ON THE SIDE: A book recommendation: A Chocolate Moose for Dinner by Fred Gwynne
Don’t get me wrong, I love sweets. But I’ve never been one to order the triple fudge cake for dessert at a restaurant. That’s my sister. She’s the sweet tooth in the family. I’m more of an oatmeal-cookie/apple-pie/carrot-cake kind of dessert person.
This Chocolate Mousse Pie, though? I’d order this in a heartbeat.
It’s light, sweet, and chocolatey without being overly rich. It’s also a stunner in the presentation department. Perfect for an evening dessert with guests (or maybe just one sweet Valentine?!) when you want something that looks and tastes wonderful, but won’t leave everyone feeling heavy.
I made this pie for our annual block party a few years back when I was 9 months pregnant with Miss Em. After a crazy evening of music and dancing on our front lawn, I went into labor at 5 am the very next morning! I was thrilled to see this leftover pie in my fridge when we got home from the hospital a few days later. Over the course of the next few sleep-deprived days, I personally ate ALL of the leftovers with fresh raspberries and oh man, did it hit the spot. Since then, it’s become my go-to dessert for everything from dinner with friends to Christmas Eve.
And remember my musings about the need for espresso in such things as chili and chocolate desserts? Yep, you bet it’s in this one… coffee has a way of bringing out the chocolatey flavor in chocolate desserts. It tastes only slightly like coffee…but more like ultra-rich chocolate. If you’re REALLY not coffee fan, you can certainly leave it out…it’ll still be amazing.
For little ones, the mousse makes a delicious dessert dip for chocolate cookies leftover from making your crust (we like the Chocolatey Cat Cookies from Trader Joe’s).
And this Chocolate Mousse Pie seems to only get better as it sits, so go ahead and make it 1-2 days in advance of when you plan on devouring it.
Little Hands Can…
- Crush the chocolate cookies (in a large Ziploc bag using a rolling pin, or in the food processor)
- Measure out the espresso, vanilla and salt
- Stir the chocolate mixture
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture (teach them how to gently fold, so they don’t deflate the cream)
- Wash the raspberries (or strawberries if you prefer) and decorate the top of the pie
- 2 cups chocolate wafer cookies
- ¼ cup butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I like the Enjoy Life brand, as they're allergy friendly)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder, or 2 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- fresh raspberries or strawberries (for decorating/serving)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lightly greasing it with butter. Set aside.
- Using a rolling pin with your cookies in a large Ziploc bag, or in a food processor, crush the chocolate cookies until finely ground. You should end up with about 1¼ cups of cookie crumbs. Add the melted butter and brown sugar and stir well, until the crumb mixture resembles wet sand. Pour the crumbs into your prepared pan, spreading evenly across the bottom. Using the bottom of a small glass, press the crumb mixture on the bottom and up the sides a bit to form a crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- In a small pot, gently heat 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream over medium low heat until hot, but not boiling. You should see little bubbles starting to form around the edges of the pot. Stir frequently, as you don't want your cream to burn.
- In a large bowl, add the chocolate chips, vanilla, espresso and salt. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate mixture and let it sit for 1-2 minutes so the chips will melt. Stir gently with a spatula until the chocolate is all melted and the mixture comes together. It will look like a big bowl of melted chocolate. Let it cool while you whip the remaining cream.
- Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, whip the remaining 2 cups of cream and ¼ cup of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form (the cream should stand up on it's own when you lift the beaters out). Using a large spatula, add the whipped cream to the bowl with the chocolate mixture and GENTLY fold it in until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Pour the filling on top of the cooled crust, pushing it to the edges and smoothing the top with spoon or offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.
- When ready to serve, top with fresh raspberries or strawberries.
I keep a can of Cafe Bustelo espresso in my freezer for recipes like this one.
Dark chocolate would also likely work well instead of semisweet.
If you don't have a springform pan, you could also use a deep dish pie plate and it should work just fine.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious
On the Side
Chocolate mousse for dessert may make your kids think of an actual chocolate moose! More homophones, I know..but they’re just everywhere and such a fun way to play with language. A Chocolate Moose for Dinner by Fred Gwynne (yep, Herman Munster himself) is an adorable book full of hilarious idioms and homophones that illustrate one little girl’s silly understanding of what her mother and father tell her.
Side note: this book may be more appropriate for an older child (1st/2nd/3rd grader) who has a greater understanding of abstract concepts like idioms. For toddlers and preschoolers, this book is harder to understand, but funny nonetheless!
Before reading, you can discuss…
- What is an idiom? An idiom is a common phrase that means something different than what it says. There is a literal (exact) meaning of the phrase and a figurative (not literal, metaphorical) meaning. Give some examples to help your child understand.
- What is a homophone? A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word, but has a different meaning and may be spelled differently. We learned about homophones with a recent chili recipe!
Some questions you can ask during or after reading…
- Can you figure out the correct word (the homophone) needed to make sense of the sentence? For example, which word is needed to make sense of this sentence: “Mommy says she had a chocolate moose for dinner last night.” Mousse, not moose!
- Gwynne does a great job of illustrating the literal meaning of idioms, such as “Stories like these drive me up a wall!” For each idiom you spot, can you figure out what the phrase really means?
Adults use idioms all the time…it’s just part of our everyday language. If nothing else, this book teaches US (parents) that children may have an entirely different understanding when we say things like “It’s time to hit the hay!”, “Chill out!” or “You crack me up!” See if you can use idioms in your everyday language around the house, using this idiom list as a guide. When one comes up, stop and ask your child to help clarify the actual meaning of the phrase.
For more books using idioms, check out the Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish. Hilarious!
Disclaimer: As with all of our recipes, my suggestions for how kids can help with a particular recipe are based on what has worked in our kitchen. Your child may be able to help more or less based on their age and/or ability. As always, make sure you are properly supervising kids in the kitchen.
Samantha says
February 11, 2016 at 8:00 AMOk-I’m with you-not a huge chocolate person either, but this looks sooooo beautiful! I just found my Valentine’s Day dessert! Question-do you think they could be made to be individual sized? Cannot wait for this yumminess-Mark & the kids will be so so so happy!
Sally says
February 11, 2016 at 8:31 PMThanks, Sam! Yes, for sure. You could even just make the mousse, layer in some raspberries and and sprinkle the cookie crumbs on top to make it even easier, like a parfait. Enjoy!
Samantha says
February 12, 2016 at 6:33 AMAmazing-totally trying that!
Jenni says
February 12, 2016 at 2:32 PMI love this recipe! Soooooo good. One of my faves!
Sally says
February 13, 2016 at 2:55 PMThanks! Me too!