Chocolate Mousse Cups and Ubud Bali

A pretty, ruffled chocolate cup filled with a rich, creamy milk chocolate mousse topped with a fresh, sweet strawberry, real chocolate sprinkles and served with a berry coulis. This Chocolate Mousse Cup is definitely a chocolate piece de resistance.

Monday I shared pictures and details from my trip to East Bali. Today, I’m sharing the second half of the trip.

The Alila Manngis hotel in East Bali arranged for a driver to pick up Amanda and me and take us to the Alila Ubud Villa resort located in the interior of the island, surrounded by rainforests and terraced rice paddies. On our way to Ubud, the hotel also arranged for the driver to give us a fabulous private tour. 

When our driver arrived, there was an offering to the gods on the car, so we would have safe travels. I was amazed by the beautiful offerings that were scattered everywhere you go. All of the hotels we stayed at had their own alters and offerings were given several times a day. The offerings are usually little banana leaf plates filled with fresh flowers, rice and fruit.

The daily offerings are meant to appease demons and please the gods. It’s the daily battle of good and evil that was depicted in a traditional Balinese dance performance we were treated to on our way to Ubud. The Barong battles the evil witch Rangda. Of course, in the end evil is defeated, and order is restored.

After we left the dance performance, we traveled to the stunning Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. The water temple is located on the shore of Lake Bratan in a picturesque mountain setting.

The temple is built to be surrounded by water so it looks like it’s floating on the water. But when we visited the water level was low so you could walk out to the entrance of the temple without using the raised stepping stones.

Our final stop on our journey to the resort was the Taman Ayun temple. Taman Ayun  means temple in a beautiful garden. The grounds and the architecture are strikingly beautiful.

This temple was very significant to our driver and he brought along sarongs for us to wear while visiting the temple. He even took the time to help us wrap and tie them properly with a beautiful sash.

Hiring a private driver in Bali is very affordable and a great way to see the island. Our driver was very knowledgeable, friendly, and waited patiently while we spent as much time as we wanted along the way.

We arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon and were immediately greeted by a barrel of monkeys. It was an amazing experience to be able to get so close to the monkeys. I have to admit to being just a little bit intimidated by them though.

I sort of preferred watching the monkeys through the window. Which was easy to do while relaxing in our room because there were huge glass doors opening onto a pretty courtyard. The courtyard had a tree in the middle that the monkeys liked to climb.

Our room had a huge, tropical, outdoor bathtub and shower area that was a great way to relax at the end of the day. The top was screened in and it was very private and secluded.

I wasn’t feeling great the next day, so instead of touring with Amanda, I spent the entire day just relaxing at the hotel. I took advantage of the wonderful room service, wandered around the tropical grounds, and even spent a little time relaxing in the gorgeous infinity pool.

The hotel has a wonderful full service spa on site. We were treated to a relaxing one hour massage, which was just what I needed. We were also treated to breakfast at the hotel’s elegant open air restaurant every morning, and a wonderful 3 course dinner the last evening of our trip.

The staff at the Alila Ubud Villa resort was exceptional. They were happy to help us with anything we needed. They arranged tours and dinners for us, including dinner in town the first night. I was impressed with the number of popular restaurants in Ubud. They called several restaurants that were completely booked, but guest services was able to get us a table at a popular restaurant we wanted to try that was highly rated on Yelp.

Our final day in Bali our flight didn’t leave until midnight so we had all day to enjoy Ubud. The Alila Ubud Villa resort arranged a late check out for us, so were were able to enjoy the resort in the morning and early afternoon, and they kept our bags for us until it was time to leave for the airport in the evening.

We had a late lunch in town and then were treated to a traditional bathing ritual and massage at the Four Seasons Ubud. Here’s how the Four Seasons describes it:

After a long day in the fields, villagers would unite in the fast-flowing water to swap gossip and stories, laughter and song, while using river stones to scrub and massage away the stresses of the day. Inspired by these traditions, this revitalising ritual includes a nourishing herbal application for the hair and scalp, an invigorating river stone scrub to revive tired skin, and a soothing Balinese massage – with coconut oil and freshly grated ginger paste – to ease and warm the body.

This massage was the best massage I’ve ever had, and it was just what I needed before a long flight home.

I had lots of memorable meals in Bali, but one dessert stands out. It was the Chocolate Piece de Resistance dessert at Vincent’s. The menu describes the dessert as a chocolate cone, filled with chocolate mousse, garnished with fresh strawberry, and strawberry coulis.

I don’t order chocolate mousse very often because I’m not crazy about bittersweet chocolate. But this dessert sounded like a must try. The chocolate mousse wasn’t bitter. It was made with milk chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate and both Amanda and I loved it.

My favorite chocolate to use at home is Guittard Old Dutch Milk Chocolate. I buy it at Ggyi and always have some on hand. It’s milk chocolate, but not overly sweet and almost tastes like it has a little bit of dark chocolate in it.

I knew it would make the perfect chocolate to recreate the Chocolate Piece de Resistance dessert I had in Bali.

Instead of making chocolate cones, which I didn’t have molds for, I decided to make some pretty chocolate cups. I’ve posted directions on how to make the cups before. They’re really easy to make and such a pretty way to serve the mousse.

I served the Chocolate Mousse Cups with a berry coulis, which is a fun way to dress up the plate and is a perfect complement to the chocolate.

My family devoured these Chocolate Mousse Cups for dinner the day I made them. Next time I make them, I may have to make a double batch, because my son said he could easily eat two or three.

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Yield: 8 servings

Chocolate Mousse Cups and Ubud

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 6 ounces milk chocolate
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 chocolate bowls

Instructions

1. In a glass bowl, microwave chocolate on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir. Continue microwaving in 30 second increments until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats back of spoon and starts to bubble around the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in melted chocolate and vanilla. Chill until cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into cooled custard mixture, then gently fold in the remaining with cream.
4. Spoon into chocolate bowls; chill, covered, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
5. Serve garnished with strawberries, berry coulis and chocolate sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

Mousse adapted from Martha Stewart

I stayed at the Alila Ubud Villa resort as a guest and was treated to a massage at the Four Seasons Ubud, but all opinions expressed are always my own.