I had, after all, just one successful espuma to my name, and that only after several days' and N2O cartridges' worth of effort. In the interest of preserving my right to cast stones, therefore, I decided to put my fabulous new cream whipper to work on a spur-of-the-moment project, first-time success of which would forever allow me to criticize (constructively, of course) the bungled attempts of others.
I put all my hard-won experience and new-found knowledge to work and adapted a recipe that appeared in one of the many, many booklets provided by my siphon's manufacturer. I altered the ingredients somewhat and converted all the crazy metric measurements to good old-fashioned American ones, coming up with a fine recipe for a new dessert that I will employ to delight dinner guests in the months to come.
In addition to my confounding cream whipper, I utilized my microwave to melt the chocolate - mostly because a microwave is another device that appears to drive top cheftestants insane. I call my creation ...
White Chocolate and Amarula Mousse, Just to Show 'Em
Before you begin, make sure your very best cream whipper is good and cold from having been stored in the fridge for an hour or two. Don't forget, Myrhvold et al have demonstrated - exhaustively - that temperature is the keyest ingredient to foaming success!
Break up five ounces of good quality white chocolate in a bowl and zap it in the microwave until it's melted and creamy. I suppose you could melt the chocolate in a double boiler if you weren't feeling superior. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, whip together one whole egg; one additional egg yolk; and one ounce of Amarula. Any cream liqueur would do, probably: Bailey's, Heather Cream, Advocaat, whatever. Amarula is our favorite, though, and I've still got half a bottle to get through. What a hardship!
Temper the white chocolate with a little of the egg mixture, then beat it all up together. Finally, add about eight-and-one-half ounces of heavy whipping cream and whisk vigorously. Strain the concoction into your cream whipper. Straining is very important: even the tiniest little speck of scrambled egg will cause the mousse to spurt from your device in a prolonged series of gassily rude eruptions!
Screw on an N2O cartridge and release the gas into the vessel. Remove the cartridge for ease of squirting later on and give the apparatus a few vigorous shakes. We are not German, so we are not going to bother with specifying an exact number. Five seconds or so seems about right.
Return the siphon to the fridge where it should be stored on its side for at least a couple of hours and at most 3-4 days.
When you are ready to enjoy your mousse, screw on your favorite dispensing nozzle. I like the one shaped like a mumps-infected saw-toothed triffid.
Give your whipper a few final shakes for good measure, hold it vertically (upside-down, of course) and gently dispense the deliciousness contained within. I've discovered it's a good idea to do a trial run on a small plate in the kitchen, out of range of your guests' line of sight or the outfits of any TC judges that might be lurking about. You can always give the mixture a few more shakes if it seems too runny. When you are confident you are a good to go, you can foam away with a suitable public flourish.
The mousse would be awesome on fresh fruit, particularly strawberries - although it would also be a fine adornment to gluten-free vanilla cake.
Addendum: I am told by reliable sources that the garment onto which Bev's curry foam was spritzed was not, in fact, a 'rather tacky skirt' but a Missoni creation that probably cost, like, a gazillion dollars. I trust Pads has learned her lesson and will no longer sport designer duds in the vicinity of would-be molecular gastronomists.
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