Pistachio Mousse with White Chocolate

This eggless pistachio mousse is a whipped white chocolate ganache with pistachio cream. It has the soft, airy texture of a classic mousse without any eggs, and you can make it with dairy or dairy-free cream. You make a four-ingredient base, chill it until cold, then whip it and pipe it into dessert glasses.

Prep Time 10

Chill Time 6

Total Time 6 10

Servings Cups

Calories 650kcal

Author Fay Khoury

EQUIPMENT

INGREDIENTS

250 g (2 cups) white chocolate chopped
½ cup pistachio paste or pistachio cream
¼ teaspoon salt
600 ml (2½ cups) cream dairy or dairy-free cream that whips to stiff peaks, divided into 300ml (1 ¼ cups) portions
1 tablespoon pistachios (optional) chopped for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl with the pistachio cream and salt. Smaller pieces melt faster and more evenly.
Heat half of the cream until it just comes to a boil, then take it off the heat right away.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate mixture and stir until it's completely smooth, with no unmelted bits of chocolate left.
Pour in the remaining 300ml (1 ¼ cups) of cold cream and stir well. I add this half cold because it brings the temperature down faster, so the mixture chills sooner.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap pressed right onto the surface so a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours, until it's fully chilled all the way through.
Take it straight from the fridge and whip it while it's still cold. Whip to stiff peaks and watch it closely. It's ready as soon as the mixer leaves trails in the mixture, so stop there and don't overmix.
Spoon it into a piping bag and pipe into small dessert glasses. You'll get about 6, depending on the size of your glasses. You can also just spoon directly into the glasses instead of piping.

NOTES

Pistachio paste swap: You can use pistachio paste in place of pistachio cream, as long as it isn't a high-oil paste (see below).
Avoid high-oil pastes and creams: Pistachio pastes or creams with a high oil content can split the mousse. Choose a thick, spreadable one rather than a runny, oily one.
Dairy or dairy free: Any cream that whips to stiff peaks works, dairy or plant based. For a dairy-free mousse, also use dairy-free white chocolate and check that your pistachio cream or paste contains no milk. Pure pistachio paste is usually just pistachios.
Whip it cold: Make sure the base is fully chilled before whipping, or it won't hold its shape.
Watch the mixer: Stop as soon as the beaters leave trails. Overwhipped ganache can turn grainy.
Other uses: This is a whipped white chocolate truffle ganache, so it also works as a cake filling or a tart filling.

NUTRITION