Mojito Granita with Blackberry Cream

This heat calls for a snow cone. Oh, wait....Now that I'm an adult AND married to an Italian, I can call it a Granita! Today's post has to be one of my all time favorites. I have an obsession with mojitos. I also may–or may not be–a little tipsy right now. Maybe it's the mint & lime, or the hint of sugar that gets me, but mojitos are far and above my favorite cocktail. (I also happen to think they are the official drink of every fun night out.) Seeing as it's in the 80's this weekend in NYC, my challenge for this post was to create a delicious dessert without turning the oven on. This granita is a no-fuss, ready-when-you-are dessert, and perfect for summer entertaining.

Back when I lived in Texas, visiting the local snow cone stand was a daily ritual. In fact, my father even built a short-lived snow cone stand called the Sno-Shack where several of us Hurson kids spent summer days flagging down customers and stealing our own product, but thats an entirely different story. As a kid, one of my favorite flavors of snow cone was blackberry. One stand even topped theirs with a little bit of cream, which I consider a very tasty decision. This cream inspired my blackberry cream topping on the mojito granita. Although it's an optional topping, it adds an elegant texture and sweetness to the granita. Plus, it looks really pretty. That's reason enough to include it, isn't it?

Mojito Granita with Blackberry Cream
INGREDIENTS
Granita
¾ cup sugar
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
3 cups water
½ cup white rum
1 cup mint leaves (reserve the best leaves for garnish)

Blackberry Whipped Cream
1 six-ounce container of blackberries, rinsed
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar 

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the sugar, lime zest and lime juice in a small bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then pour into a blender. Add the water, rum and mint leaves to the blender, and puree for about 30 seconds or until the mint is finely chopped. 

2. Pour the liquid into a pie plate and place in the freezer. Scrape the mixture every hour with a fork to break up the ice crystals. After about 5 hours, you'll have mojito ice flakes. 

3. Whip heavy cream in a stand mixer until peaks form. Mix in confectioners sugar. Puree blackberries in a food processor or blender and strain into whipped cream. Discard solids. Fold blackberry puree into whipped cream. 

4. Scoop granita into small bowls or martini glasses. Place a large dollop of the blackberry cream on top and garnish with reserved mint leaves.

Get the recipe card HERE

Deceiving Deviled Meringues

I probably should have saved this post for April fools day, but I was so excited I just couldn't wait to share it with you! I spend about 90% of my life joking around, so every now and then my desserts have a sense of humor too. These deviled eggs are adorable and taste nothing like real deviled eggs (which I absolutely LOVE, by the way). A light and crispy meringue cookie served as the perfect egg white, while a smooth lemon mousse passes as the deviled egg mixture. The garnish is the real kicker here, with sugar "paprika" and mint instead of chives. Are you as excited as I am about these?! Can you guys think of any other foods I could fake as desserts? If so, send 'em my way.

First, you need to make a lemon curd and fresh whipped cream. Then, you'll turn that into the lemon mousse.

Lemon Mousse 

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg yolks
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Yellow food coloring

DIRECTIONS 
1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, or about 5 minutes. 
  

2. Remove saucepan from heat and strain into a bowl. (Straining the curd is a must! It removes any lumps.) Stir in butter, one piece at a time. Continue stirring until curd is smooth.  Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

3. Prepare whipped cream by placing the heavy cream the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix on high until very stiff peaks form. 

 
4. Remove lemon curd from refrigerator. Carefully fold the curd into the whipped cream, making sure not to over mix. Mix in the yellow food coloring, a few drops at time, until you have the desired "egg yolk" color. Cover mixing bowl and refrigerate until mousse is very cold, at least an hour. 

While the mousse chills, make the meringue cookies...

Meringue Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until white and foamy. Slowly pour the sugar into the bowl, mixing on high speed, until stiff peaks form. Mix in salt and vanilla extract. 

3. Transfer meringue into a piping bag or a large zip-lock bag. Snip off the tip of the bag so opening is about 3/4” wide. Keeping your hand stationary, pipe meringue onto parchment, creating an egg shape about 2 1/2" long. Repeat until all the meringue has been piped out.
Bake meringues for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Watch them to make sure they don’t brown. Cool completely before flipping over.

 

Now, let's make some "deviled eggs!" They really come to life with the help of red decorating sugar and mint as a garnish. I decided to candy the mint, but you can use fresh mint instead. 

Assemble the “Deviled Eggs” 

Make sure to assemble these right before serving, as the mousse can’t sit out for long. 

1. Flip each meringue cookie over so the flat side faces up. Transfer the lemon mousse into a piping bag or a large zip-lock bag fitted with a star decorating tip. (If you don’t have a tip, just snip the tip of the bag to make a 1/2” opening.) Pipe mousse on each meringue cookie to give the illusion of an egg filling.

2. Sprinkle with red decorating sugar and mint.

Candied Mint

You'll need a few freshly washed mint leaves, one egg white, superfine sugar, paper towel and parchment paper. Dip mint leaf in egg white and blot lightly on paper towel to remove excess liquid. Dredge mint though superfine sugar and place on parchment paper to dry for about 2 hours. (Candied mint can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container.)