I love a dramatic dessert at a cocktail party, but I also want a pick-up dessert that doesn’t need plates and utensils. A deep, dark-chocolate mousse that’s piped onto a choice of two very different kinds of cookies fits the bill. Although I like to make both cookie bases and serve them together, you may want to save a little time by choosing to make only one. (Pictured page 204, center and top.)

　　

Ingredients

makes about 3 dozen tuiles and 16 meringues, with filling

　　

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao), coarsely chopped

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　5 large egg yolks

　　1/2 cup water

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1 tablespoon vanilla extract

　　1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled

　　2 tablespoons amaretto (optional)

　　

Almond Tuiles

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1 1/4 cup sliced almonds

　　1/2 cup light corn syrup

　　1/4 cup all-purpose flour

　　Pinch of kosher salt

　　

Meringues

4 large egg whites

　　1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

　　Pinch of salt

　　1 1/4 cups sugar

　　

Step 1

TO MAKE THE MOUSSE: In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water, melt the chocolate and the 2 tablespoons butter. Set the chocolate mixture aside to cool. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks until thick and pale, about 5 minutes; stir in the vanilla.

　　

Step 2

In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and simmer over medium heat until the mixture reaches a soft ball stage, 234°F on a candy thermometer. In a slow, steady stream, add the sugar mixture to the egg yolk mixture, beating on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Using a large rubber spatula, fold the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture, one-third at a time. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream at high speed until soft peaks start to form. (If you continue to beat the cream beyond this point, the mousse will get lumpy.) Gently fold the whipped cream and amaretto, if desired, into the chocolate mixture.

　　

Step 4

TO MAKE THE TUILES: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners or grease generously with butter or cooking spray.

　　

Step 5

In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt the 1/2 cup butter and stir in the 1/2 cup sugar and almonds until combined. Stir in the corn syrup, flour, and salt; remove from the heat and let cool 15 minutes.

　　

Step 6

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough at least 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 2 minutes. Roll the warm cookies into cones. If the cookies get too hard, return to the oven for 1 or 2 minutes. Cool completely and store in airtight containers, with waxed paper between layers.

　　

Step 7

TO MAKE THE MERINGUES: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

　　

Step 8

Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg whites, cream of tartar, and pinch of salt on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add the 1 1/4 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe 2-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the meringues for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave them inside the closed oven for 1 hour more, or overnight if that is easier.

　　

Step 9

TO ASSEMBLE: Spoon the mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. For the tuiles, pipe about 1 tablespoon of mousse into each cone. For the meringue, pipe it on top of each meringue disk.

　　

do it early

Step 10

The mousse must be made the day it is served. Pipe the mousse into the cookies about 2 hours before serving and keep at room temperature. The tuiles and the meringues can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept in airtight containers. (Be sure to separate the tuiles with waxed paper as they tend to stick together.) If the weather is very humid, it is best make both cookies the day you plan to serve them.

　　Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.