Dessert Tacos with Chocolate Mousse
… and Mango Salsa
Sweet, cinnamon flavored taco shells filled with my Bourbon Chocolate Mousse accompanied by a fresh mango salsa. These dessert tacos are not any sort of authentic Mexican dessert, but with cinnamon sugar and chili powder warming up the mousse, the flavors are reminiscent of fresh churros and Mexican chocolate.
The dessert taco shells have crisp edges but are not shatteringly crunchy like hard taco shells since they’re not deep fried. They aren’t difficult to make, but do take a little patience - the process is like making small pancakes one at a time. Fortunately they cook quickly! To achieve the taco shape, you’ll need something to drape the pancake over while they cool. I used a cleaned off, foil covered broom handle and it worked really well! I stacked some books at either end of my kitchen table and laid the broomstick across it, then draped the shells over it to cool. I wish I had a picture.
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Photo by Daniel Marks
Dessert Tacos with Chocolate Mousse Recipe:
Yield
6 tacos
Difficulty:
Easy, but they take a little time and planning.
Plan ahead
Start with the chocolate mousse so it has time to chill and firm up before you fill the tacos with it.
Ingredients:
Taco Filling:
Bourbon Chocolate Mousse, see recipe »
Taco Shells:
83 grams (⅔ cup) all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp kosher salt
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites, room temperature
Shells adapted from this Molly Yeh recipe.
Topping:
¼ cup confectioners / powdered sugar
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
Fresh mango salsa:
1 or 2 fresh mangos, peeled and diced*
Unsalted almonds, raw or roasted, chopped
A few fresh mint leaves, torn (optional, but pretty for the color)
*You could also use fresh, sweet strawberries, or even apple or pear depending on the season, but then I’d skip the mint.
Instructions:
First make the Bourbon Chocolate Mousse.
The only adjustment to make is to chill a full bowl of the mousse rather than portioning it out into individual serving dishes at the end of the recipe. Make sure it’s chilled and set before you start on the taco shells.
Make the taco shells.
Find something to drape your taco shells over to mold their shape. Like I mention at the start of this post, I used a cleaned broomstick, but anything about 1-inch wide will work, clean iftoff and cover in parchment paper or foil.
Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk melted butter, milk, vanilla extract and egg whites together. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and continue whisking until smooth.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Melt about 1 tsp butter, then add 2 TBSP batter in the center, rotating the pan as needed so you have a thin, smooth circle. Do this quickly because the batter sets fast. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until it starts to brown then flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from skillet with a spatula, transfer to your homemade taco mold and gently press into shape with potholders or dishtowel for about 40-60 seconds until it starts to hold itself in place. Repeat with remaining batter and let shells cool completely before filling.
Good to know: Don’t worry if the first couple aren’t perfect, there should be extra batter to account for some trial and error.
Tip: If your edges are not quite perfect, once the shells are cool enough to handle you can trim them with kitchen sheers!
Prepare the topping.
Combine sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
Assemble.
Scoop balls of chocolate mousse and place inside shells. I used my cookie scoop for this. You could just spoon it in. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Serve.
Sift the powdered cinnamon sugar over the tacos. Stir together mango, almonds and torn mint leaves. Serve on the side or sprinkle on the taco as desired.
Photo by Daniel Marks
