feed me sweet
Recipe: chocolate mousse with caramelized insects
Maybe not exactly a good opening line on a first date—or in life in general—but: I love insects. Not for collecting, but for eating, because they’re delicious. So delicious that I even started baking with them.
door Tamya Boumann
If you Google insect cupcakes, you’ll mostly find cheerful photos of ladybirds and bees made from super-sweet fondant or marzipan. This cupcake recipe with real insects is based on a recipe from our book The 100 Best Dishes You Must Have Eaten. No sugar insects—this recipe is the real deal.
- Separate the eggs over 2 bowls into egg whites and yolks. The eggs must be at
room temperature. - Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it over low heat au bain-marie (in a bowl over a pan with a layer of boiling water; the bowl must not touch the water), stirring constantly. Stir until you have a smooth, liquid mixture.
- Remove the bowl from the heat. Stir the egg yolks in thoroughly and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Using a whisk, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff in a grease-free bowl. You can also use a food processor with a whisk attachment. Add the sugar as soon as the egg whites begin to thicken. The egg whites are ready when they form beautiful stiff peaks and you can turn the bowl upside down without the beaten egg whites falling out.
- Carefully fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Don’t stir or beat, but ‘fold’: use a spatula to bring the egg-white mixture from the outside in while continuously turning the bowl. Add the rest of the egg whites in portions and ‘fold’ until you can no longer see any white streaks.
- Divide the mousse between 4 glasses and leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- In the meantime, you can make the caramelized mealworms. Stir the butter, sugar and honey in a large pan over medium-high heat. Stir until all the butter has melted, then let the mixture caramelize, without stirring, into a golden-brown caramel.
- Add the mealworms and immediately stir everything together. Then let them cool slightly so they become deliciously crunchy. Tip: spread them out on a piece of baking paper. Otherwise, they’ll turn into one big insect lollipop (also delicious, by the way).
- Before serving, sprinkle the mousse with cocoa powder and the caramelized critters.
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