Bourbon Maple Mousse with Crisp Topping

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Watch out pie, a new dessert is taking over the holidays!! 

One of my favorite original recipes in my food calendar to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank is my Bourbon Maple Mousse with a Crisp Topping. I love it because it is unique, festive and absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself).

Besides having the great maple taste in this dessert, the thing that really sends this overboard is the textural contrast between the subtle, airy mousse and the delightful crisp, crunchy topping.

The topping is essentially made out of the same ingredients you would find in a topping for apple crisp; instead, I just baked the topping in the oven and once cooked, crumbled it into all different sizes and piled it on the mousse (not to mention an extra drizzle of good quality maple syrup)!!!

I made this my calendar's recipe for November because I think it is a really fabulous dessert to have for the holidays- it is great because it HAS to be made the day before; therefore, it has everything you could ever want in a holiday dessert- seasonal ingredients, ease, warm feeling etc.... Besides making it ahead of time, it is great because it can make a lot and when you serve it, I like to have two separate bowls- one large one filled with mousse and another filled with the crisp topping. It is fantastic because guests can serve themselves casually and add as much crisp topping as they desire. If you are going the more elegant route (whether for the holidays, dinner parties or simply for yourself to indulge in) the mousse looks fabulous served in its own individual containers - as I served them in mason jars in this picture. Just make sure to not top the mousse with the topping until ready to serve.


For the Bourbon Maple Mousse:
Serves 6-8


1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
3 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup+ 1 tbs. dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup + 1 tbs. good quality dark maple syrup
3 tbs. bourbon
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Crisp topping for topping (recipe below)

1. In a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and set aside until softened about 5-6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks, brown sugar, cinnamon, sea salt and maple syrup in the top of a double boiler over slightly simmering water. Whisk the ingredients in the bowl together constantly for about 8 minutes or until the mixture has slightly thickened and paled in color. Remove this mixture from the heat.
3. Add the gelatin to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until combined. Let this cool fully.
4. Next place the mixture into the refrigerator and allow it to begin to set.
This will take about 17-20 minutes.
5. Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the bourbon.
6. Beat the egg whites in a mixer
until soft peaks form. Add 2 tbs. of the powdered sugar in batches and beat until the peaks are stiff. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites in batches into the maple mixture.
7. Beat the cream in the same manner as you did the egg whites. Add 2 tbs.
of powdered sugar in batches and beat until the peaks are stiff. Fold the whipped cream into the maple mixture. Let the mixture rest and refrigerate overnight. Serve with the crisp topping and a drizzle of maple syrup!

For the Crisp Topping:
Serves 4-8

1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 stick cold butter, cubed

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, sea salt and rolled oats together in a large bowl.
3. In batches, use your fingers to work
in the butter until some pieces are pea sized. Once everything is combined, spread out on to a cookie sheet into an even layer. Immediately place this in the oven and bake for about 10-20 minutes or until everything is a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven.
4. Let the crisp cool and then gently remove the crisp topping from the baking sheet and place in a bowl. Crumble up the topping. Place in a bowl and cover until you need to use it.

Happy Eatings!