Mint and Kiwi Mousse

This recipe is an adaptation of Nigella Lawson’s ‘Grasshopper Pie’. I had to make some changes to the original recipe because I couldn’t find some of the ingredients in our Indian local markets. A Grasshopper Pie basically contains two main ingredients- crème de menthe (green peppermint liquor) and crème de cacao blanc (colourless chocolate liquor). The pie gets its flavouring and green colour because of these ingredients. But sadly, these liquors are not easily available in India (please let me know if you find them!). However, they can be easily ordered online at http://http://www.thedrinkshop.com// and http://www.drinksdirect.co.uk/index.html. The best brand to buy would be De Kuyper.

I have replaced these two ingredients with peppermint extract/essence (available in grocery stores) and pureed fresh kiwi fruit. If you want to avoid the kiwi fruit, you can use the mint extract alone. Be creative, marry flavours that go together.

I haven’t used any green food colouring in the pie, but feel free to do so if you want your pie to have better aesthetics.

It is a very indulgent pie, so make and eat at your own risk!



Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Cooking tray: 25cm tin (need not be ovenproof as this is a cold dessert)

Ingredients
Pie crust
300g bourbon biscuits (or any other with a choc cream centre)
150g dark chocolate cut into small pieces (or dark choc chips)
50g unsalted butter

Filling
125ml full cream milk
175g mini marshmallows (vanilla flavour)
375ml double cream
2 fresh kiwi fruits peeled and pureed and 1 kiwi fruit peeled and sliced for granish
½ tsp peppermint extract
2-3 drops green food colour (optional)

Method
For the pie crust, pulse the bourbon biscuits, dark chocolate and butter in a food processor until you end up with a soft rubble. Tip this mixture into the cooking tray and line the base and sides of the tray pressing with the back of a spoon or with your knuckles until you get an even top surface. Save some chocolate rubble for garnishing your final pie. Refrigerate the tray till you prepare the filling.

Whisk the double cream in a bowl until it holds soft peaks. This is important because we don’t want our final filling to be a runny liquid that will not set.

Place the milk and mini marshmallows in a non-stick saucepan and heat on a low flame, whisking gently until the marshmallows melt and the mixture comes together. Do not increase the flame, and remember to never let the mixture boil. This will split the gelatine in the marshmallows leaving you with an unusable mixture. Your end product should be a warm gooey white mixture. Allow to cool for 3-5 min, whisking gently. Now, add a few drops of green food colour if you wish to, and mix well.

Combine the whipped cream with the marshmallow mixture, folding in gently. Add the peppermint extract and kiwi puree at this point and mix well. Pull out the tray from the refrigerator and pour this entire mixture into the tray. Even out the surface with a spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until the gelatine sets.

Before serving, sprinkle some chocolate rubble onto the pale green surface of the pie and garnish with fresh kiwi fruit slices. Serve cold.

Bench notes
Marshmallows are used because they contain gelatine and you can avoid the mess and confusion that comes with melting actual gelatine.

Use confectionary cream if possible. This should be available at whole sale stores. It is thicker, and is naturally sweetened, which is why the recipe does not call for any added sugar.

If you plan to go with the original Grasshopper Pie recipe, eliminate the peppermint extract and the kiwi puree. Instead, add 60ml crème the menthe and 60ml crème the cacao blanc to the whipped cream and marshmallow mixture.

The final consistency of the pie should be such that you should be able to slice through it and lift it with a fork.

• It’s good to use a tin with collapsible sides, as this will help you cut and serve the pie as nice clean triangles. I have put up some pictures below to help you understand how these work.
• They generally come with corrugated sides (see picture 1)
• They have a separate central base that can be removed from the corrugated side piece (see picture 2)
• Once the pie is ready place the tin on a thin-necked bottle (see picture 3)
• Give the sides a mild twist and slowly slip it down, making sure the central base (with the pie resting on it) is resting safely on top of the bottle (see picture 4 & 5)
• Use a spatula to ease the pie off the central base and onto a serving tray.