Rose Water Mousse, an airy, elegant gelled yogurt dessert



I’ve got a thing for molded foods, sweet or savory. I’m unsure if this is indicative of  deep-seated psychological issues or just a love of things orderly. And in shapes. No matter. The photo of this dessert caught my immediate attention in a then current issue of Sunset Magazine, June 2008 issue. It looked amazing but I lacked Rose Water.




Fast forward five years when I found Rose Water. The recipe surfaced from a stack of torn out pages and scrawled scraps of paper, most serendipitously. My friend Velma, age 92, gave me a number of dessert/salad molds that were her grandmother’s, which I’ve been wanting to use. Voila.



It all came together in this light dessert; light in the sense of airy and fluffy on the fork, as well as in terms of sweetness. The combination of ingredients packs that “Oh, Wow” factor. And it is amazingly simple to make.



1 envelope (1/4 ounce) powdered gelatin

½ cup heavy whipping cream

½ tsp. vanilla

4 Tbl. honey, or to taste

Pinch of salt

1-1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1 cup hulled strawberries, sliced lengthwise (I used ½ pint raspberries)

1 Tlb. Sugar

½ tsp. rose water (optional, but it gives the recipe pizzaz)

¼ cup rose petals (pesticide-free)



1. Put gelatin and ½ cup water in a small saucepan and let soften for a few minutes. Meanwhile pour cream and vanilla into a medium bowl and whip the mixture into soft peaks.

2. Heat gelatin mixture gently over low heat until gelatin dissolves completely. Stir in honey and salt. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk yogurt in a medium bowl. Whisk some yogurt into gelatin-honey mixture. Then whisk that mixture into rest of yogurt. Fold whipped cream into yogurt mixture and pour into mold, (Sunset used a 6” cake pan.) Cover with plastic wrap and chill until set, at least 1 hour.

4. Combine berries, sugar and rose water in a small bowl and mix gently. Allow berries to macerate into a syrup for 20 – 30 minutes before serving.

5. To unmold, dip underside of mold in a large bowl of hot water for a minute or so. Remove from water and set a serving plate face down on top. Holding plate in place, quickly invert mold to release yogurt mixture, (tap pan if necessary.) Top with berries and rose petals.



I added a splash of blackberry syrup.



Rose water is available at Middle Eastern and gourmet markets and liquor stores.



Comments

Stephanie said…
I substituted buttermilk for the yogurt at Christmas. It was delicious! I made two batches and Tyler ate most of them.
Sat Jan 11, 03:35:00 PM
Anonymous said…
When will you be making this again? T
Sat Aug 02, 06:29:00 PM
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