I don't think we had enough Thanksgiving desserts, what say you? Not funny. After all the marathon baking last week, I decided to whip up a quick no-bake and gluten-free dessert. The pineapple mousse is also very easy to make and quite versatile. I may try to layer it next time to make parfaits for Christmas... we'll see. The mocha buttercream with no added sugar is also a keeper, so delicious, we were licking it off the spatula. But I digress, here's the recipe.
150 g praline chocolate (or half semi-sweet half white chocolate)
10 gavottes (5 packets of 2), (or 1/2 cup of gluten-free cornflakes)
2 teaspoons praline (caramelized nuts)
Pineapple mousse:
3 sheets gelatin, softened in cold water
5-6 rings of pineapple, pureed in a mixer
15 cl whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Soften the gelatin in 1/4 cup of cold water (if you use powdered gelatin, or agar agar, skip skip the water). Mix the pineapple in a blender or mixer until you have tiny diced bits. Heat over the stove in low to medium and melt the gelatin into diced pineapple. In a bowl, whip up cream. Once the pineapple mixture has cooled, fold in the whipped cream and vanilla. Layer the mousse over the praline layer.
Sponge layer:
16-18 ladyfingers (gluten-free if you prefer)
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon whiskey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dip the ladyfingers in apricot liquid (see 3 ingredient recipe above) and layer on top of mousse. Layer with 1/2 of the mocha cream and add another layer of ladyfingers, brushing the top with apricot liquid. Allow to set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Once set, decorate top with remaining mocha buttercream.
Mocha buttercream
150 g white chocolate
15 cl whipping cream
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons cocoa
1 teaspoon whiskey (or other liqueur or alcohol)
Enjoy, everyone !
