Chocolate Bowls, with Raspberries & Chocolate Mousse

This is a fabulous dessert. The recipe comes from Nugget Market. The chocolate bowls are amazingly easy to create, using a filled balloon, dipped into chocolate to achieve the shape. This would be an excellent dessert to serve at a special party! It’s beautiful.

Ingredients

12 oz. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
4 decorator balloons – partially filled with air to a 5-inch diameter
10″ x 10″ sheet of aluminum foil
 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
 2 tablespoons butter, softened
 ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
 ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
 1 tablespoon milk
 ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
 1 cup heavy whipping cream
 1 pint fresh raspberries
Mint leaves for garnish

 Preparation To Make Chocolate Bowls:

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat until it reaches a smooth consistency. Remove chocolate from heat and let sit at room temperature for 5-7 minutes. Lay aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Dip the bottom half of each balloon into chocolate, transferring each to the aluminum foil. Rest balloons for 3-4 minutes, then repeat process. Place balloons into the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove and gently pop one balloon at a time, carefully peeling it away from the inside of the chocolate bowl. Leave in a cool environment, loosely covered.

 To Make Chocolate Mousse:

With a mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Add confectioners sugar, cocoa, milk, and vanilla extract. Continue to beat mixture until light and fluffy. Transfer to a separate container. Whip heavy cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula. Spoon mixture into a decorating bag with a large rosette tip. Pipe this mixture into each chocolate bowl, leaving room for the berries. Return filled bowls to refrigerator and chill for about 2 hours. Just before serving, add fresh raspberries to chocolate bowl and garnish with fresh mint leaves.