Floating Heaven

I had some whipping cream that needed to be used. Timothy picked this one out of my Mrs. Field's Cookie Book. I think the best part was the chocolate mousse. It is a delicate recipe. And took some time, but it was really good. The recipe makes 12 servings, so I halved it.

Butter cookies:
1 stick butter (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

Dark Chocolate Mousse:
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel Creme Anglaise
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 water
2 1/2 c light cream, scalded
4 large egg yolks
1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for garnish

Make the cookies: In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour. Chill the dough for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 F oven. Roll the dough into 24 balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with the bottom of a glass and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges turn golden. Transfer to racks to cool.

Meanwhile, make the mousse: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small, heavy saucepan, bring 1/2 c. cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Transfer the chocolate cream to a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl, beat the remaining 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate cream to lighten it. Gently but thoroughly fold into the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until firm.

Make the Creme Anglaise: In heavy, medium saucepan, dissolve the granulated sugar in the water, over low heat, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil with out stirring until the syrup turns a deep amber . ** watch carefully so the sugar doesn't burn. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the hot cream ( be careful, it will bubble rapidly) ** make sure the cream it hot - not warm, otherwise the syrup will harden before it mixes in. Stir until smooth.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly beat 1 cup of the hot caramel sauce to warm the egg yolks. Transfer the warmed egg yolks to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the creme anglaise lightly coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and stir in the butter and vanilla. Keep warm.

Assemble: With pastry bag fitted with a star tip, pipe rosettes of mousse over cookie and top with a second cookie; decorate the top with cocoa powder dusted through a heart-shaped stencil. Spoon 1/4 c. of the warm anglaise onto a small plate and place a floating heaven on top.

**To make the light cream I replaced 1/4 c. of whipping cream with whole milk. I wish I had taken a picture. I didn't do the cocoa powder on top, and I didn't pipe the mousse in a rossette, just straight through the pastry bag. But it still looked pretty cool.