Day 5: Chocolate Mint Frangos

In thinking about the recipes that we wanted to post on this blog for the 12 days of Christmas Goodies, we were reminiscing about our favorite holiday treats of our childhood. One of my favorites was a recipe for a decadent treat that were called Frangos. They were a type of frozen mint chocolate tart named for the famous Fredrick & Nelson candy that you can find at Macy's in the US.  Susan doesn't remember them much, but I distinctly remember going down into the basement and digging for them in the freezer when no one was looking.  Mom doesn't remember where the recipe came from and I couldn't find any reference to this awesome desert, so I created this recipe purely based on my memory of the flavours. What I ended up with was an indulgent frozen chocolate mint mousse on a chocolate crumb base. Just as good as I remember, but now I don't have to sneak around to get one.
Makes 12.

Ingredients:
24 Chocolate Biscuits (I use Mr. Christie brand)
1/4 cup of butter
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 eggs
1/4 cup cold brewed coffee (you can substitute milk)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 pinch salt

Directions:
1. Put paper liners into a muffin tin.
2. Put the biscuits in a ziploc bag and crush the chocolate biscuits finely.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix into the chocolate crumbs.
4. Divide the crumb mixture and press firmly into the bottom of the muffin cups. Put aside.
5. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Set aside.
6. Separate eggs, putting yolks into a bowl with the coffee and sugar. Put over the double boiler and wisk constantly until mixture it has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon.
7. Add egg mixture into the melted chocolate and set aside to cool to room temperature.
8. Whip the cream to soft peaks and mix in peppermint.
9. Make sure your beaters are clean, then whip the egg whites and salt until the soft peak stage.
10. Fold half the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten, add the rest of the whipped cream, then the egg whites, folding very carefully.
11. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the muffin cups. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours. Store in the freezer until needed. Let soften for 15 minutes before serving.