09 March 2009

Mousse, mousse, mousse...

So I made a delightful chocolate mousse one night when I was entertaining a gluten-intolerant friend. We had post-work wine and snacks (corn tortillas and homemade guacamole), and I felt like we should have something sweet to finish... so I chose mousse. It was crazy chocolatey, but also crazy delicious.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups really cold, heavy cream for whipping
3 large egg whites
4-6 tsp white sugar (depending on how sweet you want this to be)

In a double boiler or bain marie (I used a stainless steel bowl perched over a big pot of boiling water), melt the chocolate, stirring periodically. Once melted, turn the heat off but leave the bowl over the water to keep the chocolate in its melty state.

Whip the cream to normal whipped cream consistency - it'll stand on its own if you dip a spoon into it and draw it out.

Whip the egg whites in another bowl. When they're foamy and kind of thinking about getting a little bit more difficult to whip, add your 4-6 tsp of sugar. Then keep beating the eggs until they are quite stiff, and can stand on their own in little egg white mountains.

Combine the chocolate and the egg whites - just dump the chocolate into the egg whites in one go, and stir away until they're just about fully combined. Then add the whipped cream - I added it slowly while still mixing - mixing by hand, I should add. When completely combined, cover the mousse and let it chill out in the fridge for at least an hour, or however long you need it to be chilled for. It's a pretty good make-ahead dessert.

Serve it with whipped cream (whip the cream with sugar - it'll help sweeten things up for those who aren't giant fans of dark chocolate).

It's reliably delicious, which is kind of excellent when entertaining.

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