Planning on hosting a dinner party and need a fancy as hell dessert to wrap things up? Well, how about summoning the velvety goodness of a perfectly formed Dark Chocolate Mousse. This melt in the mouth confection will not only fit into whatever receptacle you throw at it, but will also effortlessly carry off a wide range of additional frills and adornments.
So, let’s enter the realm of high functioning dessert food, and get to grips with one of the easiest Chocolate Mousse recipes the internet has to offer.
Lovely Dark Chocolate Mousse
Equipment
- 3 Bowls
Ingredients
- 150g (5oz) Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
- 15g (½oz) Butter
- 70g (1oz) Caster Sugar
- 4g (1tsp) Vanilla Extract
- 200g (7oz) Cold Whipping Cream
- 150g (3) Room Temperature Eggs
Instructions
- Put a small pan of water on a low heat and place a large bowl on top, ensuring that it doesn't touch the water
- Add 150g of Dark Chocolate, 100g of Cream, 35g of Caster Sugar, 4g of Vanilla Extract and 15g of Butter to the bowl. Stir occasionally, and keep on the heat until everything has melted
- While the chocolate is melting, separate the yolks and the whites from 3 eggs, ensuring no cross-contamination. Then whisk the yolks until they are light and fluffy
- When the chocolate and cream mix has fully melted, take it off the heat and give the whole thing a good stir with a manual hand whisk (don't use the electric device for this stage). Then, while quickly whisking with one hand, pour in the egg yolk with the other, continuing to whisk until fully incorporated, and set aside. If you add the egg too slowly, you will run the risk of cooking it
- Place your previously separated Egg Whites in a large mixing bowl, and fire up the electric whisking device. When the whites begin to get fluffy, slowly start to add 35g of Caster Sugar while continuing to whisk. Keep going until the mixture becomes soft, shiny, and silky, and gentle, floppy peaks form when jabbing it with the mixer blades. Be careful not to over whisk
- Test the temperature of the chocolate with your finger, it should only be slightly warm to the touch. When satisfied it's not too hot, take a big spoon of the fluffy egg white (around ¼ of the mix), and ever so slowly, fold it into the chocolate. This essentially means mixing in slow motion from the bottom to the top, so you don't knock the air out
- When roughly mixed, it doesn't need to be perfect, pour the entirety of the chocolate side of operations in with the rest of the egg white. Then, as slowly as you can manage, fold them together until everything is more or less combined
- Next, place the remaining 100g of Whipping Cream in a clean bowl, and blitz with the electric mixer until you get firm peaks when jabbing it. Again, be careful not to over-mix. Then carefully fold the cream in with the rest of the chocolate mousse until it is one uniform colour
- Transfer the glorious chocolatey creation into 6 martini glasses, or whatever receptacle you have to hand, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 4 hours
- Decorate with whatever you like, I've gone with grated white chocolate, a dollop of cream, some strawberry, and a sprig of mint. Then, serve to your amazed guests
- Consume within 2 days
Nutrition
Chocolate Mousse Notes and Enhancements
Important Information About Eggs
This recipe calls for the introduction of raw eggs, so it’s imperative that you use the freshest ones you can find. For best results, go for free range from your local distributor of farm-based edibles. Other than that, you should aim for the large-sized variety, that should yield around 50g of mousse material per egg (not including the shell).
Some Notes on Decoration
As mentioned earlier, a good Dark Chocolate Mousse will allow for the addition of a number of embellishments. I generally go for a little grated white chocolate, accompanied by a blob of cream, a bright red fruit for contrast, and a sprig of mint to round things off. Other than that, ground nuts, more chocolate, any kind of fruit will go well with the dessert, just make sure you find a worthy receptacle to do it justice.
Additional Flavours to Enhance your Chocolate Mousse
There is some leverage when deciding to add a little extra flavour to your Mousse, just remember that liquid additions will affect the end texture, so don’t add more than 15g/ml to the mix. Dry ingredients such as nuts, caramelised ginger, espresso powder, or candied orange peel will add a nice touch. While, those with a boozy disposition can consider a drop of rum, brandy, whiskey, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Baileys, or any other tasty liqueur. If adding any extra ingredients, throw them in during the melting chocolate phase (step 2).
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