maple mousse in french toast cupcakes

Last month, I spent countless hours trying to conjure up creative fillings for the meringue filled coffee cake we were challenged with at the Daring Kitchen. This month, it was edible containers. Possibilities I had going through my mind: Waffle cones, eclairs, popovers, banana bread...

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Since Evelyne is from Montreal, and this is April, I had a pretty good idea that she would challenge us with maple syrup. I can image the headaches that caused for some of my fellow Daring Bakers, since maple syrup - the real thing - is not easily found in all areas of the world, and if it is, it's terribly expensive! Luckily for me, maple syrup is produced right here. And it's pretty darn good maple syrup! I went shopping for inspiration.

And look at the goodies I found. Most of them I've previously picked up and put right back on the shelf because I couldn't justify the expense. But for the challenge? Anything goes! And my mom surprised me by paying for my bill on top of hers! Merci mom! So we've got maple syrup in cute touristy mini plastic jugs, maple syrup in a nice clear bottle (2011 syrup! Score!), maple syrup in a can that I probably bought on special at my local pharmacy (yes, the pharmacy sells maple syrup...), maple sugar that's crazy expensive, maple butter that's 100% pure maple syrup (no clue how to get that texture, but boy is it ever creamy! So good!), maple jelly!!! (I know, that was a first for me, and it's incredible. And expensive.), and soft maple candies. I bought a maple lollipop too, but Cha got a hold of it before I could hide it...

I'm so ready for this challenge!

So I stuck with the mousse recipe we were given. Boil maple syrup, temper egg yolks, bloom gelatine in some cream, dissolve gelatine, combine with syrup and eggs, let thicken while whisking once in a while. Whip remaining cream, lighten maple syrup mixture with some of it, then fold in the rest. Chill

Maple Mousse

1 cup pure maple syrup
4 large egg yolks
1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine
1 1/2 cups whipping cream (35% fat content)

Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle). When mixture is warm, add remaining hot maple syrup while whisking.

Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.

Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.

Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.

Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

For my edible container, I chose a french toast cupcake. A good while ago, Food Network Magazine had put a french toast cupcake with maple frosting and a slice of bacon on the cover of their magazine. I didn't make it then, but I thought that now would be the perfect opportunity. But when I looked at the recipe, I didn't have a lot of the ingredients, so I found another recipe that I had bookmarked around the same time. I blogged about them earlier this month, when I actually made the challenge.

And I topped the finished product with bacon that I cooked in maple syrup, and a maple candy or maple sugar.

Very simple, but super tasty! The bacon is an absolute must to counter the super sweet mousse, and I love the chewy texture it brings to the dessert.