Vanilla Mousse

Vanilla Mousse

Ingredients:

• Cream (divided) 500 ml
• Vanilla beans (split and seeded) 1-2 OR
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp
• Gelatin 2 tsp
• Cold water 3 tbsp
• Egg yolks 3
• Caster sugar 75 g

Method:

• Reserve 1 cup cream. In a small saucepan, heat the remainder of the 1 cup cream and seeds and pod from one vanilla bean over medium heat bringing just to the boil till small bubbles beginning to form around the sides of the pan. Remove from heat, cover and let steep, at least 20 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined well. Gradually pour the warm cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Prepare ice water bath, half fill a large bowl with ice, cover ice with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Let stand to bloom, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the custard over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon, about 4 to 5 minutes (do not let the mixture boil). Remove from heat; add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until combined well. Using fine mesh sieve, strain the mixture into a medium bowl. Set the bowl over the ice water bath and whisk constantly until the mixture cools and begins to thicken. Meanwhile, beat cream and seeds from one vanilla bean until soft peaks form. Remove bowl from ice water bath. Using a spatula, fold one half of the whipped cream into the custard mixture and then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Using fine mesh sieve, strain mousse into medium bowl.