This is probably the most fun I’ve had with mousse yet.  ‘Nuff said.  🙂  It isn’t bad-sugar-free because I don’t know how make natural sugar graham crackers, but hey, Jocelyn and I will cackle over the same brew and produce such a great alchemical joy someday, right?  Right.  🙂  Or she’ll do it without me, because she’s clever like that.  This is the more likely outcome.

But, to stay on topic:  Deconstructed s’mores!  This is just the hoity-toitiest, tastiest thing, and nearly impossible to eat in a sitting (try sharing one, maybe), it’s so rich and crunchy and creamy and goodly.  Easy as pie to make, though.  Well.  Easy as mousse.  A deconstructed s’more has three components:  the mousse (in lieu of the chocolate bar), graham cracker crumble (in lieu of the graham cracker “sandwich”), and sweetened whipped cream topping (in lieu of the marshmallow).  Why no actual marshmallows, you ask?  Because they would just ruin the beautiful texture of this stuff.  Don’t worry, though; I lied to all my testers and told them it was marshmallow topping, and the topping was flavored so well they believed me.  I’m a ruthless, ruthless person.  😀

A couple quick notes on the graham crackers I used, then we can get started:  I did four things to make the dough handle better and bake more consistently compared to the recipe given here.  (1) I used 2 1/2 cups dough mix instead of the flours listed, (2) I used 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 1/4 tsp guar gum instead of 1/2 tsp xanthan gum, (3) I cut the dough into individual crackers and baked them separately instead of scoring a sheet of dough (this makes them crisp much more evenly), and (4) I used one of my adjustable rolling pins to get a perfect 1/8″ thickness.  Seriously.  I cannot praise this rolling pin hard enough.  If you told me I had to spend a year on a desert island with just one toy from my kitchen, this rolling pin wins, hands down.

The rest is straightforward enough, so let’s go.  🙂

Deconstructed S’mores

Yield:  2 medium wine glasses’ worth (I strongly advise dishing these up in something clear like a wine glass!)

Ingredients:

For the graham cracker crumble:

• 4 individual graham crackers (that is, the size you’d normally use 2 of to make a s’more)

For the mousse, 1/2 batch of what’s given here, namely:

• 1/4 cup + 3 T heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/16 tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 T agave nectar, plus 1 1/2 oz baking chocolate of your choice, OR
• 1 1/2 oz chocolate chips

For the sweet topping:

• 6 T heavy whipping cream
• 2 T light corn syrup
• 1 T white sugar

Directions:

1.  You’ll assemble each wine glass (or whatever you’re using, but I’m just gonna say wine glass) from the bottom up, in layers, just like you’d make a s’more normally.  So, first, take one individual graham cracker and crumble it into the bottom of each wine glass.  You don’t want crumbs, but small pieces that will add a nice crunch to all this cream without being hard to fit in your mouth.

2.  Next, make up the mousse, following the directions given here.  As always, make sure the melted chocolate isn’t too hot to touch comfortably by the time you add it to the egg whites.  I was sloppy about this once, and got to watch my lovely puffy egg whites actually hiss and shrivel into disgusting egg-white-and-gelled-chocolate sludge.  Not a thing you want to happen.  :-/

Once the mousse mixture is ready, divide it evenly between the two wine glasses, and level it off best you can (I like to use a floppy spatula and spin the wine glass, almost like frosting a cake on a rotating cake stand).  Cover the glasses and put them in the fridge to set up for about an hour.

3.  When the mousse is almost set, it’s time to start on the topping.  There’s nothing to it:  Just combine the whipping cream, corn syrup, and sugar in a bowl (I like to use my stand mixer with the whisk attachment), and whip together until stiff peaks form.  Divide the topping in half and gently add it to the wine glasses, smoothing it level just like you did the mousse.  You can re-cover and refrigerate it now if you’re nervous about the topping holding up, but I’ve found it’s fine to go ahead and crumble the last two graham crackers on top first.  🙂

4.  Let the whole thing sit up to overnight to make extra sure the mousse is well-set and creamy, then dig out some tall spoons and serve.  🙂