Stephanie & Chris have invited us to dine with them tonight. Mark & Diedre will also be there... Diedre is Stephanie's sister, and Mark & Rich are childhood buddies so this should be a fun evening! Stephanie asked that I bring the dessert. I made some soft & buttery sugar cookies, scored a pint of gorgeous raspberries from the market, and then whipped together some cream cheese chocolate mousse. We're headed over in about ninety minutes. All I have to do is make some chocolate curls for the garnish and we're good to go. Here's the mousse recipe. Enjoy! Until next time...CREAM CHEESE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
8 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Whisk together the cream cheese, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar. In a small glass bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second increments until warm enough to stir smooth. Add melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and whisk until smooth.
Place cream into the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip for 30 seconds. Turn off mixer. Add remaining powdered sugar and cream of tartar. Whip until stiff peaks form. Add chocolate-cream cheese mixture and continue whipping until combined. Sift cocoa powder, add to creamed mixture and fold to combine. Place into large bowl or individual serving dishes and chill until ready to serve. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.
