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| Luscious turrón mousse to finish the year. |
Looking ahead to festive dining on New Year’s, before the inevitable January diet, I am planning a meal a little decadent, luxurious with calories. I’ll throw some foie gras into the serving of black-eyed peas, flambé the tenderloin with fine brandy, and, for dessert, indulge in a rich mousse of cream and turrón, almond nougat candy.
It’s a rich dessert, no matter how you figure. But I am making it with no sugar! I found sugar-free versions of both the crunchy-hard Alicante and the fudgy-soft Jijona turrón that are made with sweeteners such as malitol and sorbitol. You might even like them better than the original, sugar-laden turrón! The mousse requires no gelatin and is absolutely simple to prepare.
If sugar-free is not your thing, you can make the recipe with regular soft turrón containing sugar. Look for Spanish turrón at specialty food shops or order from LaTienda.
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| A layer of cookie crumbs (crushed polvorones) forms the base for the cream. Toppings of grated dark chocolate, chopped salted almonds, or ground cinnamon. Or, why not? all three. |
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| Luscious and so easy to make. |
Almond Nougat Mousse
Espuma de Turrón
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| Crumbled polvorón. |
Use whipping cream that has been well-chilled. Chill the bowl and beaters by placing them in the freezer 30 minutes before whipping the cream. If desired, sugar or sugar substitute can be beaten into the cream.
A layer of crumbled cookies (polvorones*) make a base for the creamy mousse. Use any cookie crumbs if polvorones are not available. Once the mousse has been scooped into dessert cups, sprinkle the tops with grated dark chocolate (look for sugar-free chocolate), chopped fried almonds, ground cinnamon, or all three! Cover the cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
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| Soft turrón mashes easily. |
Makes 5 (½ -cup) servings
8 ounces (Philadelphia) cream cheese, room temperature
1 (150-gram/ 5 ¼- ounce) bar of (sugar-free) soft almond turrón, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum or Brandy de Jerez
Pinch of salt
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
Sugar or sugar-substitute (optional)
1-2 (sugar-free) polvorones (crumbly cookies)
Topping: grated dark chocolate, ground cinnamon, or chopped salted almonds
Combine the cream cheese, turrón, vanilla, rum, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream until stiff adding sugar/substitute, if desired. Whisk a spoonful of the cream cheese-turrón mixture into the cream then gently fold the remainder into the cream.
Crush the polvorones and place a spoonful in the bottom of 5-6 dessert cups. Spoon the mousse mixture into the cups. Top them, as desired, with chocolate, cinnamon, and/or chopped almonds.
Cover the dessert cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
*Polvorones are a popular Andalusian Christmas cookie confected of lard, sugar, ground almonds, and flour. Their name means "powdery" because they easily crumble to bits. See more about polvorones and the similar mantecados here.
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Here are more suggestions for New Year dining:
Almond Nougat Mousse This version is with eggs and gelatin (and I see that I used the same dessert cups!)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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