For a great chocolate dessert that’s absolutely sure to satisfy your cravings, look no further than the humble chocolate mousse. Its texture is light, creamy, and oh so delicious. Some people might confuse a puddingand a mousse, or even pots de creme. On many levels, they are very similar looking dishes, but the real difference is the ingredients. Puddings use a thickener like cornstarch, pots de creme use egg yolks, and a mousse uses whole eggs.
For our recipe, we wanted to focus on keeping the creaminess of the mousse. We used chocolate, eggs, sugar, salt, and just a littlebutter. The butter actually really helped the creaminess of the mousse without making it too heavy. For extra flavor, add a little vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons strong coffee, or a little liqueur like brandy or rum. Keep reading below for this great mousse recipe…
Chocolate Mousse
(makes 6 servings)
Ingredients
- 6oz bittersweet chocolate chopped coarse
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons strong coffee, or brandy or rum
- 4 large eggs, separated and room temperature.
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Whisk the butter into the melted chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in the vanilla, and coffee or liquor until incorporated.
- Whisk in the yolks one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next. Set the mixture aside.
- Stir the egg whites in a mixing bowl set over a saucepan of hot water until the whites are slightly warm (1 to 2 minutes). Remove the bowl from the saucepan, then beat hard until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugar, and continue to beat into soft peaks. Whisk a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the rest of the remaining whites. Be careful to not overwork the mixture.
- Spoon the mousse into a serving bowl or individual servings and serve immediately or refrigerate. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
- Enjoy!
Recipe adapted fromJulia Childs