Instant Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry-Melon and Vanilla Mascarpone

by Leah Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 1 punnet strawberries, quartered
  • ½ cup caster sugar
  • ½ cup sweet sherry
  • 1 rockmelon, in balls
  • 400g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp Grand Marnier
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 75g pure icing sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • crostoli and malt soil, to serve

Instructions

1 Combine the strawberries, caster sugar and sweet sherry in a small saucepan and cook gently for 15 minutes, until the strawberries soften. Strain through a fine sieve, combine with the melon, then set aside for 15 minutes.
2 Place the chocolate, butter and 280ml hot water in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, set over a bowl of iced water and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens.
3 Whip the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until thickened. Spoon mascarpone into bowl, top with mousse, then arrange the melon around. Garnish with crostoli and malt soil.