A classic chocolate mousse is something you have to try. Once you tried it, it will become your regular dessert. With only five ingredients you’ll create a perfect chocolate dessert, that is light, rich, silky and delicious. Topped with fresh fruits to add more freshness.
Mousse tends to have a sturdier and light texture. It gets its texture thanks to the thousands of air bubbles trapped in the creamy dessert. It’s almost air-light. Wink. This also means that a mousse will remain stable.
My first mousse recipe was a raspberry mousse. Raspberries taste just fabulous. They are sweet but tangy and extremely fruity. As next, I had to try the classic one, the chocolate mousse (or “Mousse au Chocolat”). It’s a wonderful chocolate dessert, that you can prepare the evening before.
This was one of the best decisions I’ve made that day. Wink. As the dessert was done, and ready to eat, I needed to take photos for my blog. One of the photos had to show the structure and the fluffiness of the mousse. Therefore I scooped out one teaspoon of mousse and I ate it. My reaction was: “ Mmmmmm, this is the best dessert eeveeeerrr!” Wink.
When I say the best dessert ever, I really mean it. It has a rich chocolate flavour and a creamy, silky and airy texture. Just perfect.
Can you believe that all you need is just five simple ingredients and a hand mixer? Yes, five ingredients: dark chocolate, whipping cream, a small amount of sugar, eggs and butter. The better the ingredients, the better the result. Therefore, pick a bar of good chocolate, whipping cream with at least 30% fat and fresh eggs.
In the raspberry mousse, I used gelatine to get a stable structure. In this recipe, I incorporated eggs, instead. Have a look at my tips and tricks next in the post, in order to achieve a gorgeous and decadent chocolate mousse.
Tips
Firstly, for better results, the egg whites should be at room temperature before whisking them. Also, when whipping the eggs, you have to know when to stop. The perfect egg whites consistency is by medium peaks. In other words, the tip of the peak should curl over on itself. Consequently, it will be much easier to incorporate it into the mousse.
Secondly, before adding egg yolks to the chocolate, make sure that the melted chocolate is at room temperature or cold to the touch. But it still needs to be soft. After mixing egg yolks and chocolate, the mixture will get thick, almost like a paste. At some point, it might even look grainy. Don’t panic. Wink. It will all smooth out when adding cream and egg whites.
Thirdly, just like egg whites, also the cream needs to be whipped to medium peaks. And, it has to be chilled. Therefore, whip it cold and keep it in the fridge until using it.
Chocolate mousse pairs wonderfully with fresh fruits. My favourite are berries, such as raspberry, strawberry, blackberry or red currant. But you can use peaches, pears, apricots, mangos or bananas, too.
Ingredients for 2-3 portions of chocolate mousse:
- 125 g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
- 20 g butter
- 3 eggs (separated)
- 30 g sugar
- 125 ml whipping cream
- a couple of fresh strawberries (or any other berries)
To begin, separate the eggs. Put the egg yolks into a small bowl and the egg whites into a larger bowl.
Then, roughly chop the chocolate and place it into a heatproof bowl. In a smaller pot, pour some water (a finger high) and place the bowl on top, in order to form a double boiler. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the butter to the chocolate and bring the water to a simmer. Once the chocolate is melted and glossy, remove the bowl from the pot and set it aside. Chill off to room temperature.
Meanwhile, whip the cream until medium peaks (read my tips). Place it in the fridge until ready to use. Then, beat the egg whites. When you reached soft peaks, start adding the sugar a little at a time. Whisk them until medium peaks.
When the chocolate has reached room temperature and the bowl is cold to the touch, quickly whisk the egg yolks and stir them into the chocolate. Combine well.
At this point, gently fold in one-third of the whipped cream. Continue with half of the egg whites. Once all is incorporated, fold in the rest of the egg whites. Finish by adding the remaining whipped cream and combine well.
Furthermore, using a piping bag or a spoon, divide the chocolate mousse into 2 (for a larger portion) or 3 glasses. Place the glasses in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Finally, take glasses out of the fridge and garnish the chocolate mousse with a dollop of whipped cream (optional), a fresh strawberry and some chocolate shavings.
Enjoy.
