Ricotta and pineapple mousse

Name: Ricotta and pineapple mousse
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Cow's milk ricotta cheese 2 cups; Fresh liquid cream 6 ½ tbsp; Whole milk 1.7 oz; Pineapple to be cleaned 1.7 lbs; Lemon juice 4 tsp; Sugar 2 ½ tsp; Mint 1 sprig; Walnut kernels to taste; Hazelnuts to taste; Pistachios to taste

Difficulty: Very easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Serving: 6
Cost: Average

PRESENTATION

Ricotta and Pineapple Mousse earns its place at the end of a meal through contrast, not complexity. The creamy ricotta base sits against juicy, faintly exotic pineapple, and a scattering of dried fruit adds just enough crunch to keep each spoonful interesting. Served in individual glasses, it looks composed and deliberate — the kind of spoon dessert that reads as effort even when it asks for very little of it. Three textures in a single small glass: smooth, juicy, and crunchy, each one distinct enough to notice.

Its real advantage is timing: assembled when you need it rather than planned hours ahead, it closes a meal cleanly without weighing it down. Light and faintly fragrant, it works just as well after a rich main course as it does after something simple. The pineapple can also give way to whatever seasonal fruit you have on hand — stone fruit, berries, or citrus all carry the same idea forward — which makes this a format worth returning to across the year, not just a single-occasion dessert.

INGREDIENTS

For the ricotta mousse (for 6 small glasses): Cow's milk ricotta cheese 2 cups (500 g); Fresh liquid cream 6 ½ tbsp (100 g); Whole milk 1.7 oz (50 g)

For the pineapple: Pineapple 1.7 lbs (750 g) - to be cleaned; Lemon juice 4 tsp (20 g); Sugar 2 ½ tsp (10 g); Mint 1 sprig

For garnish: Walnut kernels to taste; Hazelnuts to taste; Pistachios to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Ricotta and pineapple mousse

To prepare the ricotta and pineapple mousse, first cut the pineapple in half 1, remove the rind 2 and obtain about 3 cups (about 18 oz) of flesh, which you will cut into 3/8-inch cubes 3.

Put the pineapple cubes in a skillet 4, then add the 5, the mint and the sugar 6.

Stir and cook for about ten minutes over medium heat, then remove the mint 7. Keep a tablespoon of cubes aside 8 and purée the rest with an immersion blender 9. Set aside in the refrigerator.

To make the mousse, whip the cream to soft peaks 10. In a separate bowl combine the ricotta with the milk 11 and loosen the mixture with a rubber spatula 12.

Gradually fold the semi-whipped cream into the ricotta mixture 13, stirring gently until you obtain a light but firm mousse 14. Finally, pour all the nuts onto a cutting board 15.

Coarsely chop the nuts by crushing them with a glass bowl (or a meat mallet) 16 and toast them in a skillet for one minute 17. Now take 6 small serving glasses and create a first layer with about half of the ricotta mousse 18.

Add the puréed pineapple over the ricotta 19. Cut the tip of the piping bag on a bias to mimic a Saint-Honoré nozzle 20 and pipe the remaining cream over the surface, creating a decorative pattern 21.