Cocoa tart with white chocolate and pink pepper mousse, and raspberry sauce

• 3 hours to prepare • 25 minutes to cook • Serves 12

Pinch of salt,
dash of pepper

The dessert I prepared today is a customized version of mousse-based tarts by the master chocolatier Ernst Knam.
It consists of 2 layers: a white chocolate mousse with pink pepper and raspberries, topped by a raspberry sauce. Everything in a crunchy shell of cocoa tart.

The mousse is a preparation characterized by a light and fluffy texture. They can be prepared according to many variations depending on the ingredients used.
Today's might seem like a bit more work than you're used to with a normal mousse, but it's quite easy and definitely worth the extra effort. The pink peppercorns add an interesting little kick to the mousse.

Pink peppercorns are far less peppery than black peppercorns and have a slightly floral note to them. In the small quantity that I used in this recipe, you're not going to be sniffling and wiping your eyes.
If you're really not into pink peppercorns, leave them out, but I always suggest trying something new. After all, if it has egg yolks, sugar, and cream, how bad can it be, really?

The preparation involves many simple steps, you just need a little of patience!

Here are ingredients for a 12-serving recipe (20-cm diameter baking pan):

For the cocoa tart

200 g flour 00
100 g sugar
1 egg
40 g cocoa powder
100 g butter
1/2 sachet vanilla baking powder
salt


For the white chocolate mousse

250 g white chocolate
5 g gelatine sheets
250 ml fresh cream
2 egg yolks
25 ml cow milk
125 g raspberries
pink pepper


For the raspberry sauce

125 g raspberries
40 g sugar
2.5 g gelatine sheets
50 g white chocolate
1/2 lemon juice

1. Start preparing the pastry: cut the butter into cubes and place it in a bowl. Add sugar, a pinch of salt and knead it quickly
2. Stir in the egg, then mix again. Finally add flour, cocoa, and vanilla baking powder, all sifted. Knead it again
3. Form a ball, wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour
4. When we are close to the the 1-hour resting time of the pastry, preheat oven to 170°C
5. Grease and dust the baking pan with cocoa powder, then cover bottom and sides with half of the pastry cut into a flattened disc-shape, about 5 mm thick. Place the baking pan in the freezer for 10 minutes
6. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill it with dried peas. Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes, until you achieve a browned crust
7. Remove the dried peas and bake it for 15 minutes more. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely
8. Meanwhile, start preparing the White chocolate mousse by melting the white chocolate in a bain-marie and let it cool down
9. Pour 1/2 cup of water in a medium bowl and dunk the gelatine sheets in it. Let them soften about 5 minutes
10. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and beat them until stiff for about 5 minutes
11. Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then, wring out the gelatine sheets and add it to the the milk. Slowly stir until gelatine melts and let it cool down
12. Pour the fresh cream into a bowl. Use a whisk to whip the cream with wide strokes and continue to whip until soft peaks form
13. Gradually add melted white chocolate, egg yolk and milk to the whipped cream. Stir gently with a spoon to mix well
14. Add freshly ground pink pepper according to your taste (I used about 4 grams) and stir again
15. Distribute half of the raspberries on the bottom of the tart
16. Spoon the white chocolate mousse into the pan and level it. Place the tin in the fridge
17. Now, prepare the raspberry sauce: place the remaining raspberries in a pan with sugar and few drops of lemon juice
18. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain it in a colander
19. Pour 1/2 cup of water in a medium bowl and dunk the gelatine sheets in it. Let them soften about 5 minutes
20. When the gelatine is soft, wring it out and add it to the raspberry sauce together with the chocolate. Place everything on low heat and stir until both chocolate and gelatine are melted. Then, let it cool down
21. Take the tin from the fridge and pour the raspberry sauce over the white chocolate layer. Level well and put it into the fridge to rest for at least 3 hours

Nutrition Facts are detailed in the table below. Data is provided per serving.

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