thing from it). I hope you will give it a chance again......


For non-chocolate based mousse recipes I really like Michel Rouxs' recipes for banana, lime, mint, caramel, apple and a couple more. His mousses are just right in the gelatin department, not too much/nor too little.

Hello BigHat: Thank you so much for the "homework notes", I enjoyed reading them and I printed out several. I hope this won't seem like a stupid question, but the very first recipe calls for 1 lb.8oz of pastry cream. Well, where does one find pastry cream? I would love to make this Diplomat Cream. Sorry to bother you with such a question, I am a beginner in this area. Thanks so much.

thebighat: No need to respond to my previous post as I found a recipe for pastry cream. Ooops. Sorry to bother you.