Elderflower Mousse

This is a light delicate Mousse with a subtle and fresh flavour, everything you want from a dessert in Spring. We use our own Elderflower Cordial, but pre-made can also be used without detriment. Because of the delicacy of the flavour, any accompaniments need to be chosen carefully, dark chocolate is good (in fact we encase the mousse in a thin layer of dark chocolate). The perfect wine to go with this is a Chenin Blanc Demi-Sec, we use Domaine des Terres Blanches Blet Tendre.

Serves 6

Ingredients

120g sugar
28ml water
2 egg whites
200ml elderflower cordial
2 gelatin leaves
200ml whipping cream

Method

The first stage is to create an Italian meringue, which is not as difficult as it seems. The crucial element is to get the syrup temperature to the right level ie. 121°C.

Add the sugar to the water in a pan and gently heat to dissolve the sugar. Once this has happened increase the heat to bring the syrup to the boil.
Meanwhile whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl to form stiff peaks.
When the temperature in the sugar syrup reaches [b]121°C[/b], remove the pan from the heat and pour in a steady stream into the egg whites, whisking all the time. Continue to whisk until the meringue reaches room temperature.

Stage 2 is the assembly of the mousse.

Firstly soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for about 5 minutes.
Whip the cream until a ribbon consistency is achieved.
Pour the elderflower cordial into a pan and add the gelatin. Warm very gently until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove from the heat.
Pour the cordial and gelatin mixture into the Italian meringue and mix gently with a balloon whisk until smooth.
Using either a metal spoon or plastic spatula, fold the cream into the meringue mixture. When all is incorporated, spoon or pipe into serving dishes and refrigerate for 4 hours until set.
Serve cold