A step by step guide to a perfect Chocolate Mousse- A Chocolate Mousse that you just can’t stop eating !

A Chocolate Mousse is a dessert that everyone loves. Kids would eat it anytime of the day. It’s perfect for parties- can be made in no time and can be made ahaed as well.

A few weeks ago, we had an invitation to dinner. Hubby dear, or resident baker and dessert specialist decided to make this mouth-watering mousse. Everyone was blown away by the depth of the mousse- not just the wonderful taste but the fact that there was actually so much more to eat. When you buy Mousse from the supermarkets- all you get is foam- not much stuff therein really.

This wonderful recipe comes together quickly and is our favourite go-to recipe for parties because just about everyone loves it!

Ingredients

• Double cream- 200 ml
• Dark chocolate- 150 gm
• Milk chocolate- 75 gm
• Eggs, medium- 3, very fresh
• Caster Sugar- 3 tbsp
• Cherries- 50 gm for decorating
• Icing sugar- 25 gm- to decorate on top

Method

1. Put the double cream in a small  saucepan on a gentle  heat and let
   warm up.
2. Simultaneously, break the chocolate up into squares.

3. Keep a close eye on the cream which will  soon start to steam. Take it off the heat and add the chocolate.

4. Please please do not stir it at all. Just let the chocolate sink and melt in peace. Give it 5 minutes.

5. In the meantime, separate the eggs. Put the yolks in a separate bowl and the whites in a large spotlessly clean dry bowl. Not a single drop of the yolk should fall into the whites. Be careful.

6. Whisk the whites,  until they reach a medium peak. I prefer using my electric handheld whisk, but an electric mixer should do the job as well. You could also pop the whites into a stand mixer for whisking.

7. To  check, put the whisk into the beaten egg white and turn up keeping the handle towards you. The egg whites should not stand upright but should rather look droopy likeso.

8. Now start adding the sugar. Remember just 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk it up again until the whites begin to become shiny.

9. Then, while continuing to whisk, add another tablespoon of the sugar. Make sure that the whites are whisked up well and all of the sugar is dissolved before whisking in the final tablespoon
of sugar.

Check out the shine!

10. Now let’s look at our chocolate that’s been soaking in cream for all this time.  Most of it would’ve melted by now. Gently stir everything together.

11. Then add the egg yolks and stir to combine.

12. It will now look this and go from THIS  to…

THIS.. super glossy.. see how much difference the protein from the egg white makes.. the mixture just glistens!

Now on to the whisked whites.

13. Stir in a spoonful of the lovely glossy chocolate mixture. The addition of chocolate helps loosen the thick white mixture and makes it easier to stir.

14. Slowly pour all  the chocolate mixture into the egg white mixture and then gently fold them together. Try to be as light as possible- no heavy strokes and keep the air in and the mixture as light as air!

15. As you stir, you might notice that the mixture is not looking pretty at all and instead of looking like a delicate airy mousse, it has a grainy texture. You might just about give up at this point lamenting that your time and effort has gone down the drain and that this horrible, dodgy looking mess should go the same way- but hang on! All is not lost!

Have patience, keep stirring slowly and you will have the most gorgeously smooth  mixture ever!

16. Pour into little ramekins or small glasses or quirky little mugs that you could serve in . Be as innovative as you possibly can.

17. These now need to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before serving. So you could put a cling film on top or cover and put tin the refrigerator.

You could serve these with cherries or raspberries. The tartness of the fruit goes really well with the dark sweetness of the mousse. I have used a mixture of chocolates here, as I don’t like overly sweet desserts. This combination perfectly suits my palate. But you can experiment- Make it with entirely milk chocolate for your kids if you like!

These now need to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before serving. So you could put a cling film on top or cover and put tin the refrigerator.

These can be made upto a day ahead and left in the refrigerator . this worlks perfectly well when you’re having an elaborate dinner party as you don;’t then have to faff about with the dessert. YOu can simply swan in .. fetch and serve!

For serving:

You could simply serve plain, as is..

or then you could spice everything up with a sprinkle of Icing Sugar.

Here’s how..

Put a knife across the mousse!

Then dust some icing sugar with a sieve. I have used my favourite gadget- the OXO Baker’s Dusting Wand

and the you could also jazz everything up with a touch of red- some cherries!

Enjoy!

Gadgets required for making this mousse