The very first time I visited the Guggenheim in Bilbao, I’m not sure what impressed me more, Frank Gehry’s titanium extravanganza or the fittingly avant-garde lunch prepared by the museum restaurant’s former chef Bixente Arrieta. The meal ended with a battery of miniature futuristic desserts, stylishly arranged in shot glasses, on skewers, and on porcelain spoons. Among them were glasses of sensational white chocolate mousse trapped under a cap of passion fruit gelée. Bixente has since left, and I never did get the recipe. But my version comes pretty close.While I normally find white chocolate too cloying, when paired with the tartness of yogurt and passion fruit, it tastes just right.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
- 8 ounces best-quality white chocolate, finely chopped or grated
- ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 2¼ teaspoons (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup strained fresh passion fruit juice, or 1 cup thawed frozen passion fruit puree
- 0.33 cup sugar
How to Make It
- Place the yogurt in a sieve lined with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain for about 2 hours. Stir well before using.
- Place the white chocolate and cream in the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, and stir until the chocolate is completely melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Let stand until cool and just beginning to thicken, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a spatula, thoroughly stir the drained yogurt into the chocolate mixture until completely combined.
- Divide the chocolate mousse among 6 small squat glasses, martini glasses, or glass bowls and refrigerate, covered, until slightly set, 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the gelatin in a small saucepan, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the passion fruit juice over it, and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the remaining passion fruit juice and heat over medium low heat, stirring, until the gelatin completely dissolves. Add ⅓ cup sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Taste the passion fruit mixture; if it seems too tart, add the remaining sugar. Let the passion fruit mixture cool to room temperature.
- Remove the mousse from the refrigerator and slowly pour about 2½ tablespoons of the passion fruit mixture over each, being careful not to mix the passion fruit with the mousse. Cover the glasses with plastic wrap and chill until set, about 2 hours. Then serve.
