Dark Chocolate & Persimmon Mousse … Fall desserts!

“If it be not ripe, it will draw a man’s mouth awry, with much torment, but when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an apricot.”
Captain John Smith

Dark Chocolate & Persimmon Mousse … light, smooth, deep and delicious. The persimmon puree adds a pop of colour that welcomes fall with it’s bright orange like nothing else. OK maybe a papaya, but then the papaya lacks the translucent jelly like beauty of this special fruit.

A couple of years ago, we landed in Sydney on a cold night. I headed straight for the kitchen since I knew my sweet Ukrainian friend would always have something special waiting for me. I was duly rewarded… a line of persimmons sat neatly on her windowsill. It was instant fruit therapy, but they weren’t ripe, she pointed out. 

Cut to now. After waiting almost forever I gently inquired at my local fruit & vegetable vendor why persimmons, or Ramphal/Amarphal as they are locally referred to, weren’t showing up yet. You see Ruchira in Islamabad had already excitedly announced their foray, made a mousse and waxed eloquent about this delicious fruit.

I immediately developed persimmon withdrawal symptoms! Must have been my lucky day, because the guy at the shop came back two minutes later saying I should have asked for something else. He cranked open a fruit crate to uncover lines of persimmons, that too hachiyas, the variety I so love! They were all tickled pink that I asked for something and it popped out of the crate! I was chuffed!

Of course they were unripe. Very firm, very hard and barely a deep orange. Bite into a persimmon at this disastrous stage and you will be sorely {or surely} punished! It’s a strange fruit. When unripe it’s very edgy and astringent. Make the mistake, and you might never come back to it.

But allow them to sit out on the kitchen counter {or windowsill}; be patient, VERY PATIENT. Mine took almost 3 weeks to ripen. They will turn a bright, translucent orange, evenly coloured, with a few blackish spots; very soft to touch. The time is ripe to chill them and dig in, or just dig in if you can’t wait any longer! Sweet as honey and slippery like jelly, it’s an amazing fruit!

I HAD to make something with the puree. Unfortunately, only one hachiya was completely ripe, the fingertips sinking right into the fruit when I gently pressed it. Some quick thinking later I decided to make a dark chocolate mousse {inspired by this two ingredient winning recipe by Hervé This}. Had to keep the dieting diva in mind as she is off on another hair brained dieting venture.

The chocolate had to be dark {as it’s good for dieting she announced as she readily nibbled away on my precious stash}. 85% dark Lindt it was, and then a tasting later I figured it could use some low fat cream and a dash of sugar. The Dark Chocolate & Persimmon Mousse  is so rewarding to make, considering just a combination of chocolate and water can yield something so magical.

I added a dash of Grand Marnier {very optional}. It gave very slight orange undertones, enhancing the taste of the mousse gently. I did add a small dash to the persimmon puree as well to tie the flavours in. Separated by a layer of unsweetened low fat cream, it was a dessert we enjoyed! Any dessert serving followed by ‘Can I have more?‘ is a sign of success! This Dark Chocolate & Persimmon Mousse  was one such example!

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