Raspberry mousse with mango and kiwi garnish

"For last year's voice belongs to last year's language

And next year's voice awaits another voice

And to make an end, is to make a beginning." T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

I can't remember when raspberries started making their way into our fridge.  First of all they're not as sweet as strawberries.  Most of the time a punnet costs more than just a few songs, and most of all they don't last like most berries.  But some how, some time ago, in some way, raspberries took us on their pink awesomeness.  And when they're in season, we are taken by the reins and succumb to their  blushed coral appeal.   We usually buy them fresh in punnets and keep them in the freezer.   J loves to nibble on them straight from the freezer. Frost and all.   She's the one who loves sour and tangy and sweet all at the same time. 

Red-crimson-pink-blushed-coral euphoria!

This raspberry mousse was inspired by one of my adventures in Kitchen 10, when Chef A had a few of  us join the other class in Kitchen 4 to prepare-cook-and-serve-food-for-service, to actual paying customers.  And rostered for dessert, this raspberry mousse rocked my world right there!  And so the challenge was to recreate this dessert for our new year's eve feast.  Turns out so easy to make and the only bit of hurdle was finding the gelatin leaves (which was a quick visit to The Essential Ingredient in Rozelle, $6.95 for 15 gold standard leaves).

measuring ingredients. mise en place.

2 punnets fresh or 250g frozen raspberries

120g caster sugar

20ml lemon juice

3 gelatin (gold) leaves

250ml thickened cream

Puree the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a deep small sauce pan or jug, using a stick blender (or a conventional blender).  

*Option at this point, to run the puree through a drum sieve for a smoother silkier mousse.  If you opt to do this, you will have lesser amount of mousse, and may have to use more (double) quantities of raspberries to yield the 8 dessert cups.

Puree heaven! 

Soak gelatin in cold water to soften the leaves for 5-7 minutes, then quickly dip in a small bowl with about 1/4 cup warm water.  Remove and squeeze out gently.   Add to the puree and stir gently.

Whisk the cream to soft peaks and fold gently through the puree mix.

Scoop into margarita or martini glasses (or use plastic dessert cups).  Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour or until the gelatin has set.

Chillin' and groovin'

While the mousse is chilling, prepare the mango and kiwi garnish.

3 large fresh kiwi
2 mangoes
100g caster sugar
1 cinnamon quill
1 star anise
200ml water

Peel and dice the kiwi and mango and set aside.

In a small saucepan, boil the water, sugar, cinnamon and star anise to make a light syrup.  Strain through a fine sieve and set aside to cool.

To serve, top the chilled raspberry mouse with the about 2 tablespoons of the diced mango and kiwi fruits and drizzle with the light syrup. Add more of the fruit and syrup if preferred.

Note on gelatin use.  Here's a link if you opt to use powdered gelatin or agar agar as substitute for gelatin leaves,

As is tradition, we spread out some round fruits (Filipino tradition to welcome the new year with round-shaped fruits to attract prosperity) and served up some special dishes to welcome another year!

As this is a delayed post, I'm sure every one had a blast celebrating the coming of the new year, just as Sydney exploded with psychedelic colours and showed the world what a grand diva she is.



We celebrated with our own quirky psychedelic colours in sync with my in-laws from back home with a 70s themed party.  Peace, love and happiness to you all for 2012!  Yeah baby!