Mocha Tortoni Cups

This recipe for dairy-free Mocha Tortoni Cups came about from a failed attempt at a vintage Charleston recipe. The Charleston recipe was for a Mocha Sponge, and you have to understand that old recipes were quite vague in directions as well as the measurements. Example: “one envelope gelatin” Hmm…what size were the gelatin envelopes at the turn of the 20th century?🤔 I tried to research, but to no avail, so I used one of “today’s size” envelopes and continued on with the directions. Needless to say, I believe the older gelatin envelopes were much larger because the sponge cake did not set well.

Sometimes you have to roll with the punches, (and I am also not a food waster,) so I discovered it made a delicious ice cream alternative that is very similar to a Tortoni recipe. What is a true Tortoni? A true Tortoni is an ice cream made out of eggs and heavy cream that originated in Italy. My dairy-free Mocha Tortoni Cups are made from eggs, gelatin and coffee, which makes this a low-fat version (although it does still have sugar calories.) Instead of using traditional paper cupcake liners, I decided to make dark chocolate cups to hold the delicious Tortoni’s and even topped them off with a dairy-free whipped cream and made chocolate covered pretzel stir sticks for a fun garnish. Also, I couldn’t leave off the traditional cherry on top! This recipe makes approximately one dozen.

Let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate squares6 eggs (separated)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (.25oz) gelatin pack
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup very strong hot coffee, (I suggest using a high-quality coffee, such as JUST Coffee, El Corazon.)
• 1 tsp Origine Organic Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of salt

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS

For chocolate cups: One cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted. (Alternatively, you can use paper liners.)

For pretzel stir stick garnish: 1/2 cup white chocolate and one dozen small pretzel rods.

For additional garnish: Dairy-free whipped cream topping and one dozen maraschino cherries w/stems.

Instructions:

Melt chocolate in a double-boiler, (or a pot on top of another pot with one inch simmering water.)Melt until smooth, then remove from heat.

Separate eggs into two different bowls.

Beat yolks until lemon-colored, then add sugar slowly.

Next, add chocolate slowly while beating on low until well incorporated.

Measure out your 1/2 cup water into a 2-cup measuring cup or small bowl, then dissolve packet of gelatin in water while stirring.

Pour hot coffee into the gelatin mixture and stir well.

Using a mesh strainer over bowl, strain coffee/gelatin mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Beat well, then add vanilla and salt.

Introduce one spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.(This will prepare for it to better receive the rest of the beaten egg whites for a more even distribution.)

Now you can fold the rest of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Fill silicone or paper cups to the top with mixture and freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight.

If making the chocolate cups to hold the Tortoni, melt one cup semi-sweet chocolate and line a sheet with paper baking cups.

Add a heaping teaspoon full to each cup and spread up the sides of liner, about 1/2 inch from top. Works best when using a small silicone brush.Let chocolate set for 30-40 minutes before unmolding or speed up the process by chilling in the refrigerator.

For the pretzel rod stir stick garnish, simply melt white chocolate according to package, dip pretzel rods in and let set on waxed paper. Drizzle with a bit of the leftover semi-sweet chocolate, if desired.

To assemble, remove set Tortoni cups from freezer and peel off paper liners. Place each Tortoni in a chocolate cup, then top with whipped cream, pretzel rod and a cherry.Serve immediately. A delicious pairing would be with a cup of El Corazon JUST Coffee, hot or over ice.

Enjoy!

💜Julie