Chocolate Mousse With Salted Caramel Popcorn Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°. Place popcorn and nuts in a greased roasting pan; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 5 minutes. , Remove from heat; stir in baking soda (mixture will foam). Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well., Transfer to two greased 15x10X1-in. baking pans. , Bake 1 hour or until dry, stirring every 15 minutes., In a microwave, melt each chocolate separately, adding 1 teaspoon shortening to each 1/2 cup chips; stir until smooth. Drizzle over popcorn mixture; let stand until set., Break into clusters. Store in an airtight container.,

Steps:

• 1. Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of a wide saucepan. Heat the sugar over medium heat. As it begins to liquefy at the edges, use a heatproof spatula to very gently drag the liquefied sugar toward the center. Watch carefully, as once the edges start to darken, the sugar is in danger of burning. Continue to cook, stirring very gently, until all the sugar is melted and begins to caramelize.
• 2. When the caramel is a deep amber color and starts to smoke, wait for a moment for it to smell just slightly burnt, then remove it from the heat and quickly whisk the butter, stirring until melted. Gradually whisk in the cream and stir until the little bits of caramel are completely melted. (A few can be stubborn, so be patient. You can strain the mixture if they simply refuse to budge.)
• 3. Once smooth, add the chocolate, stirring gently until it's melted and smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Once it's no longer warm, whisk in the egg yolks.
• 4. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold one-third of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, sprinkling in the flaky salt. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites just until no streaks of white remain. Divide the mousse into serving glasses, or transfer it to a decorative serving bowl, and chill for at least 8 hours. While it might be tempting to serve this with whipped cream, I prefer to serve it pure, straight up with just a spoon.

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Set a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Add the chopped chocolate to the bowl, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until completely melted, 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit until ready to use.
• Make the salted caramel: Evenly sprinkle the sugar over the bottom of a small skillet or saucepan and cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, but not stirring, until it starts to turn amber brown, 10-12 minutes. Add the butter and whisk until incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Boil for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla and flaky salt.
• Make the mousse: In a medium bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until foamy, 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form, 5-6 minutes.
• In a separate medium bowl, whip the heavy cream with the hand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 4-5 minutes.
• Add ¼ cup of the salted caramel to the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Reserve remaining salted caramel for garnish. Add the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture and gently fold with a rubber spatula to combine. Once the eggs are mostly incorporated, add the whipped cream and fold until fully combined.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours, until set.
• To serve, divide the chocolate mousse between small bowls or glasses. Garnish with more whipped cream, a drizzle of salted caramel, and shaved chocolate, if using.

Steps:

• Pop the popcorn. I like to use a hot-air popper but you can pop it any way you like.
• To make the caramel: Place the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until light golden brown. We use a large pan so that there will be room to add the popcorn. Use a wooden spoon to stir the popcorn into the caramel until it is evenly coated. Pour the caramelized popcorn onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and allow it to cool. When cool, use your hands to break up any clumps.
• Place the cool popcorn in a large bowl. Use a ladle to drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn, stirring with a wooden spoon as you go. Keep adding chocolate until the popcorn is evenly coated. Pour the chocolate-coated popcorn onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and allow it to cool. When it is cool, place it in decorative bags to give as gifts.
• Tip: You can also use milk chocolate and/or white chocolate to coat the popcorn. The process is always the same.
• Be careful when you work with the caramel. It is very hot and can burn! As always, when working with caramel, have a bowl of ice-cold water next to you in case you get caramel on your hands.