Jamun/ Wild Indian Java Plum Mousse. When Jamuns {wild Indian Java plums} are in season, a Jamun Mousse is always on the cards, a simple no bake dessert made at least once in the season. Jamuns are an acquired taste because of the astringent edge the fruit has, so the jamun mousse also carries a hint of that edge. If you enjoy jamuns, you will enjoy this.The secret to a smooth mousse is a smooth fruit puree, and this is no different. When we were kids, the first jamuns would only appear during the monsoons. We’d shake them off the trees, foraging was the only way to get to them. A small sprinkle over of rock salt and they would macerate, yielding the most amazing purple juice and taste that would shock the tongue in the nicest of ways. That the clothes would be purple, not to forget purple stained teeth, tongue, fingers & nails for days together. That was the joy of being oblivious to the parental stares of disapproval!Slowly over the last decade, jamun trees are the domain of birds, and kids nowadays don’t love the astringent taste as we did. Besides, they’re so spoilt for choice with so many more fruits now available, so foraging is a thing of the past. Lives in my memories with other fruit like shahtoot {mulberries} , ber {Indian jujube} and mangoes we ate off trees. Now everything comes neatly packaged at the local fruit vendor!However, to cut a long story short, must make the best of what the times have to offer. Use fruit in season when the taste is the best, ripeness at its peak. With jamuns flooding the market, this regional stone fruit makes for a great dessert, the Jamun/ Wild Indian Java Plum Mousse.… and with some left over fruit puree, I made these chia seed breakfast puddings. I’ll share the recipe next if you like!
Jamun/ Wild Indian Java Plum Mousse
When Jamuns {wild Indian Java plums} are in season, a Jamun Mousse is always on the cards.
Jamuns are an acquired taste because of their astringent edge, so the jamun mousse also carries a hint of the edge. If you enjoy jamuns, you will enjoy this.
The secret to a smooth mousse is a smooth fruit puree.
Keyword dessert, eggless, fruit, gluten free, glutenfree, no bake, sweet
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 3 hourshours40 minutesminutes
Servings 4people
Ingredients
Jamun puree
500gJamun/ Wild Indian Java Plum
50graw sugar/boora
1tbspbalsamic vinegar
Whipped cream filling
50mlmilktepid
1 1/2tspgelatin
100gwhite chocolate
400mlsingle cream
30mlclarified butter {ghee}melted, cooled
50graw sugar/boora
Topping
1tspbrown sugar
1tsplime juice
Pinch Himalayan pink salt
Fresh mint to garnish
Instructions
Jamun puree
Wash the jamun well, drain, ass 50g sugar. Leave to macerate for about 30 minutes. Mash well with clean hands, removing as much pulp as possible. Blend the pulp until smooth, stir in the balsamic vinegar. Chill. Can be made a day in advance if need be.
Reserve 1/2 cup for topping. Add 1 tbsp brown sugar to this reserved cup, and microwave for 30 seconds, full power. Stir to mix, then stir in lime juice and salt. Chill.
Jamun Mousse
Melt the white chocolate with 100ml cream. Whisk until smooth. Leave to cool.
Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tbsp of warm water. Leave to soften, then stir until clear. {Stand the bowl over warm water if required}
Place chilled cream, sugar and clarified butter/ghee in bowl of stand mixer and whisk on highest speed for 5-7 minutes until medium stiff peaks form.
Gently stir in the melted white chocolate mix and jamun puree, taking care not to lose the whipped in lightness of the cream. Taste for sweetness.
Strain over the gelatin mix, and gently fold in. Reserve 1/2 cup and pour the rest into stem glasses.
Stir about 1 tbsp of the reserved jamun pulp into the 1/ 2 cup reserved mousse, and top each glass. Leave to set in fridge.
Once set, top with jamun topping and fresh mint leaves.
This Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta recipe post is somewhat special for me and I’ll just tell you why! Other than the dessert being drop dead delicious of course, the recipe share on my blog comes along as I struggle to feed my hungry blog. I’ve been traveling a bit of late, and sometimes things get too hectic. In the midst of all that the poor blog suffers.There was a time where if we had broadband network issues, I’d throw a royal fit, mope for hours and nothing at all would get done. I wouldn’t even feel like shooting the dessert I created because what was the point anyway thoughts ran through my head. All that’s now history and it’s thankfully been that way for a while. Honestly, once you get used to a good or rather a great network, life seems SO EASY! Of course it’s not a great idea to get addicted to the net, but if your work revolves around it, you need certain comfort levels that are assured, and my Airtel 4G network does more than that!Hmmm where do I begin? It’s to strange that when you begin thinking about how basics we take for granted make life so much better, it surprises you and how! Makes you think too! For something as simple as this blogpost, I wrote it up while sitting at the airport in Hyderabad a couple of nights ago. Just what I love about a dependable network. Transferred the images from my cell phone in seconds, and these are heavy files mind you. It was as easy as quick basic editing online, uploaded to the blog in seconds and I was good to go.The speed is great. I’ve used this network forever, and it just seems to get better and better. There’s no way I am changing it. In Hyderabad, I enjoyed snappy Airtel 4G speed, uploading stories non stop to my Instagram handle.And just a few days before Hyderabad, we visited Tanhau, a boutique resort in Ghweri, Uttarakhand. It was SO REMOTE that cell networks barely worked, yet even there I managed to download high res files from my wireless SD card to my cell, then shared them over wifi to stories on Instagram. A nice set of Tanhau Tales actually if you’d like to stop by and see the highlights on my Instagram handle!Being connected all the time has made my life simple and my work stress-free, leaving me so much time where it matters. Anyone who depends on connectivity and networks will know what I mean.I’ve made this recipe a couple of times already. It’s that good! Try it and tell me if you love it as much as I do! Why experiment when others have?
Food for thought? Choose your recipes wisely. And your mobile network too!
Delicious, divine, sinful and silky, if you love a good panna cotta and chocolate is your flavour, then dive right in! This might just be the dessert you are looking for!
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 4 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
500gsingle cream
2 1/2tspgelatin
125mlwhole milk
120gbrown sugar
150gdark couverture chocolate52%
Instructions
Sprinkle the gelatin over the warm milk and leave to soften.
Meanwhile, put the chocolate, cream and brown sugar into a heavy bottom pan, and simmer over gentle heat.
Stir the cream mixture and take off heat when small bubbles begin to appear around the edges at the bottom. Stir in the gelatin mix. Taste and adjust sugar if desired.
Allow to cool until lukewarm, then pass through sieve and pour into serving glasses/bowls.
Chill for at last 6-8 hours, better overnight.
You could pour unsweetened single cream on top for a colour variation, and berries if you like. Finish with a dusting of chocolate shavings. That's optional
Dark Chocolate Halloween Pudding with meringue ghosts and fondant pumpkins on cookie dirt. It’s our favourite pudding in yet another avatar. What’s not to love about pudding that comes together with pantry essentials in next to no time! What if I told you the pudding is eggless and gluten free too? All that and more. No refined sugar, and addictive good, it’s a pudding that’s been made often at home.This oat pudding turned out to be very popular and was made several times over when I shared it on Instagram stories. Folk found it addictive, easy to make and comparatively guilt free. Then again, anything chocolate is always popular. The Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding from my previous post was just another version of my original recipe.The pudding was inspired by these beautiful Daniel Wellington watches I was gifted recently. The classic good looks, vintage tans and smooth finish inspired how my puddings looked. I had such a great time bringing these together! It was published in The Hindu a few days ago.The original pudding had walnuts, but this Dark Chocolate Halloween Pudding went fall flavoured with cinnamon to stay in season. I wasn’t too sure cinnamon and chocolate would pair well. Of course I was proved quite wrong. They paired beautifully. The rest of the assembling is quite simple. You can make the meringue ghosts in advance. If you’d like to go completely egg free, skip the meringue ghosts. Maybe use marshmallows, or pipe ghosts out of stiff whipping cream, using chocolate chips as eyes.
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding with Pumpkin Mascarpone Mousse … dessert that was waiting to happen. Some things are meant to be and this certainly was. It’s a little late but is headed off for the #virtualpumpkinparty hosted by Sara over at Cake Over Steak. I had pudding ready in the fridge and some fresh pumpkin puree that I made yesterday.
There’s something about the season. The minute summer ebbs away, I reach out for the pumpkin. More often than never, you will find some oven roasted pumpkin in the fridge. On luckier days, I’ll have already made it into a puree! I love the sweetness it offers, and the ease of use. This was breakfast a few days ago, a very inspired one actually. The fresh pumpkin puree that I made day before was calling my name. So was my hungry rumbling tummy.
Trying to stay more full and get healthier everyday with least fuss {and more veggies!}, this fall inspired breakfast bowl was goodness stirred together. Greek yogurt whisked with honey and a 1/2 cup of fresh chilled pumpkin puree. Some absolutely delicious granola and a drizzle of honey finished it off. I roast pumpkin for salad too quite often. This is one of my favourites, a tossed salad with chickpeas!
So you can imagine that I’m a huge fan of this humble vegetable and the #virtualpumpkin party was just the thing to grab my attention. I read it off Amisha’s instastory on instagram, and Sara was good enough to have me over, even though I was late. The requirements for the pumpkin party were simple … ‘share an original pumpkin-based recipe on your blog. It can be a dessert, a main dish, a cocktail, etc. – it just needs to incorporate pumpkin or a similar winter squash in some way.‘
So here I am, with a really simple, fast track dessert, which is quite healthy actually. The base is a Dark Chocolate Oat Pudding, slightly different from the one I shared here a few days ago. I skipped the walnuts, made the process simpler, and used cinnamon to tie in the flavours. The layers are chocolate pudding, spices sweet pumpkin puree, and a whipped pumpkin mascarpone mousse. I made tiny fondant pumpkins too!
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding with Pumpkin Mascarpone Mousse
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding with Pumpkin Mascarpone Mousse is a simple, fast track dessert, which is quite healthy actually. The layers are oat chocolate pudding, spiced sweet pumpkin puree, and a whipped pumpkin mascarpone mousse. Eggless, wholegrain & gluten free, it’s truly yum!
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 4 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding
400gmilk
200mllow fat cream
30gcocoa powder
1tspcinnamon powder
35gbreakfast oats
150gdark couverture chocolatechopped
75gbrown sugar
30ghoney
Pumpkin Mousse
Fresh pumpkin puree from 400g pumpkinchilled {100g+300g}
450gmascarpone
4-5tbsppowdered sugar {to taste}
2tsppumpkin pie spice mix
Pumpkin seeds to garnish
Instructions
Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Oat Pudding
Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.
Once it becomes as thick as a custard, take off heat, allow to cool, then puree with an immersion blender or blend in a food processor until smooth.
Pour into serving bowls / glasses.
Cool and then chill for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
Pumpkin mouse
Whisk the pumpkin puree with sugar to taste and the pumpkin pie spice. {Reserve the remaining pumpkin puree}
Whisk 100g of the pumpkin puree with about 100g of the mascarpone until smooth.
Gently whisk/fold in the remaining mascarpone so as not to lose volume. {Gently add more sugar if required.}
Place into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Assemble
Divide the reserved pumkin puree over the set chocolate pudding using a piping bag. Level out gently.
Pipe the mascarpone pumpkin mousse over the pumpkin puree.
Dark Chocolate Oat Pudding … eggless, vegetarian, indulgent, healthy. Life has such a fine balance as far as desserts and the sweet tooth goes. The advent of the holiday season makes it guilt ridden. Often you crave for something seductive, sinful and indulgent, yet cannot afford to swallow the calories that come with it.
With the festive season well underway, it’s always the more the merrier when it comes to desserts. Leave it to me, and I would pretty much try and squeeze and recreate every dessert to fit into wine glasses, or any glasses for that matter. There is something quite ethereal and fun about doing desserts in glasses. Convenient and quick too!
This dessert was no different. It was simple, quick to make, served individual portions and looked quite good. Deeply soul satisfying, smooth with beautiful texture, it’s quite delightful for an eggless chocolate pudding.
It’s also got ingredients that scream “we are good for you”. I am very fond of using oats in everything. I discovered there goodness a few years ago and have never looked back. From thickening soups to crumbing chicken, I find a way to include oats in just about every recipe I create. Sweet stuff too. From oats in cakes, cookies, biscotti, granola, I try and include them as much as possible.
Other than being a concentrated source of fibre, oats are big on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. They leave you feeling full, help boost metabolism and help maintain immunity. Of course they lower cholesterol too.
Now pair them with dark chocolate and you have more magic. Dessert for one. Dark chocolate has the goodness to reduce blood pressure, improve brain function and above all, makes you feel good. Yes, it’s a spirit booster, mood elevator and makes you feel happy. So go on, INDULGE!
The Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding turned out bowl scraping good. Using oats meant that it ended up being gluten free too! {Recipe can be easily halved}.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding
400gmilk
200mllow fat / single cream
30gcocoa powder
35goatsground to fine meal
125g52% dark couverture chocolatechopped
75gbrown sugar
50ghoney
50groasted walnutschopped
Topping
Roasted walnut halves
Chocolate shavings
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Once it becomes as thick as a custard, take off heat, allow to cool, then puree with an immersion blender or blitz in a food processor.
Fold the chopped walnuts through {optional}
Pour into serving bowls / glasses.
Cool and then chill for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
Top with roasted walnuts, chocolate shavings, or even seasonal berries like blueberries, strawberries etc.
Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel is another twist on a previously failed chocolate panna cotta recipe. That Cocoa Mousse-a-cotta turned out to be one of my most popular recipes and images, especially on Instagram. It was a while back that I set out to make a dark chocolate panna cotta. Turned out the panna cotta didn’t set well at all yet it tasted absolutely delicious.When I turned it out of the mold to plate it, it formed this beautiful half circle and I just hadto take a picture of it. I gently dusted it with some chocolate shavings, went with a dark moody palate, and it’s been one of my best minimalistic simplest images ever. I often play around with that recipe, and as you might already know, I play around a LOT with chocolate.I got several requests for this mousse-a-cotta recipe when I shared the image on Instagram, so here you are. If you want to skip the salted caramel sauce, you can always add a spoon or two of Kahlua or Baileys to the mousse. Alternatively, a topping of cream, sweetened or otherwise, whipped or not, never hurts. To get a set panna cotta, you might need to experiment with increasing either the gelatin or the dark chocolate.However, for us, for now, this works perfectly well in single serving Weck jars. Don’t you love these pretty jars? My sweet friend Bina from A Bit Wholesomely sent them across to me as a gift a while ago, and I can’t stop using them! There’s so much you can do with them, but for now it’s the Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel!
Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel. Some desserts are classic no matter how you serve them. This one is where a silky dark chocolate mousse meets the panna cotta, resulting in a sublime, deep, chocolaty dessert. A topping of salted caramel sauce is just the right thing for it.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 hourshours25 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
500mlsingle cream
1/4cupcocoa powder
1/4cup+ 1 tbsp brown sugar
100gcouverture chocolate {72%}
50mlmilk
1tspgelatin powder
Instructions
Warm milk to tepid and sprinkle over the gelatin. Leave to stand until soft.
Place cream, sugar and cocoa powder in heavy bottom pan and whisk well to mix.
Simmer over low heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges, stirring constantly else the cocoa will get lumpy.
Take off heat and stir in the gelatin mix and dark chocolate.
Whisk well to mix, cool for about 30 minutes, then pour into glasses or jars to set.
Chill 5-6 hours / overnight.
Top with salted butter caramel and chocolate shards before serving.
