Chef Giuseppe Mulargia of Le Spighe Restaurant at the Grand Hotel Palatino has created an exclusive recipe for the Valentine’s Day 2024 dessert: a delicious combination of sweet ricotta mousse, sour cherries and vanilla brittle.
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to express your love. The chef’s dessert is part of the tasting menu available for Valentine’s Day dinner in Rome at Le Spighe restaurant on the evening of Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The Valentine’s Day dinner at the restaurant of the Grand Hotel Palatino is also open to the public who are not staying overnight at the hotel.
Enjoy the chef’s dessert or try your hand at making it at home.
Ingredients for 4 servings
For the mousse:
250 gr cow’s milk ricotta
75 ml fresh cream
25 gr powdered sugar
6 gr gelatin sheets
For the sour cherry insert:
250 gr sour cherries in syrup
100 gr sugar
3 gr gelatin sheets
For the vanilla brittle:
100 gr butter
50 gr brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
12 gr flour
Procedure
For the mousse
Start by soaking the gelatin sheets in a bowl with room temperature water.
With the help of a stand mixer, whip the ricotta with the powdered sugar until you get a frothy mixture.
In a saucepan, over low heat, pour the cream and the gelatin sheets so that they melt completely. After a few minutes, incorporate it into the previous mixture gently, stirring with a whisk from the bottom to the top.
For the sour cherry insert
Prepare the insert by putting the sour cherries in a saucepan together with the sugar and half a glass of water, boil for about 10 minutes. Add the previously hydrated gelatine.
Pour the still hot mixture into smaller molds than the mold you are going to use for the mousse and put in the blast chiller in negative mode (at least -18).
Once the insert is frozen, pour the ricotta mousse into another mold of your choice and place the insert in the middle. Put the molds in the blast chiller for 2 and a half hours.
For the vanilla brittle
Prepare the crunchy base by combining the butter at room temperature, the seeds of the vanilla pod, the brown sugar and the flour, kneading everything together. The mixture should be spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and baked at 180°c for 8-10 minutes.
Out of the oven, still hot, we can shape it at will by making shapes with the help of tongs.
Once the mousse is well frozen, remove it from the mold and let it thaw in the refrigerator for an hour (depending on the mold you will use: the larger it is, the longer it will take to thaw).
Serve the mousse on the crispy vanilla base and decorate with a few sour cherries.
Useful tips from chef Giuseppe Mulargia
- If you don’t have a blast chiller, before preparing the mousse, prepare the black cherry insert.
- Freeze both the black cherry insert and the ricotta mousse well so as not to have defects on the final shape of the dessert.
- If you have silicone molds available, it’s better. You will be able to take them out of their molds better once frozen.
This dessert is a masterpiece of flavors and textures that will tantalize your taste buds and leave you completely satisfied.
All that remains is to wish you a sweet evening.