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    Home » dessert » puddings and mousses » Secret Recipe Club: Debesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    Secret Recipe Club: Debesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    Dec 9, 2013 · 30 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    It's hard to believe it's already been a month, but yes, it's Secret Recipe Club time again!

    My assignment for December is Culinary Adventures with Cam, a blog by Camilla, a scuba-diving, jewelry-making, photo-taking mama  from the Monterey Bay area.

    Desbesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    I've been reading Cam's blog for a while, after first discovering it through past SRC reveals.

    I admire her knack for finding interesting flavour combinations (this delicious-looking Salted Fennel Pollen Shortbread), her seriously ambitious dinner party menus (I mean, look at this masterpiece of a Thanksgivukkah menu!), and her willingness to try new cuisines, no matter how obscure or unfamiliar they might be (did you even know there's a place called Kiribati, let alone what they eat there? Because I sure didn't.)

    Despite all that reading, I still hadn't gotten around to cooking any of her recipes yet. So I guess this was the universe's way to fixing that little oversight.

    Desbesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    What is Debesmanna?

    Cam has literally thousands of recipes to choose from in her archives, but the one that really caught my eye was the Latvian Debesamanna.

    Debesmanna is a traditional Latvian dessert. The name literally translates to "celestial farina”, which is a pretty accurate description, if you ask me!

    Believe it or not, this fluffy cranberry mousse is made from just three ingredients - cranberry juice, sugar and cream of wheat cereal (aka farina). These three ingredients are cooked together on the stovetop, and then whipped for several minutes with a stand mixer as they cool. The mixture starts off as a dark magenta sludge, but eventually whips up into an airy cotton-candy-pink cloud.

    If you're not a fan of cranberries, you can also take a more untraditional route and substitute with any tart fruit juice or puree. Strawberry, cherry, blackberry and pomegranate would all work, though the colour of the finished mousse will shift depending on what kind of fruit you use.

    Desbesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    The Importance of Gluten

    Cam adapted her recipe to use rice cereal, but I decided to switch back to the traditional cream of wheat for my version.

    Not that I have anything against rice, but the magical transformation in this dessert owes everything to gluten. It creates elastic strands that catch and hold the air as it's being whipped in, much like the proteins in egg whites or the fat in whipping cream. Without it, the mousse will never achieve the same kind of fluffy texture.

    And yes... the mousse really does come out that brilliant shade of princess pink!

    (Honest, the colour in these photos is entirely un-retouched.)

    Desbesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    What Does Debesmanna Taste Like?

    It's a surprisingly delicious dish, and totally unlike any dessert I've ever had before.

    The airy texture is nothing at all like the stodgy cream of wheat we all know and (kinda sorta) love, but paradoxically it still feels substantial and filling. It's sweet and tart all at once, and the traditional splash of milk adds a cool creaminess to temper the tangy cranberry flavour.

    I suppose a dollop of whipped cream on top might also be rather nice, if you wanted to dress things up. However, I much prefer the simplicity of milk, particularly if you want to follow Cam's advice and gobble it down for breakfast.

    I mean, when you think about it, as pretty and fluffy and pink as this dish might be, it's still just cereal with fruit juice and a splash of milk. Right? :)

    Desbesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)

    //

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    Debesmanna (Latvian Cranberry Mousse)


    ★★★★★

    5 from 4 reviews

    • Author: Adapted from Culinary Adventures with Cam
    • Total Time: 25 mins
    • Yield: 6 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    This traditional Latvian dessert is so airy and light, you'd never guess the key ingredient is stodgy cream of wheat cereal.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 3 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
    • ½ cup sugar
    • ½ cup cream of wheat
    • Milk, for serving

    Instructions

    1. In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together juice and sugar, and bring to a boil.
    2. Gradually sprinkle in the cream of wheat, whisking briskly to make sure the mixture doesn't get lumpy. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
    3. Scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, and beat on medium-high speed until the pudding is thick and doubled in volume, about 12 minutes.
    4. Immediately spoon into serving bowls. Before serving, top each bowl off with a splash of milk, if desired, or simply serve plain.
    • Prep Time: 20 mins
    • Cook Time: 5 mins
    • Category: Dessert

    Did you make this recipe?

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    « Making Merry: Brie and Cranberry Bites
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    Comments

    1. Evelina says

      August 1, 2023 at 12:02 pm

      Thank you for the recipe!
      To avoid lumps I suggest you to put cream of wheat into cold liquid, mix it and then boil:) its much easier!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Evelina says

      March 21, 2023 at 11:55 am

      favourite dessert ever?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Jon says

      December 31, 2020 at 5:15 pm

      Just googled the recipe. Thanks so much for posting it! I'm rating this five stars though I haven't made it yet because my Latvian mom used to make it all the time when I was a kid! And I loved it! I have a question. If you can't find unsweetened cranberry juice, is the regular sweetened stuff ok? Would you just leave out the sugar? Thanks again!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        January 1, 2021 at 8:42 pm

        I haven't tried with sweetened cranberry juice, but I suspect that leaving out the sugar would compensate just fine. Alternatively, you can check out a health food store (or the healthy/organic aisle at your grocery store), which is where I've usually been able to find it.

        Reply
    4. Rita Didrichsons says

      December 16, 2019 at 3:52 am

      Classic Latvian dish!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    5. Latvian chick says

      October 16, 2017 at 5:02 pm

      Yumm! Growing up in Latvia we used to have this for dessert quite often. Try rhubarb instead of cranberries sometime, that's just as delicious. I have never tried it with anything other than manna / farina ("cream of wheat") which I believe is essential for this dessert to be airy and worthy of its name "debesmanna" or "sky-manna" and float on top of milk.

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        October 19, 2017 at 7:59 pm

        Thanks for the tip! I'm a HUGE rhubarb fan. Will have to try it out as soon as rhubarb season rolls around again... sadly, I didn't stash any away in my freezer this year. :(

        Reply
    6. Kate | Food Babbles says

      December 11, 2013 at 3:19 pm

      Wow! What a simple yet stunning dessert! I absolutely love cranberries and this seems like such a unique way to use them. Lovely!

      Reply
    7. Dionne Baldwin says

      December 11, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      WOW I never ever in my life would have thought to whip cream of wheat. Nor would I have imagined that it could be a dessert! Going on my to do list. I can't wait to try that light and fluffy treat. I might even try it for breakfast. :-)

      Reply
    8. kirstin says

      December 11, 2013 at 12:49 am

      THis sounds really good!

      Reply
    9. shannon @ a periodic table says

      December 10, 2013 at 11:10 am

      this looks beautiful, isabelle! and for the record, i love cream of wheat. ;) even if it IS stodgy.

      Reply
    10. PolaM says

      December 9, 2013 at 10:31 pm

      What a short and interesting list of ingredients! To try!

      Reply
    11. Becca from It's Yummi! says

      December 9, 2013 at 2:51 pm

      Oh my GOSH... that color! How incredibly gorgeous!

      Reply
    12. Christiane ~ Taking On Magazines says

      December 9, 2013 at 2:06 pm

      Am the only person in the world that adores cream of wheat?? I do love the stuff. Which, I figure, means that I'll love this too. I'm off to find me some unsweetened cranberry juice!

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        December 9, 2013 at 4:02 pm

        You're not alone, Christiane... I love me a big steaming bowl of cream of wheat, especially when the weather gets all cold like this. It's not exciting, but it sure is satisfying. :)

        Reply
    13. Jane, The Heritage Cook says

      December 9, 2013 at 1:19 pm

      This is a beautiful dessert and I love that you can make it with or without gluten. I have a friend who is going to go crazy for this pink dessert!!

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        December 9, 2013 at 2:43 pm

        For sure! The one caution is that gluten-free version will come out much darker and denser, because the lack of gluten will prevent the mousse from creating the little air pockets necessary to create that light, fluffy texture. (You can see what I mean if you look at the photos on Cam's blog)
        I'm sure it's still plenty delicious, though!

        Reply
    14. Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:36 pm

      Wow this is so cool, I am totally intrigued and impressed. Bookmarked!

      Reply
    15. sarah k @ the pajama chef says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      i am not a cream of wheat fan, but i just might buy some to make this. so pretty!!

      Reply
    16. Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings says

      December 9, 2013 at 11:50 am

      This looks delicious- great SRC pick!

      Reply
    17. Lesa @ Edesia's Notebook says

      December 9, 2013 at 11:03 am

      Oh my goodness, I can't believe that beautiful dessert is made with cream of wheat! Crazy! Looks amazing though.

      Reply
    18. Anna says

      December 9, 2013 at 9:44 am

      Dessert for breakfast! It's so pretty, and I'm intrigued by this. I never would have guess that Cream of Wheat could do this.

      Reply
    19. sara says

      December 9, 2013 at 1:05 am

      So pretty - I LOVE the color!!

      Reply
    20. chitchatchomp says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:37 am

      Just three ingredients made that picture perfect dish. Just gorgeous!

      Reply
    21. Sweet as Sugar Cookies says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:25 am

      That is incredible. I had no idea you could make mousse from cream of wheat. All the better that you can have dessert for breakfast.

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        December 9, 2013 at 4:03 pm

        Amazing, right? This is what I love about the SRC. I get to learn something new every month!

        Reply
    22. Jess says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:23 am

      Oh Isabelle, I'm with you! I just love that pink color - gorgeous!

      Reply
    23. Camilla @ Culinary Adventures says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:15 am

      Awww...thanks, Isabelle! Kind words that make me blush. Thanks for cooking from my blog - and for reminding me of this recipe. I will have to whip this up this week.

      Reply
      • Isabelle Boucher says

        December 9, 2013 at 4:05 pm

        Thanks for the great recipe, Cam! The Mister wasn't all that excited by it, but I can see this becoming a standby for my take-to-work breakfasts. I just love that fluffy, moussey texture. I'm thinking of trying this with other tangy/tart juices, like sour cherry or pomegranate.

        Reply
    24. Micha @ Cookin' Mimi says

      December 9, 2013 at 12:11 am

      This is such a lovely color and I would have never guessed cream of wheat was an ingredient.

      Reply

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    Hello! I'm Isabelle, and this is my blog. I'm a 40-something coffee-chugging, booty-shaking, bargain-shopping, trucker-swearing self-taught cook with a major addiction to vintage cookbooks. Come for the recipes, stay for the terrible puns! Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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