Alright i’m sure one or two of you may have gotten on of these for Christmas! You open the box, it’s not a giant chocolate at all – just lots of little ones. Luckily the box itself makes a perfect mould for making an actual giant cream…. i’m filling mine with a homemade strawberry mousse, I didn’t quite fancy essentially make one filled with strawberry flavoured icing sugar which would basically resemble toothpaste! On a small scale, they are pretty strong anyway, so I figured a lighter strawberry mousse with actual proper fresh strawberries was a good start and it was much lighter.
That said, if you do want to make it to the exact recipe, mix icing sugar and water to a thick paste is formed and add a little strawberry extract. The paste needs to be pretty thick indeedy though or it’ll all pour out! Pour this into the chocolate and set overnight.
Anyhow for our one it’s a little extra steps but really nice and light.
Get your strawberries, give them a wash, hull them and slice in half. Add to a large saucepan with the water. Over a medium heat warm the strawberries and keep stirring as they break down and soften. This will take about 5 minutes. Tip into a large bowl and whizz up the strawberries carefully with a hand blender (or into a food processor) puree these up until smooth. Still in the marshmallows whilst still warm and stir through as they break down and merge with the strawberry mixture. You can use the blender if you want to help break them down quicker, but the heat should melt the marshmallows. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Whilst it cools, whip the cream in a mixing bowl with an electric whisk until thick and stiff peaks form. Slowly fold this into the strawberry mixture until fully combined and consistent in colour. The strawberry marshmallow mousse is now ready, leave in the bowl until needed.
For the chocolate, break up 80% of it and add to a microwave proof mixing bowl. Microwave on small bursts stirring every 30 seconds or so until melted and smooth. Add the remaining 20% of the chocolate and keep stirring until melted and the whole mix is smooth.
Pour the dark chocolate into the mould using a pastry brush to work up the sides. Place in the freezer to get an initial set on it, keeping the chocolate warm. After a few minutes the first layer of chocolate should take another layer, so for strength, add some more chocolate, brushing up the sides, then set again for a few more minutes in the freezer. Once firmed enough pour the mousse mix into the chocolate bowl that has been formed in the mould. Carefully place this in the freezer for ten minutes just to get a set on the top part of the mousse. Very carefully drizzle the dark chocolate around the top of the mousse starting from the edges and working your way into the middle. Carefully transfer to a fridge and set for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Turn the giant quality street out of the mould and slice up… the chocolate with the mousse combination is super refreshing! I hope you enjoy it 🙂