Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Parfait

A winning combination, chocolate and peanut butter. I was thrilled to learn that The Baron can appreciate chocolate and peanut butter as much as I do {score!}. I've already made two desserts highlighting this combo for him and I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. The first dessert was a gluten free brownie studded with peanut butter chips, dark chocolate chips and walnuts. Sadly, pictures never happened for it because my camera battery was dead at the time. But the second dessert was this Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Parfait. Beautifully layered in a martini glass, the smooth and creamy mousse is heavenly decadent and rich. I finished half my serving while The Baron didn't waste any bit of it. At first I was worried when he didn't comment on it... but when I realized his glass was empty shortly after serving, I knew it had to be good. Then over the weekend, friends were over and were snooping in my fridge {which is a popular thing to do by my guests, it seems}. That's when they found my martini glass with half the parfait left over. Yeah, they ate it up too and were asking for more lol. Needless to say, this is a recipe any chocolate and peanut butter fan will love. And devour. And possibly ask for more...

Before you start dismissing this recipe because it looks or sounds like too much effort, take a deep breath and trust me when I say it's not. In fac, my 2 year old Joel helped make these desserts! If he can do it, anyone can. :)

Essentially you are whisking the egg and sugar together... adding warmed heavy cream or half & half... and returning it to the heat to thicken. For the peanut butter mousse, you add peanut butter and dissolved gelatin to the warmed egg+heavy cream mixture. For the chocolate mousse, you pour the warmed egg+half & half over chocolate, allow to melt and stir to combine. Transfer it to a serving glass in alternating layers and chill until set.

My initial plan was to add a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a sprinkling of crushed pretzels on top. But The Baron and I couldn't wait for that extra touch. Besides, it really didn't need it, but if you wanted to, I would recommend it for something over the top!

This post is sponsored by Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, the perfect special ingredient for all of your family’s favorite treats!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Parfait
recipe from Food & Wine

Peanut Butter Mousse:
1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons salted smooth peanut butter
In a bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the water and let stand for 5 minutes. In a saucepan, cook the cream over moderately high heat until it bubbles around the edge. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, followed by the gelatin. Scrape the peanut butter mixture into the bottom of six 12-ounce jars or parfait glasses and refrigerate for 1 hour, until set.

Dark Chocolate Mousse:
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 ounces Nestle milk chocolate chips, chopped
2 ounces Nestle bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan, heat the half-and-half until it bubbles around the edge. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Gradually whisk the hot half-and-half into the egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Place both chocolates in a medium bowl. Pour the half-and-half mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute, then whisk until completely melted.

In a chilled bowl, whip cream into medium peaks. Transfer whipped cream to bowl with chocolate. Fold in the whipped cream to combine.

Pour the different mousse in a serving glass in alternating layers; chill until set and serve.