Burnt Rum Mexican Chocolate Mousse

It's been an interesting three days so far. I have made green tomato marmalade and canned green tomato jam. I baked a loaf of no-knead kefir bread. I attempted a tres leches cake (from a cake mix - shhh don't tell) substituting coconut milk and evaporated milk for the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk - disastrous. Until I chanced about the idea to scoop the overly soggy cake into balls and roll it in shredded coconut, baking it for an additional 20 minutes. This led to a cake-like coconut donut hole that was not overly sweet and four different people asked for the recipe when I brought it to church! Go figure.

Anyways back to the recipe at hand. Yesterday was Valentine's Day, so there needed to be something special for dessert (= something chocolate). I found a burnt rum mexican chocolate mousse recipe on epicurious and thought it sounded novel and delicious! It does not require raw eggs (which usually I expect in an excellent mousse recipe) but it does involve fire and alcohol! I amazingly did not incinerate my kitchen or myself. Props to me. (I did make the wife stand next to me with a fire extinguisher just in case...) Note this recipe tastes SWEET, so the cacao nibs provide a nice bitter contrast. Sea salt would also be good! In the future, I would consider subbing in some dark or bittersweet chocolate in place of some Mexican chocolate and/or adding more instant coffee..

Rum ablaze in melted chocolate

Burnt Rum Mexican Chocolate Mousse (adapted from Epicurious) - makes 6 small sherry glasses and 2 ramekins full

• 3 whole hexagons of Ibarra Mexican chocolate,* chopped (~9.6 oz)
• 1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1/4 c. 1% milk + 1/4 c. half and half)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4- 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
• 2-4 dashes cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup white rum
• 2 cups chilled whipping cream, divided into 1 1/2 c. portion and 1/2 c. portion
• 1-2Tbs cacao nibs

1. Heat milk and chocolate over low heat until the chocolate is fully dissolved. 

2. Add the salt, cinnamon, cayenne and nutmeg in, tasting for spice level (remember that this is a 'concentrate' that will be diluted by whipping cream) and stirring to ensure that the salt is dissolved. 

3. Pour the rum in a single spot in the chocolate mixture (the centre?). Light it with a match (but not yourself) and gently swirl the rum in with a heat proof silicone spatula.  Once the rum has burnt out, set aside the mixture to cool to room temperature. 

4. Once the chocolate mixture is cool, whip the 1 1/2 c. whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Pour in half the chocolate mixture and gently fold it into the whipped cream. Pour in the remaining chocolate mixture and fold it into the whipped cream. Portion into serving dishes. Place in fridge if serving later. If serving immediately, whip the remaining 1/2 c. whipping cream until soft peaks form and place small dollops on top of mousse. Sprinkle with cacao nibs or cinnamon.