Mini White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Shooters
Save room for dessert! And this is one shooter the whole family can enjoy! They’re also a sweet surprise for friends who don’t drink alcohol. Treat your guests to a delightful finale with my miniature white chocolate raspberry mousse shooters, perfect for any gathering and easy to whip up the day before your event. Served in adorable miniature dessert glasses, these treats are not only irresistibly delicious, they’re visually appealing, too. The contrast of soft white chocolate and vibrant red raspberries is gorgeous, especially in springtime!
Girls’ Night with Cheri Oteri and Friends
A few weeks ago, my friends Dominique, Kelsey, and Cheri Oteri came to visit me in Chicago. We did all kinds of fun activities—from swimming in the hotel pool to enjoying meals at our favorite restaurants. We had sooo much fun—and we made a few recipes together, too. Make sure to check out my stuffed artichokes recipe and my rosé blackberry spritz recipe! When I’m having the girls over at my place, I love to make a fancy dessert—and my white chocolate mousse and raspberry dessert shooters recipe definitely fits the bill.
The Best Dessert Ideas for Girls’ Night are Gorgeous and Fun
This mini dessert shooter recipe is always a big hit! The white chocolate flavor is rich without being too intense… absolutely divine. I actually designed my whole dinner menu around this dish—sorry, not sorry! Even though my good friend Bud wasn’t invited to girls’ night, he was there when I first tested the recipe, and he gave a glowing review of the smooth, creamy texture of the white chocolate mousse. That’s a great compliment from Bud, who is a wonderful chef himself! In fact, here are a few of his recipes for you to add to your own recipe box!
How to Serve Dessert Shooters
I like to serve these little treats in mini dessert glasses. Miniature dessert glasses are relatively easy to find and range in size from 2.5 to 3.5 ounces. Depending on the size of glass you have, you will be able to make 12 to 14 miniature mousse desserts the day before your event. Just pop a few mint leaves on top before serving and you are ready to present a spectacular finale to any dinner party!
Homemade Raspberry Puree
Making raspberry puree is a breeze, but keep in mind that the puree must be completely cooled before placing it into the dessert glasses. I like to prepare my raspberry puree recipe about two hours before layering it into my dessert glasses. You can also whip up a batch a day ahead if you like.
When you’re ready, you can place the puree and white chocolate directly into the glasses or pipe the mixture in using pastry bags. You can enjoy leftover raspberry puree on top of ice cream or vanilla yogurt throughout the week!
Store any leftover puree in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or place it in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Before use, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator!
Working with white chocolate can be tricky—here’s how to master it.
What exactly is white chocolate? White chocolate is essentially milk chocolate without any cacao solids. In fact, white chocolate is technically not chocolate at all since chocolate must have cacao solids in it! It’s still as mouth-watering as any other dessert chocolate. But you do have to be careful with it. Because it doesn’t have those cacao solids, it burns a lot faster than dark or milk chocolates do.
It’s best to melt your white chocolate in a double boiler. You can also microwave it with a little cream added into it if you prefer. Any type of chocolate is very sensitive to water. That’s why I favor the microwave melting method over the double boiler method. Steam or water from a double boiler can get into the chocolate during the melting process, which can cause it to “seize” later or result in a grainy texture. No matter how you decide to melt your white chocolate, just make sure to be patient and keep an eye on it, and you’ll be in good shape!
Mini White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Shooters Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
- 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon Mary’s Cognac Vanilla Extract
- Fresh mint leaves
- Fresh raspberries
- Leftover raspberry puree
Instructions
- Prepare the raspberry puree: Place the raspberries, along with any thawed raspberry liquid, into a small saucepan. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Heat on medium until the mixture begins to simmer, using the back of a spoon to break up the raspberries. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and process through a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl. With the back of a spoon, press the raspberries and juices through the strainer, scraping the underside of the strainer occasionally. Discard the seeds that remain in the strainer.
- In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and water and mix until smooth. Transfer the raspberry mixture into a clean saucepan and set over medium heat until it begins to boil. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook on medium-high for about 1 minute until the puree thickens.
- Transfer the puree to a clean bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. The puree is ready when it is cooled to room temperature, but you can make it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it after it’s completely cooled.
- Now it’s time to prepare the white chocolate mousse: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chopped white chocolate with ¼ cup of the heavy cream. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. I find that 30 seconds in the microwave is usually enough to get the white chocolate melted. White chocolate can burn very easily so keep a good eye on it. My rule of thumb is, if the chocolate is almost melted, just stir the chocolate cream mixture to melt those final pieces of chocolate—one more burst of heat could burn the mixture. Let cool completely before whipping your cream.
- In a large, chilled mixing bowl, beat the rest of the chilled heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Add the confectioners’ sugar in two additions, beating in between, until incorporated. Now beat in the vanilla extract.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the melted white chocolate and cream mixture into the whipped cream. Be gentle so you don’t deflate your whipped cream.
- You have a couple of different options for assembling your dessert. You can either spoon layers of white chocolate and raspberry puree into decorative wine or dessert glasses, or you can transfer the mixtures into individual pastry bags and pipe them into the glasses. I use a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip for the white chocolate mixture and a disposable pastry bag with the tip cut off for the raspberry sauce. The reason I use a pastry bag for the raspberry puree too is to make sure I don’t smear it on the side of the glasses.
- Finish the top of each dessert with a swirl of white chocolate mousse, then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, garnish, if desired, with mint sprigs, fresh raspberries, and a little drizzle of any leftover raspberry puree. So good!