Mocha Moose Cake By William Blaylock

This is unlike any chocolate mousse you’ve made before. Instead of folding whipped cream with melted chocolate, you actually culture the cream with yogurt starter for 8 hours, turning it into a tangy, thick base before whipping. That cultured tang cuts through the sweetness of the brown sugar and gives the finished mousse a complex, almost cheesecake-like depth.

The process starts by heating cream to 180°F (82°C) and holding it for 5 minutes, then stirring in unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder, and gelatin. Once it cools to 110°F (43°C), in goes the yogurt starter. Then you wait. Eight hours of culturing at warm room temperature transforms the cream.

After culturing, the mixture chills for another 8 hours (or gets gently rewarmed to about 80°F/27°C if you’re impatient). Brown sugar gets mixed in, and the whole thing whips to stiff peaks. That gelatin and the culturing give it enough structure to hold its shape when poured into two pie crusts and frozen.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t skip the culturing step. It’s what makes this recipe special. Without it, you just have chocolate whipped cream.
• The cream must cool to 110°F (43°C) before adding the yogurt starter. Too hot and you’ll kill the live cultures.
• Freeze for at least an hour before serving. The mousse needs to firm up or it’ll be too soft to slice.
• This fills two pie crusts, so plan on having enough for a crowd or freezing one for later.

Variations

• Coffee mocha: Dissolve a tablespoon of instant espresso powder into the hot cream for a stronger coffee punch.
• Graham cracker crust: Use homemade graham cracker crusts instead of standard pie shells for a sweeter, crunchier base.