Easy Chocolate "Mousse" with Cinnamon Sugar Almonds

Psych!  I'm fooling you big time with this "mousse."  Hence the quotation marks.  The French fellow who invented mousse is spinning in his grave at my very liberal interpretation of mousse.  Désolé Monsieur!  But I think most desserts are better if they involve marshmallows.  It's a deep flaw in my character.

This mousse it intensely chocolatey and ethereally smooth.  Yes, I said ethereal.  I'm just trying to be like Nigella Lawson (this is her recipe after all).  Is it working?  Do you envision me as a gorgeous and sophisticated English woman?  Get your eyes and ears checked then.       

This mousse is especially delicious when it's been chilled, in the freezer, for about 20-30 minutes.  Practically like gelato.  Of course you could eat this plain but I thought a little cinnamon sugar almonds wouldn't hurt things.  They add a sweet and salty crunch against the smooooooooth mousse.

Plus, hello, you can have this prepped and chilling in a matter minutes so it's kiinnnddaaa an easy faux-fancy dessert for New Year's Eve, or any ol' Tuesday for that matter.  So obviously it's worth offending a french fellow, no?  Oui!

Here's the recipe!

Easy Chocolate "Mousse" with Cinnamon Sugar Almonds
4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 9 oz dark chocolate (I used chips) 
• 1/4 cup hot water 
• 3 cups mini marshmallows 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate, water, 3 cups of the mini marshmallows and butter.  Over medium heat, cook gently until everything is melted, smooth, and combined, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Allow to cool completely (I placed mine in the fridge and stirred every few minutes to speed up the cooling).

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the heavy cream until thick and fluffy.  Fold in vanilla extract.  

3.  Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and gently fold it into the cooled chocolate mixture.  Repeat 2 more times with the remaining whipped cream, being careful to fold gently and retain the whipped cream's volume.  Allow to chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes. 

4.  While the mousse chills, prepare the almonds.  Preheat oven to 425.  In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.  In another bowl, combine almonds and vegetable oil and toss lightly to coat.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over almonds, coating them evenly.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until almonds begin smelling toasty.  Allow to cool.  

5.  Distribute mousse evenly amongst serving bowls and sprinkle liberally with almonds.  Enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson