by Kelly J. Larson

I’m a sucker for foods in individual servings and keep finding ways to repurpose my Oui yogurt jars. My latest concoction came after making this classic Pampered Chef recipe called Chocolate Mint Silk Torte, something I’ve made at least two dozen times. Here’s my contribution to the Christmas party I attended a few nights ago.

The PC brand is known for shortcuts and uses time saving ingredients like brownie mixes and Cool Whip, which don’t exactly appeal to everyone. I wanted to try to “gourmet” it up by making brownies from scratch with freshly whipped cream for an improved version, however, it was an epic fail. The brownie texture was all wrong. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the urban saying goes.

In the meantime, I had two torte pans of delicious brownies that weren’t the right texture for the Chocolate Mint Silk Torte, but tasted awesome.

After baking a second batch of brownies for my to-go dessert, I didn’t want the made-from-scratch ones to go to waste. I came up with a “torte in a cup” variation by using a similar method to the PC recipe and took them to another Christmas party the following day. Here’s the yummy result for this no-cook mousse.

Chocolate Mousse Cups

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 20 ounces heavy cream

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

• homemade brownies (CLICK HERE), crumbled
• Andes peppermint crunch baking chips (optional)

Beat cream cheese for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth in stand mixer. Scrape sides to make sure it all turns more smooth. Stir in honey and salt until creamy.

In a separate mixing bowl, whip heavy cream 5 to 6 minutes until peaks form. Add sugar.

In microwave, heat bittersweet chocolate and about 1 cup of the whipped cream on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat additional 30 seconds and stir until chocolate is melted and mixed well.

Combine cream cheese mixture with the melted chocolate and whipped cream mixture until well blended. Reserve 1 cup of whipped cream for the garnish. Set aside. Combine the remaining whipped cream with the mousse to prepare for assembling cups.

Crumble the freshly baked brownies into a gallon sized zipper bag, breaking into small pieces. Spoon brownie crumbs into individual dessert cups, then fill with mousse. Top each cup with whipped cream and peppermint candies.

Store in covered container in refrigerator until serving.