Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cups

Inspired by...my favorite flavors

Chocolate and peanut butter together in any form is the best dessert flavor combination that exists, in my opinion.  I love it in candies, cakes, brownies, cookies, and now...mousse!  I made this dessert for my birthday dinner last weekend, and I think I enjoyed this dish as much or more than my friends did.  And that's saying a lot since I am usually my own worst critic.  I made the dessert cups the morning of the party so they were completely fuss-free during the dinner.  That night, all I had to do was grab some spoons and hand them out to my friends.  I love when I can sit back and just enjoy my company!

The two mousses were great layered together, but could definitely be made individually.  Each one is equally delicious on their own.  To add even more flavor and some texture to this dessert, I chopped up some peanut butter cups and Butterfinger bars to layer on the bottom and sprinkle on the top.  And one of the best things about this dessert is that the peanut butter mousse is gluten-free and dairy-free, so I could make a similar dessert cup for my friend who follows those restrictions.  I filled a cup with the peanut butter mousse and then drizzled the top with a chocolate sauce made from dairy-free chocolate and coconut oil.  It was nice that everyone at the party could enjoy the same type of dessert.

I'm excited to have discovered this dessert idea and will probably experiment with even more flavor combinations.  I'm thinking about doing a banana cream and peanut butter mousse cup for my next dinner party...stay tuned for that recipe!

Recipe
Makes approximately 10-12 large servings

To prepare in advance:

1. ​Chill 2 cans of coconut milk overnight.
2. Leave enough time for the mousse cups to chill after assembling (~2-3 hours)

Chocolate Mousse
​Recipe from Martha Stewart
Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan (off the heat), whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and 3/4 cup of the heavy cream until completely blended.  Cook over medium-low heat while mixing constantly with a wooden spoon.  Cook for a few minutes until the mixture becomes custard-like and coats the back of the wooden spoon.  When you run your finger through the coating, the line should stay there (not be filled in with liquid).​
2. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla to the yolk mixture and whisk together until smooth.
3. Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer over a heat-proof bowl.  Any lumps from the eggs will be strained out during this step so don't skip it!
4. Cool the chocolate mixture in the fridge until room temperature or cooler. 
5. In a chilled mixing bowl, whip the remaining 1-1/4 cup cream until stiff peaks form.  (When you lift the whisk out of the cream, the peak that forms should remain a peak).
6. Add approximately 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cooled chocolate mixture and mix together.
7. Add the rest of the whipped cream to the chocolate.  Use a rubber spatula and fold the cream into the chocolate.  Don't beat it, just slowly turn the spatula through the mixture until the cream and chocolate are incorporated together.  You want to be gentle so that the air in the whipped cream doesn't deflate.
8. Pour into serving cups and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  If making this layered dessert, cover the large bowl of mousse and put in the fridge until ready to assemble the dessert cups.

​
Peanut Butter Mousse (Gluten-free/Dairy-free)
Recipe adapted from Minimalist Baker​
Note: This mousse is a lot less sensitive than the chocolate mousse.  You basically throw the ingredients in a bowl and whip them together.  You can add more peanut butter or sugar as you go until you get the flavor you want.  It's nice and quick and balances out the extra effort/care that the chocolate mousse takes.  But just remember to chill your coconut milk in advance!

Ingredients

• 2 cans of full fat coconut milk (or 1 can of coconut cream), chilled overnight
• 1 cup peanut butter (or more to taste)
• 1/2-1 cup powdered sugar, to taste
• 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

1. In a chilled mixing bowl, scoop the solid cream from the coconut milk cans.  You can save the liquid portion for other purposes - the Minimalist Baker suggests smoothies or other baked goods. 
2. Beat the cream until smooth and somewhat fluffy (just under 1 minute).
3. Add peanut butter 1/4 cup at a time and beat together, until the mixture tastes peanut buttery enough for you.
4. Add honey and powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time to desired sweetness.  You can add more peanut butter too at this point in order to get to the flavor you want.
5. Pour into mousse cups and chill for 2-3 hours before serving.  Or follow assembly directions below.

Assembly

1. ​Roughly chop about 8 large peanut butter cups and 4-6 mini Butterfinger bars.
2. Place a small layer of the candy on the bottom of individual dessert cups.
3. Scoop some of the chocolate mousse into each cup.
4. Scoop some peanut butter mousse on top of the chocolate.
5. Sprinkle the top with more candy.

​The mousses are pretty rich so you don't have to fill the cups as much as I did.  You also don't need fancy dessert cups for this.  I used ramekins for some.  You could also use wine or martini glasses, or even shot glasses for smaller portions.  Small clear plastic cups would also work out great!