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Dessert

Neapolitan Mousse

A chilled mousse of whipped cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, gelatine, candied cherries, and orange juice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Neapolitan Mousse

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Whip 1 quart of cream stiff.

  2. Cover 4 boxes of Chalmer's gelatine with 1 cup cold water and let stand 1 hour.

  3. Cut 1 pound candied cherries into pieces.

  4. Cover the cherries with the juice of an orange and let stand until the cherries are soft.

Make the mousse

  1. Turn the whipped cream into a basin and add 1 cup powdered sugar and the gelatine dissolved over hot water, the fruit and orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of Royce's vanilla.

  2. Stir gently from the bottom towards the top until it begins to thicken.

Mould and chill

  1. Wet a mould with cold water and pour the mixture into it.

  2. Pack the mould in ice and salt and let stand two or three hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

61Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream (in the method)
Whipped to hold air, giving the mousse its light, airy texture.
Gelatine
Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when unmoulded.
Candied cherries (in the method)
Add fruit flavour and sweetness, softened in orange juice first.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the mousse and dissolves easily into the cream.

The step that matters

Stirring the whipped cream with the gelatine. Stir gently from the bottom upward so the cream keeps its air. Vigorous stirring deflates the whipped cream, and the mousse becomes dense instead of light.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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