Mousse de maracujá is a cold passion-fruit cream: condensed milk, table cream, and tart pulp blended and chilled. It is a national Sunday closer. After a churrasco it is already in the fridge. You spoon it into cups when the grate is empty.
The fruit
When you go to a Latin or Brazilian market, ask for polpa de maracujá, frozen passion-fruit pulp, in the freezer. Fresh passion fruit works if you can find it: cut, scoop, and strain the seeds if you want a smooth cream. A passion-fruit cocktail or sweetened juice drink is sugar and water. The dessert needs the sour pulp.
Ingredients (8 small cups)
- 1 can (14 oz/ 395 g) sweetened condensed milk (leite condensado)
- 1 can (10 oz/ 300 g) table cream (creme de leite). In a US store that is table cream, or 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened passion-fruit pulp (polpa de maracujá), thawed if frozen
- Optional: 1 packet (1/4 oz/ 7 g) unflavored gelatin (gelatina sem sabor), bloomed in 3 tablespoons (45 ml) cold water
The blender recipe without gelatin is the common home one. It sets soft in the fridge. Gelatin makes a cleaner slice if you want to turn it out of a dish.
Method
- If you are using gelatin, sprinkle it over the cold water and let it sit 5 minutes. Warm it just until it dissolves. Keep it under a boil.
- Blend the condensed milk, the cream, and the pulp until smooth, about 30 seconds. If you used gelatin, blend that in at the end.
- Pour into a bowl or into 8 small cups. Chill at least 4 hours, overnight if you can. It should spoon in a mound, not pour.
How you know it’s done
It should spoon in a mound, not pour, and the top sets smooth after the chill.
After a churrasco
Make it the day before. Serve cold, after the meat. Cafezinho sits with it. Homemade maracujá juice is a different drink; it has its own post. The leftover mousse keeps two days in the fridge.
Leave a Reply