Not that I ever get sick of ice cream, but sometimes I want to vary my summertime dessert repertoire just a bit. Chocolate mousse is terrific option: creamy, fudgy, and cool, it can be prepared in advance and requires zero time in the oven. When it's so steamy and sticky outside you can barely muster the energy to stand up straight in the kitchen, what could be better than that?

For this week's Mixed Review I whipped up Sweet Girl's Chocolate Mousse, which I picked up at Crate & Barrel for $9.95. I liked the fact that the mix was made with organic fair trade cocoa, and also that it came with instructions for preparing it three ways: with heavy cream (decadent), with vanilla yogurt (light), or with soy whipped topping (lightest). As an added bonus, it comes with these addictively crunchy chocolate pearls for sprinkling.

Never one to resist temptation, I made my mousse with heavy cream. All I had to do was heat the chocolate mix with a bit of water, fold it into a cup of whipped cream, and chill. The results were fantastic. Each spoonful of mousse coated my tongue with pure chocolate flavor. The consistency was thick and smooth, without any trace of lumps. I swear this mousse was just as good as many homemade versions I've tried, and it was ready in less than half the time.

Since I liked the mousse so much, I decided to email the women behind Sweet Girl, Tara Lane and Dana Benigno, to see if they would answer a few questions for Serious Eats about how they started their business and what plans they have for the future (hint: more chocolate).

The Interview

What inspired you to create Sweet Girl Desserts? One evening, while tasting a very processed chocolate mousse, we conceived the idea of Sweet Girl, Four Star Desserts for Everyday Occasions. We wanted our dessert products to be convenient and quick to make without preservatives or additives traditionally found in desserts.

The vast majority of dessert mixes are for baked goods such as cookies or cakes. Why did you decide to make a chocolate mousse mix? Choosing Sweet Girl chocolate mousse as the first product helped to define the standard of Four Star Desserts for Everyday Occasions. Sweet Girl focuses on creating restaurant-style desserts always including the garnish for the final detail in each dessert kit. We wanted the chocolate mousse to be made from ingredients that are organic and fair trade, to create convenience without compromise.

What were some of the challenges you faced when developing your recipe? The major challenge we faced during development was the amount of chocolate we consumed during this process!

What were some of the challenges you faced when starting your own food business?When starting Sweet Girl the economy crashed, which was our first challenge. During some of worst economic times, people started to become more interested in cooking at home and saving money. By actively sampling Sweet Girl Chocolate Mousse to our customers, we started creating idea suggestions and investing in our customers creativity. Which inspired Sweet Girl to keep going today!

In addition to whipped cream, you provide directions for preparing the mousse with vanilla yogurt and soy whip. Do the healthier versions really taste as good? Our favorite version of Sweet Girl chocolate mousse is made with the vanilla yogurt. The tangy sweetness of the yogurt perfectly balances the sweetness of the chocolate.

Sweet Girl Chocolate Mousse comes with chocolate pearls to use as a garnish. What are some other ways home cooks can dress up their mousse? We have included in each dessert kit, a seasonal garnish guide from your local farmers market. For spring, add fresh strawberries tossed in sugar and chopped tarragon. For summer, you can add honeycomb or freeze the chocolate mousse for a summer treat!

What are some of the other mixes you have in development? Our second product is the Sweet Girl Chocolate Souffle Kit, which will arrive in stores this fall! Our exciting news is with lots of hard work, we have just obtained our USDA Certified Organic Seal for all of our products created so far!