Peach Mousse Torte

While I was preparing  Squash soup from over 10 kilos(over 22 pounds) of gourmet squash I sent my other half to the farmer’s market to do some shopping  .He knows I love fruit and always brings me something I haven’t written on the list.  Gotta love that.This time he bought some delicious peaches.

It was hot last week, very hot,  and temperatures in triple digits are enough for me to scare me and I stay  away from baking, unless of course it is absolutely necessary and so I decided to make a simple and delicious Summer treat Peach mouse torte,  in fact this is a no bake dessert which makes it perfect for  the Summer.

Would be great if I had ladyfingers, those would be perfect to use with mousse but I didn’t (didn’t feel like baking them)so I compromised and used one of my favorites – 

Ulker Tea Biscuits (Petit Beurre) Turkish 175 gram package
I get them in the Russian Store called Net Cost Market, they sell these in bulk. They are delicious and store well too. Love them. 

I also use these for my Banana in Chocolate

I let you on a little secret, I love dipping these in milk, that is without a doubt one of my favorite snacks.

You could make this dessert with any seasonal fruit, but today we are having 

 

 

You need:
loaf pan, plastic wrap

Fruit Puree
Swiss Meringue
Gelatin
Heavy Whipping Cream
tea biscuits or ladyfingers

To make Fruit Puree

5large ripe peaches
depending on how sweet they are add sugar or honey, I added 1/4 cup honey

1 whole star anise
juice of one lemon

Wash peaches, remove the pit and slice them, and cook  them with  honey, star anise and lemon juice   on medium heat, stirring occasionally, especially in the beginning stir more frequently, once they become  soft, let them simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit, remove anise star and process in the blender or food processor, strain through a fine mesh sieve and reserve for later use. Store in the fridge. You can use fruit puree as a sauce with your ice cream, in your yogurt or you can make delicious mousse.
Fruit puree can be made ahead of time. Once ready to use, make sure you bring the puree to room temperature.

Swiss Meringue

4egg whites
120grams/ 4 1/4 oz  granulated sugar

Place the egg whites, sugar and pinch of salt in a clean bowl of your mixer and place it over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly, until egg whites get too hot to touch, you want the sugar to dissolve and bring the egg whites to a safe temperature for use. Once your egg whites get hot to the touch, continue whisking for about 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and using a hand or  a stand mixer and whip it on high
 until it is stiff and it has cooled off , but don’t over beat them as they will get grainy. Once they lukewarm it is fine to stop beating.

Gelatin

16grams/0.6oz -about 1tbl gelatin

60grams/2oz water

Using a small dish or a cup, bloom gelatin in the water for about 5 minutes, then either place it over a simmering water and stir until dissolved, or I use microwave, 1/2power setting for 5-10 seconds, until dissolved, but watch it carefully so it doesn’t boil or gets very hot.
Let cool slightly until ready to use


Heavy Whipping Cream
 about 180gram/6.4oz, or a 1 1/2cup heavy whipping cream

Using a mixer or a whisk, whip the cream until soft peaks are formed

Folding the Mousse and Layering the Torte
Line the loaf pan with plastic wrap

At this point you should have prepared
Fruit puree, Swiss meringue, and Dissolved gelatin

Add dissolved and  slightly cooled gelatin to the room temperature fruit puree, gently fold in swiss meringue and then fold in whipped heavy cream.

Layer mousse into the prepared pan that you lined with plastic wrap. Start with mousse and then alternate layers of vanilla tea biscuits or graham crackers or ladyfingers. Finish with a layer of mousse. Cover with plastic wrap, give the pan a little tap and refrigerate overnight. 

Unmold the torte onto a clean serving dish , slice and serve. Can be stored in the fridge once prepared until ready to use.