Petit Beurre Brownie Stracciatella Mousse Dessert for Shavuot

One of the most delicious desserts I’ve dreamed up recently is this one, which brings together so many things I love. After I published my original recipe for Petit Beurre Brownie Chocolate Mousse, which so many people around the world have already made (including someone from Australia who wrote that she prepared it for a French dinner she and some friends hosted), I decided that Petit Beurre Brownies simply had to find their way into more desserts.

With Shavuot just around the corner, I set out to create something wonderful for the holiday and for any other day, and especially for those who aren’t big cheesecake fans. This dessert is the ultimate dream come true for anyone who loves vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, whipped cream, brownies, and everything in between.

The base of the dessert is a layer of Petit Beurre Brownies, crumbled into generous chunks. Unlike my chocolate mousse recipe, I decided this time that the base would be part of the stracciatella mousse concept itself, meaning big brownie crumbles that create a rich, chocolatey layer that’s airy rather than dense.

On top of that layer, which is already a danger zone on its own, sits a luscious stracciatella mousse, delicate and vanilla-kissed, with bittersweet chocolate shards woven through it, adding texture and a deep chocolatey note to this impossibly light and cloud-like mousse. Above all of that magic comes another layer of Petit Beurre Brownie crumbles, the rest of the mousse, and of course some finely chopped dark chocolate for garnish.

I know, it sounds incredibly rich, maybe even heavy, but the truth is the mousse is so airy and delicate, and the combination of all the layers together creates a perfect bite, a kind of umami that’s hard to put into words. The dessert is served in a communal dish with a large spoon, and everyone can scoop out as much as they like. Make it once, and I promise you’ll be making it again.

Petit Beurre Brownie Stracciatella Mousse
Serving dish: 20 cm diameter, 8 cm height

Ingredients
Petit Beurre Chocolate Brownies:
150g dark chocolate (70%)
150g butter
160g eggs (approximately 3 medium eggs)
140g light brown sugar
75g flour or ground almonds/ground hazelnuts
100g roughly chopped Petit Beurre biscuits

Stracciatella Mousse:
150g white chocolate
700g heavy whipping cream, divided into 120g + 580g
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
60g mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
35g confectioners’ sugar
130g quality dark chocolate (70% or higher), finely chopped

Preparation
1. Petit Beurre Chocolate Brownies: Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 20×20 cm square baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or microwave. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a stand mixer bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and mix well, then add the flour or ground almonds/hazelnuts and stir until a smooth, uniform batter forms.
5. Fold in the Petit Beurre biscuit pieces gently.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the brownie layer is baked through but still very moist. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
7. Stracciatella Mousse: In a small saucepan, melt together the white chocolate, 120g of cream, and the vanilla bean seeds. Set aside to cool.
8. Whip the remaining 580g of cream with the mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar to a firm whipped cream.
9. Gently fold the cooled white chocolate mixture into the whipped cream, then fold in the chopped dark chocolate, reserving a little for serving.

Assembly
10. Crumble two thirds of the brownies over the base of your serving dish, creating a thick, airy layer. The idea is a loose, fluffy layer rather than a packed one.
11. Pour half of the stracciatella mousse over the brownie layer. Crumble the remaining brownies on top.
12. Pour the rest of the mousse over the brownie crumbles and garnish with the reserved chopped chocolate.
13. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. It’s best made the day before serving, as the flavors only get better overnight.
14. Place it in the center of the table with a big spoon and let everyone help themselves to as much as they like!

Bon-Appétit
Sharon