{recipe} : summer chocolate mousse.

I woke up this morning to the sudden realisation that summer is quickly dissipating, implicating a finite time limit to my summer-inspired blog posts that have been patiently pending. The bigger implication, however, is that I have been working as a doctor for four grand weeks now and that those tumultuous series of night shifts and erratic work hours feel like a euphoric haze of realised longstanding dreams. I'm not going to deny the fact that I return home utterly exhausted, mentally and physically, but there's a such a glorious satisfaction in knowing you've find your calling because you cannot conceive the possibility of life any other way.

Anyhow, onto more frivolous matters ... this dessert. I think chocolate is perhaps one of the less favourable dessert options during the sweltering summer days as it cloys too easily, and in my case, an inadvertent omission of mint leaves in the white chocolate mousse layer meant that the overall flavours were far too saccharine. The summer berries, however, are not only a lovely seasonal touch to an otherwise basic dessert but are also mandatory for their added acidity. 

In some ways, this dessert is deceptively simple - basically three different permutations of chocolate and cream with the dark chocolate mousse layer, white chocolate mousse layer, and the dark chocolate ganache but you do need time and patience to execute this. I am quite particular about the aesthetic element of the dessert so I was a little disappointed at the lack of congruity between the layers, but this can easily be rectified in the future with the use of a stalwart piping bag. 

I think I would still save chocolate desserts for the chiller months but this is still a worthy idea to keep in your dessert repertoire for laid-back summer soirees! 

Much love, Mandy. xx