Anticipation

I was watching a movie where an actor unwrapped a single sugar cube.  It struck me, somehow, as being very sensual stripping naked a sugar cube.  A sugar cube is so elemental, so deconstructed.  It doesn't need to be hidden under a wrap.  It's honest.  Simple.  Anyway, that lead me to think about deconstructed sweets.  A S'more, I think, is a good representation of a deconstructed sweet.  Simple ingredients standing nakedly as themselves yet joined to make a special treat. 

But even sugar needs a bit of help from a friend to be considered dessert (though I'm not ashamed to admit I've eaten a sugar cube as a meal finale on more that one occasion).  A hunk of excellent chocolate is great by itself also but when combined with a hint of coffee and a few other ingredients, the experience of eating chocolate is heightened.  And lengthened.  A piece of chocolate popped into your mouth takes only a minute or so to eat.  A chocolate dessert can be lingered over.  Deconstructed on your tongue. None of this one bite and done.  So here is a fairly stripped down (6 ingredients) chocolate dessert.  A coffee enhanced, sugar enhanced, bourbon enhanced, anticipation enhanced, chocolate dessert.

Frozen Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

16 oz. Ghirardelli's Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar or other good (around 60% cacao) chocolate
1/2 C sugar
2/3 C strong coffee
1/3 C bourbon (as when cooking with wine, pick a bourbon you would enjoy drinking - ah come on, give it a try...)
10 T butter
1 1/3 C whipped (until stiff) heavy cream

Cook first 5 ingredients in a double boiler over lightly simmering water, stirring until smooth.  Cool.  Drizzle chocolate mixture over whipped cream

and fold  gently until smooth.

Spoon mixture into a plastic wrap lined loaf pan.  Freeze about 9 hours.  Anticipation, anticipation, anticipation.  Invert onto a plate and remove plastic wrap.  Beware: It looks so velvety when you unmold it you just want to lick the surface!

This doesn't freeze hard.  It slices smoothly and melts blissfully on your tongue.

 You could top this with a bit of whipped cream but I prefer it naked.