Pomegranate Chocolate Mousse Bowls

Pomegranate Chocolate Mousse Bowls are the perfect little cups of dessert with pomegranate and dark chocolate mousse filling up these adorable bowls made from swirled Ghirardelli melting wafers and topped with pomegranate seeds and chocolate hearts for a festive and colorful treat that will impress your loved one this Valentine’s Day!

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to share these little beauties with you. Not only do they look amazing, but they taste so rich and decadent that you will immediately fall in love. What better dessert to prepare for you special someone?! I know I will be making these for my husband. He is so difficult to buy gifts for, so instead I spend a little extra time in the kitchen and make him something special. These mousse bowls along with some chicken scampi will make him one happy man!

This isn’t the type of recipe you want to skimp on with cheap chocolate. This mousse deserves nothing but the best! Ghirardelli was my go-to chocolate on this project because I know I can always trust them to deliver amazingly smooth and delicious chocolate every time. There is nothing more disappointing in life than grainy, bad chocolate. I have to admit, I made this mousse a couple of times, perfecting the ratios and process, and one of those times I ran out of Ghirardelli. I had to use another well-known brand of chocolate chips from my pantry and the end product was FAR inferior. Trust me on this, go for the good stuff when it comes to chocolate mousse! Be sure and stick with trusted brands like Ghirardelli to ensure all your hard work pays off in this spectacular dessert.

These bowls may seem intimidating, but I promise they are really quite simple and truly so much fun to make! I love seeing all the patterns in the different colors and how each one is so unique. To get started, melt your Ghirardelli white wafers in a small bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30-60 seconds, being sure not to burn them. Remove 1/3 c. of the melted white wafters and add it to a small bowl with red candy dye. Do the same with a 1/2 c. of the dark melting wafers as well.

It is very important to note that you MUST use candy dye and not the traditional water based dyes you find in the cake isle. If you add water based dyes to the melting wafers, they will seize up. If you don’t have candy dye, forgo the pink melts and just do white and dark swirled bowls.

Swirl a teaspoon of the red and dark wafers over the melted white wafers. Do NOT stir them in. Dip each of your small balloons in the swirled wafers and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add more of the red and dark wafers after each balloon for optimal swirls. Keep your balloons small or it will be more difficult to remove the balloon from the bowls when they dry. If you are wanting to ensure sturdier bowls, feel free to double dip in the melted wafers for added thickness.

I used Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers and not standard white chocolate to make the bowls because they are much more versatile and easy to use, ensuring a smooth and even melt. I microwaved my wafers and didn’t get around to dipping my balloons until 5 minutes later and they were still perfectly smooth and melted. With regular chocolate, you will have to work much quicker and it won’t spread as easily.

After the balloons dipped in wafers are dried and no longer shiny, it is time to remove the balloons! Pinching the top part of the balloon, gently cut a slit in the balloon and SLOWLY let out the air. If you pop the balloon they are much more likely to break the bowls. Gently peal away the balloon from the inside of the bowls and store your beautiful swirled bowls refrigerated until ready to use.

Now it is time to get to the mousse. First things first, you will need to add your packet of gelatin to a cold 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream and set aside. Next, melt your Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips along with the pomegranate juice and butter over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth and remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat just before the last bits of chocolate have fully melted. Continue whisking until the chocolate cools down to body temperature.

Turn off your burner and set the small bowl of cream and gelatin in the hot water from the double boiler to create a small water bath. Warm the whipping cream through, but do NOT bring to a boil. Add the heated cream to the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

While your chocolate was cooling, beat the extra whipping cream until stiff peaks are formed. In small increments, fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate and gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined. Spoon or pipe the mousse into your swirled bowls and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Now that you are done with the most difficult parts, it is time to have fun beautifying your little pomegranate chocolate mousse bowls! I added a few pomegranate seeds, just because they are so darn pretty, as well as these amazing new Ghirardelli Valentine’s Day Impressions Chocolates.

These chocolates are a grown up version of conversation hearts with their varying messages on each one. I loved conversation hearts growing up, but they never did taste all that great. These Ghirardelli Impressions are a delicious and sophisticated way to still enjoy that nostalgic Valentine’s Day candy with premium milk and white chocolate.

Because these bowls are so dainty, I decided to deconstruct the Impressions and just add the hearts. The hearts in the center easily pop out when you break the sides away from each one. The best part of all? You HAVE to eat all that chocolate you just deconstructed! Well, now that I think about it, that is probably why I only used the heart in the first place… 😉

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Pomegranate Chocolate Mousse Bowls

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Pomegranate Chocolate Mousse Bowls are the perfect little cups of dessert with pomegranate chocolate mousse filling up these adorable bowls made from swirled Ghirardelli melting wafers and topped with pomegranate seeds and chocolate hearts for a festive and colorful treat that will impress your loved one this Valentine's Day!

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Ingredients

• 12 oz. Ghirardelli white melting wafers
• 4 oz. Ghriradelli dark melting wafers
• 1/4 tsp. red candy dye, NOT water based dye
• 10 oz. pkg 60% Cacao Baking Chips
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. pomegranate juice
• 1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/4 oz pkg unflavored gelatin
• 8 Ghirardelli Valentine's Day Impressions
• 1/4 c. pomegranate seeds
• 8 balloons, I used 9"

Instructions

1. To get started, melt your Ghirardelli white wafers in a small bowl in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30-60 seconds, being sure not to burn them. Remove 1/3 c. of the melted white wafers and add it to a small bowl with red candy dye. Next, melt 1/2 c. of the dark melting wafers by microwaving for a minute.
2. Blow up your balloons to 2-3 inches in diameter and tie off. (no bigger or they won't work well!) Swirl a teaspoon of the red dyed and dark wafers over the melted white wafers. Do NOT stir them in. Dip each of your small balloons half way in the swirled wafers and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add more of the red and dark wafers after each balloon for optimal swirls.
3. After the balloons dipped in wafers are dried and no longer glossy, it is time to remove the balloons. Pinching the top part of the balloon, gently cut a slit in the balloon and SLOWLY let out the air. If you pop the balloon they are much more likely to break the bowls. Gently peal away the balloon from the inside of the bowls and store your beautiful swirled bowls refrigerated until ready to use.
4. To get started with the mousse, add your packet of gelatin to a cold 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream and set aside. Next, melt your Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips along with the pomegranate juice and butter over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth and remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat just before the last bits of chocolate have fully melted. Continue whisking until the chocolate cools down to body temperature.
5. Turn off your burner and now set the small bowl of whipping cream and gelatin in the hot water from the double boilder, creating a water bath and stir constantly. Warm the whipping cream through, but do NOT bring to a boil. Add the heated cream to the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
6. While your chocolate was cooling, beat the extra whipping cream until stiff peaks are formed. In small increments, fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate and gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined. Spoon or pipe the mousse into your swirled bowls and refrigerate for at least an hour.
7. Serve topped with pomegranate seeds and Ghirardelli chocolate impressions.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.