White Chocolate Mousse

I had a remarkably difficult time finding a recipe for this I liked.  Actually, I never did, so this is a variation on pastry cream.

We're going to start here with explaining that white chocolate is not chocolate.  It's what's left when you take all the chocolate out of a cocoa bean.  And it's usually drowned out by so much vanilla that you don't even taste the cocoa butter.  What it does for this recipe is supply extra fat and smoothness to a base that can now be enhanced by fruit, nuts, or beating in some alcohol.  It also works as cake or pie filling.

I'm starting with the Bible's pastry cream recipe and adding melted white chocolate to it.  Actually, I got halfway through the recipe and realized I was out of white chocolate, so I subbed in yogurt chips. Can we go back to the part where I don't believe in white chocolate?

3/4 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 C milk
6 egg yolks
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C white chocolate
1-1/2 C whipping cream

1.  In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, flour, and salt.  Add milk and stir until dry ingredients are dissolved.  Heat over medium low, stirring constantly to avoid scorching, until it boils.  This will take up to 10 minutes, but don't turn up the heat.  If the bottom of the pan scorches, you have to start over.  The mixture will get very thick as the flour cooks.

2.  Lightly beat the egg yolks.  Stir in a few spoonfuls of the hot milk to temper the eggs, then return the yolks to the saucepan.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the mixture clumps off the spoon.  Do not boil it, or you're going to have a vanilla omelette.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and white chocolate chips.  Keep stirring until the chocolate melts.

3.  Place a piece of plastic wrap touching the mixture so it doesn't form a skin.  Refrigerate until completely cooled, about 2 hours.

4.  Beat the cream to stiff peaks, just short of butter.  I recommend the stand mixer.  Beat into cooled cream custard until uniform.  It only takes a minute to get everything mixed.  The mousse is now ready to be used.  It can be cake filling, pie filling, cream puff filling, or even a dessert on its own.  If desired, you can beat a tablespoon of liqueur into the cream before combining it with the custard.  Vanilla and white chocolate are both blank slates.

Makes about 4-1/2 cups

Difficulty rating  :)