Blackcurrant and Mint Mousse

Blackcurrant season is coming up!  If, like me, your freezer is insulated with previous years' currants, put them to good use with this delicious and easy pudding.   I suspect it freezes well, too, but haven't tried.   It went down well at Stour Festival - in fact, it disappeared on the evening it was put out, which was gratifying but meant I had to think up another pudding for the following day!   Such a first world problem...   This recipe is one of the wonderful Claire MacDonald's recipes, which I have amended only in that I prefer to sieve the puree to get rid of most of the pips.  Doing so also means you don't have to pick the blackcurrants over particularity thoroughly when you cook them.

A note on gelatine - I have discovered that the standard leaf gelatine is pork based, and the powder gelatine is beef based.   Neither sounds particularly pleasant, but the leaf gelatine smells a lot nicer!   I've not tried the vegetarian version yet, sorry.

Blackcurrant and Mint Mousse

Blackcurrant and Mint Mousse

1lb/500g blackcurrants

a good handful of mint leaves

3 large eggs, separated

6oz/175g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

1 sachet of gelatine (or four leaves)

½ pint/300ml double cream softly whipped

Put the blackcurrants in a saucepan, cover and simmer gently in their own juice until the currants are soft.  Cool before adding the mint leaves and puréeing them in a food processor or blender.   At this stage, I then sieve the purée before allowing it to cool completely.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, adding the caster sugar, and keep going until they are thick, pale and have increased in volume.  Soften the gelatine with the lemon juice in a saucepan and heat until the gelatine has dissolved (if you use leaf gelatine, soften the sheets in water, squeeze out and add to the heated lemon juice).  Leave it until it has started to set (ie, coats the back of a metal spoon) and then fold in the whipped cream.  Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mousse using a metal spoon.   I always put a tablespoonful in first to loosen the texture of the mousse before adding the rest.  Pour into a serving bowl and chill until it is set. 

This can be made a day in advance, but is best eaten at room temperature.