If your easy chocolate pudding ends up grainy, there may be one of two issues. One is that some of the egg became scrambled when you were making the pudding. You can usually fix this by pushing the pudding through a fine mesh strainer. If that isn’t the issue, the pudding probably just needs to be mixed more.
Hi, i have always enjoyed using Delias recipes, because they have always come out as expected and I have made Delias chocolate mousse for years very successfully, but more recently it has tended to become lumpy/gritty when I beat the egg whites into the chocolate, egg yolk mix. I am dairy intolerant and need to use dark chocolate, generally 70% cocoa solids. Could this be the reason? I do leave it to cool for 15 minutes before adding the whites. I am hoping to make Delias squidgy chocolate log for our traditional Christmas Day pudding and would like to have the mousse smooth rather than lumpy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
At first bite, mousse is all about the chocolate, whether a combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate a la celebrity chef Ina Garten, or tried and true semi-sweet. However, the key to a spectacular mousse is really about the cream. To prevent your mousse from turning grainy, youll therefore want to readjust the strength of your peaks at the whipping stage of your mousse-making endeavor.
Creamy, soft, and rich, chocolate mousse is all about the texture. Dig your spoon into a chocolate mound, and youre left with a delightfully light and chocolatey bite. Yet because mousse is known for its signature smooth consistency, you have to be careful to keep the texture as such. Homemade mousse can easily turn grainy — the byproduct of over-whipping your heavy cream.
At the simplest explanation, this textural conundrum occurs because over-whipping causes your heavy cream to separate into solids. Essentially, that cream breaks down into butter, disrupting the final texture of your mousse. After all, the dessert consists of just a couple of ingredients — eggs, sugar, cream, and chocolate, give or take a few additions — so the cream plays a significant role in its ultimate taste and texture. Keeping the cream together is therefore essential.
Luckily, resolving this setback is as easy as making the mistake in the first place. Over-whipping is the root of the problem, so simply scale back on your beating, and your mousse will be all the better.
To do so, beat your heavy cream with a few tablespoons of sugar until peaks just begin to stiffen. Youll know its ready by your sight; look for just softened peaks forming on the end of your whisk, and then turn the mixer off. Generally, its easiest to whip cream when its cold, so you should chill your cream and even use a chilled bowl and whisk. If you dont have an automatic mixer, you can, alternatively, whip by hand. Fair warning, this will take longer — and thrust your arms into action. A good mousse, however, is worth working for.
How to Fix Seized Chocolate – Baking Tips
FAQ
Why is my homemade chocolate pudding grainy?
Why is my chocolate cream pie grainy?
What are common mistakes when making mousse?
Why is my chocolate clumping?
SARAH SAYS: It has to do with the sugar crystals in chocolate getting wet, making them clump. If the chocolate has seized, there is really no way back to the original chocolate. However, if some more water is added, the grainy mass magically turns silky smooth again. Huh?
Does chocolate mousse get grainy?
The chocolate mousse recipe on my site uses egg yolks that are cooked into a custard, and this type of mousse is pretty unlikely to get grainy. You’ll note that it uses whipped cream rather than a meringue to achieve a light texture. Definitely more in the American-style while keeping its French roots.
Why is my Pudding Mix dissolving?
It could be a bad quality pudding mix, improperly stored pudding mix, or a wrong ratio of mix to milk. In the case of badly dissolving powders, you want to be more careful. You should use the proper amount of liquid – start out with around 1.5 times more liquid than powder by volume, and make a slurry.
Why is my chocolate hard?
This happens when the chocolate is stored in damp conditions, either from humidity in the air or condensation from refrigeration, causing sugar to dissolve and come to the surface, which leaves it rough. It is visible as white streaks and dots and grainy texture.