Millet Chocolate Mousse Tart (gluten free)

My first experience with millet was poor: I really didn't like the bitter taste. But having read so many articles about health benefits of eating millet, I decided to give it another try. I did some research and learnt how to prepare it to eliminate the bitter taste: before you cook it, you have to either dry fry it for approx. 1 minute till it releases its aroma, or you have to pour boiling water into a pan with the millet, stir it well, transfer to a fine mesh strainer and drain it. I personally prefer the first method as it is faster and almost fuss-free and this is especially important in the morning when still half asleep I prepare healthy breakfast for my daughter (millet with fruit).

In the recipe below I used millet to make something more complex - a filling for a chocolate tart. Adding whisked egg whites made the millet chocolate mixture light, almost like a mousse and I really liked that. 

Since millet is gluten free I didn't want to “spoil it” by using wheat flour to make a base so I used a recipe with ground almonds instead. The result was very delicious, especially for a millet and chocolate lover: light and airy millet chocolate mousse in a delicate wheat flour-free crust.

INGREDIENTS (8 portions):

Base:

150g ground almonds,

1 tbsp Demerara sugar,

pinch of salt,

0.5 tsp cinnamon,

75g butter.

Mousse:

100g millet,

pinch of salt,

375ml water,

100g dark chocolate,

1 tbsp cocoa,

2 eggs separated,

70ml sunflower oil,

3 tbsp Demerara sugar,

1 tsp baking soda,

0.5 tsp vanilla extract,

some raspberries.

METHOD:

1. In a bowl mix ground almonds, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
2. Cut butter into small pieces, add to the dry mixture and work with your fingers through, till it resembles small crumbs.
3. Put the crumbs together to form a ball.
4. Grease sides of a 20 cm round baking tin and put a greaseproof paper on the bottom.
5. Working with your fingers spread the almond dough on the bottom of the tin and raise it slightly (1.5-2 cm) on the sides.
6. Put the tin with the base to a fridge for 10-15 minutes and start preheating an oven to 175 Celsius degrees.
7. Put the millet to a frying pan and start heating it up (dry) till it releases aroma.
8.  Transfer the millet to a pot; pour boiling water mixed with salt and after it reaches the point of boiling, cook gently for 15-20 minutes till the millet absorbs the water and is soft.
9. Put the base to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
10. When the millet is cooked but still hot add the chocolate broken into small pieces, stir well till it melts.
11. Put the chocolate millet, oil, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, vanilla and egg yolks into a food processor and process it till the mixture is smooth.
12. Whisk the egg whites till stiff and add half to a bowl with the chocolate mixture, stir gently and then repeat with the other half.
13. Spread the mixture gently over the baked almond base and put raspberries on top, pressing them down gently.
14. Bake for 30 min.

Recipe for the almond base comes from craftsy.com