Ingredients

Method

For caramel mousse:
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 t cornstarch
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds removed
• 4 free egg yolks
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 4 gelantine leaves, soaked in cold water
• 1 cup cream, whipped to
For the apricots:
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 apricots, halved and pitted
For the salted butter sauce:
• 115 g butter
• 1 T maldon salt

Method

Ingredients

To make the caramel mousse:
Add 1 T of the milk to the cornstarch and mix together. In a saucepan over a medium heat, heat the vanilla pod in the remaining milk until steaming.

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Lightly whisk the egg yolks and the caster sugar together until combined, then stir in the cornstarch mixture. Pour a small amount of the warm milk into the egg-sugar mixture and mix. Add the remaining milk in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously.
Strain the custard then pour it into a saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir continuously until the custard thickens to the point where it will coat the back of a spoon. Place the granulated sugar in a pan and heat gently to form a dark caramel.

Add the caramel to the custard and cool further. Remove the gelatine leaves from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Add to the caramel-custard and stir through until combined. Place the mousse mixture over a cold ice water bath and stir until it cools down and starts to thicken. Fold in the whipped cream, one half of it at a time. Spoon into a mould and chill.

To poach the apricots:
In a saucepan, over a medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water and lemon juice, then bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, add the apricots and poach for 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove from the syrup and set aside to cool.

To make the salted butter sauce:
In a pan over a medium to low heat, heat the butter until pale brown in colour. Add the salt and mix.

To serve:
Distribute the apricots amongst your serving bowls and add a dollop of the mousse. Drizzle with the salted butter sauce and serve immediately.

TASTE’s take:
Sweet caramel and savoury salt are perfect flavour partners. Serve spoonfuls of this luscious mousse with fresh berries if you like.