FOOD FRIDAY - CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TIRAMISÙ

“Everybody’s got their poison, and mine is sugar.” - Derrick Rose 

I have a sweet tooth – no, perhaps I have several. Maybe even a mouthful of them! I do like my desserts, candies, chocolates, sweetmeats of all kinds. Even after a Lucullan meal of several courses, I don’t seem to feel replete unless my mouth tastes something sweet. In any case it seems I am not the only one because every meal worth its salt finishes off with a dessert course. Some nutritionists claim that people have been trained since childhood to expect a sugary dessert after a full meal. In many families, it’s quite the done thing, and perhaps the way to bribe children into finishing their greens!

But maybe the chemistry of the human brain is to blame for the after-dinner sweet tooth. There is evidence to suggest that eating sugar (or other simple carbohydrates) can enhance the absorption of the amino acid tryptophan found in some foods. The tryptophan then enables an increase in the levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of well-being. Hence, bring on the dessert!

For some people, a heavy meal can result in a condition called postprandial (or reactive) hypoglycaemia, a state of low blood sugar that is marked by hunger, weakness, sweating, shakiness, sleepiness, lightheadedness, anxiety or confusion. Consuming sweet foods is one way to counteract the symptoms of reactive hypoglycaemia. The causes of this condition are varied and can be either inherited or acquired.

Well, whatever the cause of your sweet tooth, here is a recipe that hits the spot: 

Chocolate Mousse Tiramisù

Ingredients

4 cups of your standard, favourite recipe chocolate mousse

500 mL of thickened whipping dairy cream

1 cup icing sugar (dissolved in the cream)

9 Savoiardi (lady finger) biscuits

20 mL amaretto liqueur

20 mL maraschino liqueur

250 g mascarpone cheese

Grated dark chocolate for serving

Method

Prepare six glass dessert serving cups by chilling in the refrigerator. Dissolve the amaretto liqueur in about 200 mL of the cream. Break up the biscuits into 3-4 pieces. Dip into liqueur/cream mixture to soften slightly and place one-and-a-half biscuits into each of the prepared serving cups. Any liqueur/cream mixture left over can be poured over the biscuits in the cups.

Spoon the chocolate mousse evenly (3/4 cup) into each of the cups and smooth the surface. Refrigerate. Meanwhile, prepare the mascarpone cream: Soften the cheese in a bowl by stirring with a fork and smooth it up as much as you can. Dissolve the maraschino liqueur to the remaining cream and slowly add the cream into the cheese, little by little while stirring, to incorporate it. Continue to stir until you have a smooth, soft mixture.

Spoon (or pipe) the mascarpone cream over the chocolate mousse. Refrigerate until ready to serve and garnish by grating dark chocolate on top.

This post is part of the Photo Sunday meme.