Chocolate Mousse Recipe

I have been looking forward to this post for a while, which is strange because I don't like chocolate in anyway or form ( see earlier post ) .

Maybe it was because chocolate mousse has always seemed to be beyond the capabilites of mere mortals like us, exclusive to the elite professionals only . Or maybe I felt deep down , that if I mastered this dessert , it would redeem me , to some extent , in the eyes of the world's chocolate lovers .

Before I spoke to Chahna for her recipe and advice , I did a little research into some of the past, and current , top chef's recipes and methods . My advice is , don't even go down that track because you will give up before you pass Go.

They all seem to advise totally different methods and ingredients and then tell you that their recipe makes the best mousse ever. It did cross my mind that this could be a chef conspiracy to lock us all out from ever achieving a knockout chocolate mousse.

But we won't let them defeat us - we'll fight back together. ( Heck, I hope this recipe and method work now after my blog uprising - if not I can always blame Chahna, sorry darling . )

So, this is the recipe I have used. It is meant to create a richly decadent , "wow -level" dessert.

Ok , I hope that you are ready to stand up and be counted.

Lets do this.

Recipe

1. 190g dark chocolate , mimimum 65% cocoa ( its the cocoa that provides the fats that we need for the mousse to work .)

2. 3 meduim egg separated (we just need the yolks for this recipe)

3. 30g caster sugar .

4. 400mls double cream , lightly whipped .

Optional : 1 Tbsp brandy ( if you are feeling cheeky )

or 1 Tbsp cooled coffee

Remember to bring all of the ingredients to room temperature before you start, including the cream and eggs

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/6ddfbe_9d4b184214094bc7914f31715584e370/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Method

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a pyrex bowl. Heat over a pan of boiling water ( see post on melting chocolate ) until just melted . Stir to create an even chocolate melt .

2. Beat the egg yolks with the caster sugar and optional brandy or coffee if preferred . Then whisk further by placing the bowl over a pan of water on the stove . You can use the same pan of water as you used for the chocolate melting . This form of gentle heating and whisking helps prevent any over cooking of the egg yolks .

3. Whip the cream in a separate bowl into soft peaks.

4. Add the cream to the chocolate mixture in three parts , each time alternating with the yolk/sugar mixture . The first and last part of this addition process should be the cream , with the egg mix additions inbetween . The last bit of cream should be folded in gently with a spoon aiming to retain as much precious air as possible .

5. Spoon the mixture into individual ramekins or , if you are feeling fancy and want to impress your guests , use brandy glasses or any other decorative wide glasses that work for a dessert and look the biz.

6. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set (or just eat it straight away if you can't resist the temptation) . They can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days ( assuming you don't have teenagers in the house ) .

7. Serving garnish is optional : - whipped cream

   - mint leaves

   - quartered strawberries

   - grated chocolate . Or anything else you creative lot think of to add your own personal flare to your show stopper dessert.

I do also think that your serving attitude makes a huge difference to the overall experience, and anyway , you deserve to have your moment in the spotlight . Everyone will remember the fanfare of presenting the dessert , even if the dessert itself turns out pretty mediocre ( which of course it won't )

I know that you lot will nail this stunner . I did it and I don't even like chocolate ( P.s I didn't mention my dislike of chocolate to the chocolate bar I used , just incase it rebelled against me ) .