Mousse au Chocolat
I’m a big fan of mousse au chocolat. As light and airy as it is decadent, it really is a delight of the senses.
To this day I remember one I had many years ago in Luzern, at the Old Swiss House. It’s when I realised just how delicious this simple dessert can be.
I’ve had many variations of it over the years, with cream, liquor, salted caramel and what have you but, to me, there is nothing that can beat a simple dark chocolate mousse with an egg base.
If you are wary of using raw eggs (which the French simply do not seem bothered with) you can now buy pasteurised egg whites in most supermarkets. Make sure, however, that they are marked as suitable to whip.
I always add some strong alcohol to mine, I find it gives amazing depth of flavour, along with the coffee. Rum, cointreau, irish cream would all work beautifully here.
If you’re planning to serve it to children, however, feel free to replace both the liquor and coffee with water.
I served it this time on top of a simple vanilla crème anglaise, icy cold. A dollop of whipped cream will work however just as well if you’re not motivated to make a sauce to go with it. A few raspberries will add a pop of colour and much needed tartness and, in the winter, they can be successfully replaced with segments of blood orange.
Ingredients (serves 6)
Adapted from David Lebovitz
180g quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa content (this is crucial, your mousse will only be as good as your chocolate)
170g butter
4 eggs, separated
50ml (one shot) strong espresso
2 tbsp whisky
1 tbsp water
130g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt
Start by melting the butter, chocolate and coffee over a low heat in a small pan. As soon as it’s around 70% melted, take the pan off the heat, the residual warmth will melt it through while you stir. Allow to cool.
Although I’m not the biggest fan of bain marie, I’m afraid there’s no way around it in this recipe. Set a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water directly.
Prepare a larger bowl with ice or simply very cold water on the bottom.
Start whisking the eggs, sugar, whisky and water - this will take a while. If you have a hand held mixer, feel free to use it here, as it is quite the workout. Mine, unfortunately, had given up the ghost, so I was forced to do it the old fashioned way. I still have a sore arm.
After about 3 minutes of whisking, the eggs should have doubled in size and become very pale in colour. The mixture should be thickened - the texture of runny mayonnaise.
Transfer the egg bowl to the one with ice and continue slowly beating as it cools. It should thicken some more.
Separately, beat the egg whites in a stand mixer (or use the same hand held mixer from before, just make sure to clean and dry it thoroughly) with a pinch of salt until they start holding their shape. Add a tbsp of sugar and the vanilla and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
Fold 1/3 of the egg whites in the chocolate mixture to lighten it up. Then, fold the rest of the egg whites making sure to not overman as we want to preserve as much volume as possible.
Divide the mixture in 6-8 ramekins or, alternatively, transfer it to a serving bowl if you intend to serve it as quenelles.
Refrigerate until ready to serve, a minimum of 4 hours.
I can guarantee this will be a memorable dessert for anyone who is lucky enough to taste it so be sure to let me know in the comments if you’ve made and subscribe for more mouthwatering recipes!