I am so EXCITED today! I have been wanting to have “company” over to the blog  for a while now. I was waiting on the right time & it has arrived. For our first ever guest post, **drum roll please** I am so happy to introduce you all to KRISTY. My foodie friend & fellow blogger. She has a fabulous food blog called THE WICKED NOODLE. She has created an amazingly decadent & delicious recipe for you all. You’re going to be drooling when you see this one! Please be sure to show her how much we appreciate her stopping by with such a tasty treat by leaving some comment love.

Chocolate Cups with Chocolate Orange Mousse Filling… Oh me Oh my! (are you drooling yet?)

Yet another food blog…yawn, stretch, eyes glaze over. This is not an
uncommon response to those of us who spend literally hours each day
perusing the food blog world. Yet the first time I saw Paula’s beautiful
photographs and delicious recipes, I knew this was not just another day in
food blog land. Which is why, when she asked me if I’d be interested in
doing a guest post on bell’alimento, my answer was an over-the-top and
enthusiastic “Absolutely”!

Having never been a guest on someone’s blog before, I knew I was going to
have to search for the perfect recipe. Being invited onto someone’s blog
is, to me, like being invited into their home, and you’d better do your
best to be respectful (yes, my mom raised me right)! I had a couple of
ideas in mind, but would any of them be guest-post worthy?

I decided to try out Bobby Flay’s Sweet Potato-Chicken Hash with Poached
Eggs and Green Chile Hollandaise, which looked amazing and tasted even
better! The pictures, however, just didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped,
so I decided to try another route.

Luckily, number two was the charm! This was the PERFECT recipe, one of
those “makes-you-look-like-a-rock-star-but-it’s-so-easy” types of recipes
that I LOVE! It’s so rare to find one, yet these beautiful chocolate cups
couldn’t be easier. Okay, you could just go out and buy them, but what
would be the fun in that, especially when you can hear all the “ooohs” and
“aaaahs” and “you MADE that?” over and over again!

So…drumroll please! Here’s the recipe for chocolate cups, along with a
yummy chocolate-orange mousse to go with it. You could fill these little
beauties with whatever you please, though…a simple berry mixture by
itself would be delish! I think these little gems are even worthy of the
fabulous Paula herself!

Chocolate Cups

* A good quality semi-sweet chocolate
* Balloons, on the smaller side with no writing

Melt chocolate, either in a double boiler or in the microwave. LET IT
COOL. Seriously, this step can’t be overlooked, or your balloons will
explode all over your kitchen! Let it cool, and when you think it’s cool
enough, let it cool some more. It should be warm but no more than that.
Then…dip the bottom of your balloon in the chocolate, as high as you’d
like your cups to be.

Now, just sit back and let them harden. This will take a while, and you
can tell they’re hard enough when they’re no longer shiny. I let mine sit
for a couple of hours, although you could speed this up by putting them in
the fridge. When it’s time, take a pin and prick the balloons at the top;
you don’t want them to pop, you just want to slowly let the air out. The
air will come out and the balloons will release from the chocolate.

Now, just fill them and serve! Again, you can fill them with just about
anything you can come up with. We love this chocolate-orange mousse, so
if you’re lacking imagination at the moment, by all means use this recipe.
I like to top it with a bit of orange zest for color and serve with a
fanned strawberry or two on the side - the strawberry flavor is great with
the mousse.

Chocolate-Orange Mousse

* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated

In a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed, beat cream to stiff
peaks; set aside. In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together
on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, beat in cocoa
powder and orange zest. Gently beat in half the whipped cream. Remove
mixer and fold in remaining whipped cream by hand. Using a plastic bag,
pipe mousse into chocolate cups, garnish with orange zest and
strawberries, and listen to the oooh’s and aaah’s from your adoring fans!

A big thank you to Kristy of  THE WICKED NOODLE for stopping by! Your recipes never disappoint!