Blueberry And White Chocolate Mousse With Buttery Nut Brittle

Blueberry season is in full swing and since buying a flat of these sweet glistening beauties earlier this week, I have transformed some into a beautiful Blueberry Tart and an easy and pretty White Chocolate Mousse. The blueberries are suspended like small jewels in this light mousse with its hints of ginger and nutmeg. Served with a few shards of crunchy almond, cashew and coconut brittle and you have the perfect sweet ending to any meal.

What you will need

Mousse:
3 Tbsps water
2 tsp gelatin powder
5 oz good quality white chocolate, like Callebaut or Lindt 
2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp ground ginger powder
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh blueberries

Nut Brittle:
What I love about this recipe, is that the brittle is made without corn syrup (which comes from GMO corn) and the results are equally as fabulous if not better!

1-1/2 cups unsalted mixed nuts (whole natural almonds, cashews, almond slices and toasted unsweetened coconut flakes), you should have a ratio of about 1 cup of almonds with the remaining nuts equalling 1/2 cup
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp baking soda

Makes about 2-1/2 cups of brittle - this recipe can easily be doubled

Here's how its done:

For the Mousse:
1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly with the gelatin powder; let stand until the gelatin absorbs the water
2. Place the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stir until smooth
3. Add the gelatin mixture and stir for 1 minute to dissolve
4. Remove from heat and place mixture in a bowl; whisk in ginger and nutmeg then stir for about 3 minutes or until cooled; stir through the blueberries and pour into 6 - 1 cup capacity serving glasses
5. Refrigerate for 45-60 minutes to set

*Note: I used 1/3 cup mini serving glasses in the photos - this will yield about 18 mini glasses, which are perfect for a party. You can also do 1/2 cup servings to yield 12.


For the Nut Brittle:
1. In a heavy bottom saucepan and over medium-high heat, combine water, sugar and salt; when the mixture comes to a gentle boil set your timer for 10 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, clip it onto the edge of the pan with the mercury part in the liquid, but not touching the bottom of the pan)
2. Stirring occasionally, but watching closely (don't walk away), boil until the color changes to a very light amber. This should take about 10 minutes, but could take longer depending on your pan and the type of burner you are using. As soon as the color is right (or the candy thermometer reaches 300F) immediately take the pan off the burner. 
3. Working quickly and continuously, add the butter, vanilla and baking soda (its best to have everything measured out ahead of time, because this step is time sensitive). The mixture will foam up. Continue stirring until the foam subsides and the mixture starts to get glossy.
4. Stir in the nuts all at once and quickly turn mixture out onto a silicone mat, greased parchment-lined or very well greased baking sheet.
5. With a rubber spatula, flatten mixture to desired thickness and allow to cool about 20 minutes, until brittle.

Adapted from Donna Hay ( The Instant Cook) and Average Betty