Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Parfaits

Before anyone says anything, I know this isn't a "traditional" parfait. Nothing is frozen or custard-y. This also wouldn't be considered a trifle because it doesn't have lady fingers or cake or bread or anything. So. . . i'm calling this a parfait. 
I make this every Valentine's Day and it's always a super yummy end to dinner (we've always had dinner at home on V-Day.) It's also pretty easy AND can be made ahead of time, which is always a plus.






Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Parfaits
I'm taking the easy way out here and am going to post the link to the mousse recipe that I used this time around. Sorry!

Pat's Favorite Chocolate Mousse

Apart from the ingredients listed at that link, you'll need an extra:
1 Cup Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp Sugar
Chocolate Chips

Also, Strawberries and 1 Tbps Sugar

Are you thoroughly confused yet? SORRY!!!!
Grab some wax paper, a plastic baggy, and your chocolate chips.

Pour some chips into a microwave-safe bowl. (Yes, even my kitchen shears are pink)
Microwave them for 30 seconds, stir, and go for another 30 seconds and stir.

In the meantime, use my favorite trick! Grab some kind of container, like this measuring cup, and use it to hold open your baggy.

 Grab your melted chocolate and pour it into your baggy.

Lay some wax paper out onto a flat surface, like a baking sheet or flat plate. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag.

Now pipe out some hearts! You can make them really perfect and symmetrical, or you can go for the messy heart look, my personal fave.

 Stick them in the freezer. It only takes a minute or two for them to harden up.

If you are making these ahead of time, you can go ahead and put them all into some tupperware and keep them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

 Now for the Mousse! Gather your ingredients.

 Melt your chocolate! You can use the microwave method, or melt it in a bowl placed on top of a simmering pot of water. If you go the pot method, make sure you take the chocolate off of the heat once it's melted! Please don't leave it over the heat! I make that mistake WAY too much.

 Add your egg yolks, cream, sugar, and some salt to a saucepan.

Mix it over medium heat until it thickens a little. Mine basically turned into foam.

 Now mix in your melted chocolate and vanilla.

I don't think this step is super necessary, but maybe it helped the mousse be smoother. Pour your mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Now, go ahead and pop that in the fridge for half an hour.

Now, whip up some whipped cream!! The mousse recipe calls for 1 cup cream and 2 Tbsp sugar, but I had you gather extra to make a double batch.

 After you've whipped your cream, remove half and set aside in the fridge. With the other half, gently fold in the chocolate mixture from the fridge. Now stick it BACK into the fridge for an hour. This is why I said you can make this ahead of time.

For tips on whipped cream and for making yummy, sweet, juicy strawberries, check out this post
Set up your assembly station with the mousse, whipped cream, strawberries, and those cute chocolate hearts you piped out!

I layered it mousse-whipped cream-strawberries-mousse-whipped cream-strawberries and then topped it with the heart.

You can also make cute little ones for your kiddos! I only did three layers with these.

Enjoy!

Extra notes: Mousse can definitely be a little time consuming. It's not hard to make, but there can be a lot of waiting time in the fridge. Truthfully, this would be pretty yummy with some instant chocolate pudding in place of the mousse, if you want a quicker route. :)