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Honey Dough Balls Recipe

Honey Dough Balls

It’s a Winnie the Pooh time of year again, which means pretty much any time is the time for a little something, so long as that something includes some honey! Knowing this, I made sure to stock up on honey this week, because come Winnie the Pooh Day, we’ll be having honey everything. For human children though, jars of honey don’t seem to be sufficient picnic food, so I’m adding a few delicious honey-based recipes to our honey – repertoire.

These honey dough balls are traditionally an Italian recipe, but I’m sure they won’t mind sharing it with Winnie the Pooh, because really, dough balls smothered in honey? Pooh’d love it. I did consider drizzling condensed milk over – Pooh’s other favourite – but that’s just too much sweet for me.

“Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o’clock in the morning, and he was very glad to see Rabbit getting out the plates and mugs; and when Rabbit said, ‘Honey or condensed milk with your bread?’ he was so excited that he said, ‘Both,’ and then, so as not to seem greedy, he added, ‘But don’t bother about the bread, please.”

Honey Dough Balls

These little blissful bites are sticky and crunchy and chewy at the same time.  As soon as the honey is poured they’ll still be warm but very sticky. If you leave them to cool the honey will harden a little, making them less messy to eat. Skewer the honey dough balls with fondue sticks, and tuck in. (I think these would be awesome with vanilla ice cream too, but it’s a bit cold to test that right now!) Honey Dough Balls

Isn’t it funny that the bear likes honey.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.
I wonder why he does.

~ Winnie the Pooh

Find more recipes for Winnie the Pooh here, and activities to do with the kids for Winnie the Pooh day here

Honey Dough Balls Recipe
 
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Author:
Recipe type: T5 recipe
Cuisine: Italian, Winnie the Pooh
Serves: 60
Ingredients
  • 200g water (50g more if you're using organic flour)
  • 70g vegetable oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 340g all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 170g honey
  • 85g sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 400F/200C
  2. In the Thermomix®, add the water, oil and salt.
  3. Bring to boil 4mins/Varoma/Speed 2/No MC
  4. Open the lid and add the flour to the side (so it doesn't get stuck on the blades)
  5. Mix for 1mins/Speed 1
  6. Add two eggs through the lid
  7. Mix for 2mins/speed 2
  8. Scoop out the dough about ½ a teaspoon at a time, making balls in the palm of your hands.
  9. Lay them out on a tray. They don't rise, so you don't have to worry too much about extra space.
  10. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, depending on your oven. (My oven burns really hot at the top, and much cooler at the bottom, so after 10 minutes I turned it all out into a glass dish and baked the other side)
  11. Set aside to cool in a heat proof dish
  12. In a clean Thermomix® bowl, add the honey, sugar and cinnamon
  13. Boil 5 minutes/Varoma/Speed2
  14. Pour the hot sugar syrup over the dough balls, using a spoon to make sure it's all coated.
  15. They are very sticky, but if you leave them to cool the honey mixture will harden. It's still sticky, but easier to eat.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 4 Calories: 2011cal Fat: 71 Saturated fat: 5g Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 337 Sugar: 240g Sodium: 119mg Fiber: 4g Protein: 21g Cholesterol: 0

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Hard Boiled Honey Sweets, AKA Honey Balls – Outlander #BookFood

honey balls

There’s a passage in Dragonfly in Amber that always catches my attention when I read it:

“We stayed locked together, not speaking, until my eye suddenly fell on the other small, yellowish lumps that Jamie had removed from his sporran.

‘What on earth are those things, Jamie?’ I asked, letting go of him long enough to point. 
‘Och, those? They’re honey balls, Sassenach.’ He picked up one of the objects dusting at it with his fingers. ‘Mrs.Gibson in the village gave them to me. Verra good, though they got a bit dusty in my sporran, I’m afraid.’ He held out his open hand to me, smiling. ‘Want one?'”

honey balls

I love the sound of these ‘honey balls’, and remember making a hard boiled sweet using sugar, butter and syrup as a child. I wondered whether I would be able to do the same, but using honey, so gave it a shot and what came out were gorgeous sweet, hard, honey balls. They are so tasty and very sweet! honey balls

Once poured out you need to give these a few minutes to cool so that you don’t scald the flesh right off your bones, but not so long that they harden – you need to be able to quickly roll them into balls before they do.

I wait till the mixture stops bubbling on the stove, then pour it into a tray or dish. Leave it to cool enough to touch – use a melon baller or apple corer, or just a teaspoon and start on the sides as that’s where it will cool first. Gather from the outsides and work your way inwards, making balls as you go along.

Initially these will be soft, but they will harden. Either way, don’t chew! You’ll lose fillings or teeth if you do!

And while we’re talking about honey… I’m pretty sure Winnie the Pooh would quite like these too!

There’s another way to make these, which is a lot faster: rather than rolling the balls individually, you can wait for sugar mix to stop bubbling (about 20 seconds) and then pour the hot mixture into a silicone mould. If you use essential oils*, you can also add a few drops of Young Living Lemon oil to the mix.  I use this emoticon tray as the sweets are a good size for individual lozenges. Honey Lozenges

Honey Balls
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Stove Top
Cuisine: Outlander, BookFood, Historical Food
Serves: 50
Ingredients
  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
  1. Pour cold water into a glass. Set next to the oven.
  2. Prepare a dish for the sugar honey mixture
  3. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and turn the heat up
  4. Bring to the boil and keep stirring. It will bubble and froth. Keep it doing so for about 2 - 3 minutes.
  5. KEEP STIRRING it will burn really easily. After 2 minutes dip a spoon in and drip a drop of the mixture into the glass. This is how you test for a soft ball or hard ball stage. If it dissolves, it is too soft. If it forms a soft ball that's easily squashed, it's called soft ball stage. If it forms a hard ball, it's called hard ball stage.
  6. For this particular recipe, you want to catch it between the hard and soft ball stages, turn the heat off, and pour into a prepared pan or dish. IT WILL BE HOT NOW
  7. As it begins to cool, use a teaspoon to scoop out the mixture and shape into balls in the palm of your hand.
  8. Put on a plate and repeat.

 

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Borlotti Magic Bean Chocolate Brownies

Borlotti Bean Chocolate Brownie

I had my first experience of the Magic Bean Chocolate Cake phenomenon sitting in a friend’s garden in Australia in 2012. I strongly dislike beans, so when they brought out this mythical bean-chocolate cake I was highly suspicious and the surprise on my face after tasting had everyone laughing. If you aren’t told that there are beans in this brownie, you wouldn’t know.  In the years since, there have been dozens of ‘magic bean’ cakes that have sprung up around the web, and some of them have loads of ingredients. I like these Borlotti Magic Bean Chocolate Brownies because it makes a flatter brownie, and it’s highly adaptable.

Borlotti Magic Bean Chocolate BrowniesSometimes we make it plain, as it is. Othertimes we might add dried/freeze dried cranberries or nuts. My favourite is to add milk chocolate chips that provide gooey pockets of sweet chocolate throughout. Borlotti Magic Bean Chocolate Brownies

I recommend this brownie pan as the recipe below fills it perfectly, and when you’ve taken it out of the oven and allowed it to cool slowly, you can fit the cutting bit over it, and have perfectly sized brownies.

If you’re not using a Thermomix® to make this, just make sure you pulse the chocolate and beans into a smooth batter, and you’ll be set. Allow it to cool, sprinkle with icing sugar, drizzle cream, or enjoy your Borlotti Magic Bean Chocolate Brownies as is.

Borlotti Bean Magic Chocolate Brownies
 
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This recipe couldn't really be easier, whether you're using a Thermomix® or not. It is also quite forgiving, but it's IMPORTANT to note that all chocolate isn't created equal. If you are using a rich dark chocolate, like 80% Lindt, you may want to have a taste of the batter and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar. If you are using a sweet dark chocolate, or a milk chocolate, you may want to add a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder. You can also add extras, like chocolate chips or dried fruit or nuts. It's very flexible, very forgiving, and ends up tasting delicious either way.
Author:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 400g beans - we used Borlotti
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
Optional:
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 50g dark chocolate or white chocolate chips
  • 100g freeze dried fruit chips
Instructions
Thermomix® Instructions:
  1. Heat the oven to 180C
  2. Drain the beans and break the chocolate into blocks
  3. Add beans, chocolate, eggs and baking powder to the Thermomix® bowl and mix Seconds 30 Speed 10. (In a regular food processor, add them one at a time till they are properly blended). It should resemble a creamy buttercream. Have a little taste of the batter.
  4. Add any of the optional extras.
  5. Tip the mixture into a brownie tray and bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Leave to cool and serve as is, drizzled in cream or lightly dusted with icing sugar.

 

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Easter Egg Macaroons {DF, GF, EF, RSF}

Easter Egg Macaroons

This is not a new recipe for me – we make chocolate macaroons frequently – but I decided to make it into Easter Eggs for the children to decorate, so we’re sharing it again, all seasonal like.Easter Egg Macaroons

I used egg moulds to make these Easter egg halves, but you could make whole eggs by hand too.  Depending on where you are (temperature) and whether you use organic coconut or not, you may need a little extra coconut oil. If that’s the case, just add a tablespoon at a time at the end of the mixing process. The  mixture does need to be able to hold together.

Easter Egg Macaroons {DF, GF, RSF}
 
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Ingredients
  • 50g Coconut Oil (1/4 cup)
  • 70g honey or syrup (1/4 cup)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 30 - 50g cocoa powder (1/3 cup)
  • pinch of fine sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
  • 150g shredded unsweetened coconut (1.5 cups)
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Melt the coconut oil in a pot - this requires 37C, i.e. body heat, and is still considered raw, or uncooked.
  2. Add the honey or syrup and stir till it's all mixed and liquid and remove from heat
  3. Add the vanilla extract
  4. (If using banana, mash it and add to the mix)
  5. Add 30g cocoa first then add the coconut
  6. (Add chia seeds if using)
  7. Stir till it's all combined
  8. Taste the mix too see if it's the right amount of chocolatey. If you want it 'darker' add more cocoa powder till it's right for you. Mix again.
  9. Scoop out onto a tray, or into moulds and refrigerate until it hardens.
  10. Keep cool as it will fall apart if the coconut oil gets too warm.
Thermomix® Instructions
  1. Put the coconut oil in the bowl, and melt 37C/Speed 1/ 20 Seconds (you'll need a bit longer if the weather is cold) Make sure it's melted though, or it won't be liquid enough to hold everything together)
  2. Add the honey or syrup and mix 37C/Speed 1/ 30 Seconds.
  3. Add the vanilla extract
  4. Add 30g cocoa first then add the coconut
  5. Mix speed 2/ 15 seconds
  6. Taste the mix too see if it's the right amount of chocolatey. If you want it 'darker' add more cocoa powder till it's right for you. Mix again speed 2/15 seconds.
  7. Scoop out onto a tray, or into moulds and refrigerate until it hardens.
  8. Keep cool as it will fall apart if the coconut oil gets too warm.

 

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Jellybean Fudge

Jellybean Fudge

Sometimes a reader will get in touch with a question about a recipe that didn’t work for them, and it always makes me really nervous, so much so that I have to make the recipe as soon as I can to just check it again, to make sure I didn’t leave anything out. Jellybean Fudge

That happened this week, making the White Chocolate and Glace Cherry Fudge, so it was the perfect excuse for me, having not made it since Christmas. I didn’t have any glacé cherries, however, so I grabbed what seemed like a suitable replacement: jellybeans. I was so pleased with how it worked out, I couldn’t help but share it.

Jellybean FudgeThis is a soft and delicious fudge, and the addition of the flavoured jellybeans makes for chewy flavour bursts. And it’s really pretty! I think this is a great Easter fudge, or if you stick to reds and pinks you could do it for Valentines day too.

Jellybean Fudge
 
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Author:
Serves: 50 pieces
Ingredients
  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 250g white sugar
  • 25g golden syrup
  • 125g butter
  • 200g white chocolate
  • 100g jelly beans
Instructions
  1. Add condensed milk, sugar, syrup and butter to the Thermomix® bowl.
  2. Cook without MC at 100C speed 3 for 8 mins.
  3. Scrape down sides if needed, then cook Veroma, 20 mins speed 3 still without MC. While it's boiling, prepare the pan, break the chocolate into pieces and get the jellybeans ready.
  4. Add chocolate and mix on speed 4, reverse blades for 20 seconds, then quickly add the jelly beans and mix reverse blades 10 seconds speed 3.
  5. Working quickly, pour the mixture into a brownie tray
  6. Refrigerate for 3 -4 hours, cut and store in airtight container.

 

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Six Minute Chocolate Puddings

Six Minute Chocolate Pudding

In a life before my children, I used to host regular dinner parties, and Six Minute Chocolate Puddings were a go-to standard pudding for a number of reasons. First, it’s so easy to make. You mix all the ingredients together and set it aside, popping it in the oven for 6 minutes when you’re ready for your warm and yummy dessert. Secondly, these chocolate puddings a small portion, but it’s so rich you really only need a small portion per person. Thirdly, it’s really good, hot or cold, with cream or ice cream. Six Minute Chocolate Puddings

The key to these chocolate puddings is to have the oven hot and to keep an eye on the puddings. In a normal small round ramekin, they should only need 6 minutes in the oven. If your ramekins or bowls are bigger, they may need a little longer, but sit and watch it, if need be, so you can see when it forms a skin on top that looks like cake. Like this:Six Minute Chocolate Puddings

Pull it out of the oven immediately, and serve. If you leave it in too long it’ll sort of ‘set’ and not be runny any more, but it will still be delicious.

Six Minute Chocolate Puddings
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 60g Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 185g Dark Chocolate
  • 185g Butter
  • 15g Plain Flour
  • Cocoa Powder, for dusting
  • cream or ice cream for serving
Instructions
  1. If you're serving immediately, turn the oven up to 230C/450F
  2. Add the sugar to the Thermomix® and whiz on speed 10 for 3 seconds
  3. Add the eggs and the extra egg yolks and whisk the eggs for 30 seconds, speed 5
  4. Set aside
  5. In a clean bowl add the chocolate and whiz on speed 10 for 3 seconds again to get the chocolate to melt faster. Scrape down the sides if you need to then melt the chocolate for 2 minutes/speed 2/ 50C
  6. Once it's melted add the butter and melt 1 minute/speed 2/ 50C
  7. Finally add the sugar and egg - pour it in in a steady stream - and then the flour
  8. (If you're organised, you can just set the chocolate on to melt for 4 minutes, and add the butter after two minutes, and the egg and sugar mix and the flour after another minute so you don't keep having to reset the timer)
  9. Pour into ramekins. This mix will rise slightly, so don't fill all the way to the top.
Serving straight away
  1. Place into a hot oven and bake for 6 minutes (vary according to the size of the ramekins)
  2. Serve as is for the molten inside to be a surprise or turn upside down to have it running and oozing pleasantly over the plate
Serving later
  1. Once everything is mixed, pop the chocolate mix into the fridge. When your guests arrive, remove it so that it returns to room temperature, when you're having your mains, turn on the oven and after dinner put the ramekins in the oven for six minutes.
  2. Serve with cream, ice cream or on it's own

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Sweets For Decorating A Gingerbread House

Strings n things

It’s that time of year again where we decorate a gingerbread house, a tradition for us, now. Every year we scour the shelves for the best sweets for decorating a gingerbread house, so here are the top retro sweets we love using.

Strings ‘n’ things

I like string sweets for the gingerbread house because they can as easily make up the roofing as determine the outline of the garden path. Any number of belts, laces, cables or pencil sweets would work well laid side by side for the roof, guttering or outlines of the house. They also make a nice pathway from the door to the edge of the board, making a path that can be lined with other sweets. Or use the super thin laces to frame doors and windows. Strings n things

Tiles

Another good option for ‘roofing’ on a gingerbread house is anything that can be made into tiles. It’s a bit of work, but can look spectacular! If you have a steady hand you can slice fudge thinly and use the square tiles to cover the roof. Marshmallows could work well too, if you cut them roughly evenly. So can round chocolate coins or white or brown ‘gems’ (sometimes known as jazzies) for a very colourful roof.

Gingerbread roofing

Garden Decorations

No gingerbread house is complete without a garden, so make sure to save some sweets for the ‘outdoors’ area. You can have anything from a green coconut summery garden to a winter scape. Use cookie cutters to make biscuits – gingerbread people, stars, Christmas trees, reindeer and anything else you can imagine can adorn the garden space. Add trees or santas made from icing sugar (usually used to decorate cakes), little toadstool sweets or miniature sized Christmas table decorations. For the super sweet toothed, you could even do a candy-paving with swirly-lolly ‘trees’.

Gingerbread House Garden

Add candy canes, a few details to the windows and doors – silver balls, jelly babies, jelly tots and other small sweets all work well for adding little details, and before you know it – you have a beautiful gingerbread house.

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Almond Biscuits With Fondant Icing

Cookies, or biscuits, if you will, are so synonymous with Christmas to me. My mom used to do a huge bake i the beginning of December somewhere, and I remember a lot of cookies through the month, always stored in old fashioned cake tins. That was always fun.

I love this recipe because it’s a little different to the ‘usual’ butter biscuits, with the addition of almond extract. You can try it with rum extract too.

Star shaped biscuits

The white fondant may need rolling out on a clean surface with a sprinkling of icing sugar, and left to set it’ll provide a lovely soft, pillowy counter point to the crunchy biscuits. I love these! My kids like decorating them with silver balls pressed into the surface, but I just think of broken teeth!

stars

Even though you use the same shapes for cutting out the fondant in the baking and moving of the biscuits they may change shape a little, so use your fingers to ‘smooth out’ the edges of the fondant to fit perfectly over the biscuits.

Almond Biscuits With Fondant Icing
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Biscuits
Cuisine: Bakery
Ingredients
  • 230g Butter
  • 340g Sugar
  • 6 cups Plain Flour (780g)
  • 6 Eggs
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tablespoon Almond Extract
For the Icing Sugar
  • 140g butter
  • 280g icing sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
Instructions
  1. Add the butter and sugar to a food processor and mix till it is light and fluffy
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir till combined and a soft dough forms
  3. Place in the fridge for 1 hour, heat the oven to 180C, then roll out on a well floured surface
  4. Cut out shapes and move to an oven tray then back for 10 - 12 minutes until they are golden brown
  5. Meanwhile, role out some fondant and use the same cutters to cut matching shapes from the fondant. Set aside.
  6. Once the biscuits have cooled, mix the butter, icing sugar and milk together, and spread generously over the biscuits
  7. Top with the fondant shapes shaping them to fit on the biscuits
  8. Place gently in an airtight container and allow to set
  9. They should keep well for 1 - 2 weeks
Thermomix® Instructions
  1. Place the butterfly whisk into the Thermomix® bowl and add the butter and sugar 3 minutes/speed 4. The butter should be light in colour and fluffy
  2. Remove the butterfly and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix together 30 seconds/speed 5
  3. Empty out onto cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour to make the dough easier to work with
  4. Remove from fridge, roll out the dough to about half an inch thick and cut into shapes
  5. Transfer onto a baking tray and continue until all the dough is used up
  6. Bake for 10—12 minutes at 180C till golden brown
  7. Store in an airtight container

A Very Thermie ChristmasA Very Thermie Christmas has this and 50 other recipes for all your Thermomix® Christmas needs. With everything from snacks to meals, finger foods to festive drinks and DIY gifts A Very Thermie Christmas has your Christmas covered.  Just £8.99 (excl VAT in EU) this printable PDF can be yours in minutes.

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Chocolate Cranberry Muffins (Egg-Free)

Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

I’ve been making muffins a lot lately, because they’re a really easy way to fill the kids up when they’re hungry thirty-seven million times.a.day. They are pretty quick to make while I’m making breakfast, and then they can snack for the rest of the morning. Of course these have too much sugar for that to be a sustainable idea, but we’re calling it a Christmas treat.

These are really only egg-free because I ran out, but the banana binds it together. If you want to use egg, substitute the banana for two eggs.

These have dried cranberries in, but you can substitute that as you wish – raisins or choc chips, both work well.

With the banana in these do have a little bit of a banana taste, but chocolate and banana work well anyway.Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

Chocolate Cranberry Muffins (Egg-Free)
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Breakfast, Snacks
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 280g self-raising flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 70g olive oil
  • 1 banana
  • 200g milk
  • handful of dried cranberries - more or less depending on taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C
  2. Add all the ingredients to the Thermomix® bowl, except the cranberries
  3. Mix speed 4/ 60 seconds
  4. Add the cranberries
  5. Scoop out into 12 large or 36 small muffin cases and bake for 10 - 20 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins.
  6. Find the largest muffin and stick a knife into it. If it comes out clean, it's ready.

 

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Thick Chocolate Mousse & Basil Cream

thick chocolate mousse and basil cream

I love Basil. It’s such a sensory herb, with the ability to transport you to just about anywhere – usually in Italy.

I also love chocolate, and one of my favourite memories is from my honeymoon, some 10 and a bit years ago, where we spent time backpacking through Italy, from Sorento through to Bergamo. Our last night was in a  hotel in Turin, and by the time we got there we were pretty worn out. The 4-star hotel had an amazing jacuzzi in the bathroom, and with promises to return one day, we didn’t venture further than the cafe on the corner.

This particular cafe, however, had a delicious selection of home made chocolates and ice cream, and I fell in love with the combination of Basil and Chocolate. No, it’s not one you come across often, but it works – trust me, it works.

I recently agreed to participate in a challenge where I had to come up with a recipe that speaks to the taste of Italy, and I can’t think of much that speaks of Italy like Basil does, so here is my contribution: Chocolate Mousse with Basil Cream – and here is my advice: don’t knock it till you try it!
thick chocolate mousse and basil cream

This is an incredibly rich mousse. We had two people (including two children) sharing the two ice cream bowls of mousse & cream in the pictures, and it was still a lot. So it’s a great sharers dish.

Thick Chocolate Mousse with Basil Cream

We hope you love the Chocolate Mousse & Basil Cream as much as we do!

Easy French Chocolate Mousse - Kids In The Kitchen
 
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Serve with home made clotted cream, strawberries & mint leaves!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • 335g double cream
  • 10 fresh basil leaves
  • 15g icing sugar
  • 150g chocolate
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Basil Cream
  1. In a sealable container, add 200g cream and whole basil leaves together.
  2. Cover and put in the fridge for 5 hours. After that time, remove the basil leaves and discard
  3. Add the icing sugar to the cream and whisk to stiff peaks. (I find it easiest here to transfer into a piping bag, and set aside.
Regular Instructions
  1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, on a double boiler, in a bowl nestled inside a pot on the stove top (making sure not to get any water in) or however you normally melt chocolate.
  2. While it's melting, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the sugar slowly as you whisk, then put the egg whites in the fridge.
  3. Next, whisk the cream to stiff peaks, and place in the fridge.
  4. Finally, in a large bowl add the vanilla extract to the egg yolks and mix until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate slowly in to the egg yolks, stirring all the time.
  5. Next, add the cream to the egg and chocolate mix, and stir till it's all combined.
  6. Finally fold in the egg whites. Do not beat, whisk or over stir this as doing so will cause the mousse to collapse. Follow instructions below for combining.
Thermomix® Instructions
  1. These instructions are for one bowl. If you have two, melt the chocolate in one and do the whisking in the other.
  2. Place the egg whites and sugar in the Thermomix® bowl and whisk with the butterfly speed 4 about 1 minute. Keep an eye on it - the freshness of your eggs and the temperature will affect how long you need to whisk this for, and you don't want it to collapse again, so just stop when you reach stiff peaks.
  3. Scoop into a bowl and set aside in the fridge
  4. Wash out the bowl and dry thoroughly.
  5. Pour the cream in and add the butterfly again. Whisk the cream for about 30 seconds/speed 4. Again, keep an eye on it - freshness of cream and starting temperature of cream will affect how long it needs to be whisked for. You don't want butter!
  6. Set aside the cream, and wash and dry the bowl.
  7. Add the chocolate to the Thermomix® bowl and chop speed 5, 10 seconds.
  8. Heat to 50C/Speed 2/ 3 minutes. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix the egg yolk and vanilla extract and stir to combine. When the chocolate is melted pour in a thin stream whisking together. (Don't pour the egg into the hot chocolate or you'll end up with scrambled eggs.)
  9. Add the cream to the bowl, whisking to combine.
  10. Finally, add the egg whites and gently fold them in. If you whisk or stir too vigorously you'll knock all the air out of the egg whites and your mousse will fall flat.
To Finish
  1. Smaller ramekins or glasses are better for this desert as it is very rich.
  2. Place a layer of chocolate mousse in your serving dish and flatten out.
  3. Next you need a layer of basil. I find piping it around the edges first then in through the centre the easiest, before adding a final layer of chocolate. If you're confident in your piping skills, pipe a pattern of the basil cream on top - I messed it up first time, so scooped it up again, hence mine looks a bit chocolatey.
  4. You can serve it immediately for a light and fluffy mousse, but it's equally delicious, if a bit denser and less airy a few hours later.