Years ago, a group of us cycled from Brittany to the Mediterranean, and along the way we ate a lot of chocolate mousse. Popular, easy to make and happy to sit in the fridge until required, it’s a mainstay of the modest French provincial restaurant and, as we discovered, it’s almost always good. Here’s my favourite version of the little black dress of the dessert trolley.
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Chill 2 hr+
Makes 2
60g at least 70% cocoa chocolate
2 medium eggs
1 pinch salt
2 tsp sugar, or to taste
1 A note on the chocolate
You can use milk or flavoured chocolate here, if you like, but do bear in mind that if it’s quite sweet, you probably won’t need the extra sugar. Unless you’re using uniform chocolate drops designed for melting, roughly chop the chocolate – there’s no need to cut it into very tiny pieces, but they should be fairly even so they melt at the same rate.
2 Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie
Boil the kettle. Meanwhile, get ready a large heatproof bowl that can sit over a pan holding about 5cm of water without the base of the bowl touching the water. Pour the boiling water into the pan and turn on the heat to medium. Put the chocolate in the bowl, then put the bowl on top of the water pan and turn down the heat so the water is barely simmering. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted.
3 … or use a microwave
Alternatively, use a microwave, which saves on washing up but carries a greater risk of burning the chocolate if you don’t keep your eye on it. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, microwave for 20 seconds, then stir and carry on microwaving in five-second bursts until completely melted.
4 Carefully separate the eggs
While the chocolate is melting, separate the eggs – it’s important not to get any yolk in the whites or they’ll be tricky to whip up properly. To avoid this possibility, I break the eggs into a glass or metal bowl (plastic will make the job harder), then use a clean hand to scoop the yolks into a fresh bowl.
5 Beat the egg whites
Leave the chocolate to cool slightly. While it does so, use electric beaters or a large whisk to whip the egg whites and a pinch of salt to soft peaks – that is, to the point when the mix will hold a wave that flops over at the top rather than standing up straight. Add the sugar and carry on whisking until the mix is glossy and holds its shape.
6 Combine the egg yolks and chocolate
Mix the egg yolks one at a time into the melted chocolate. If at any point the mixture seizes and turns tight and grainy, don’t worry, it’s not a disaster. Simply add a small splash of boiling water and whisk again until the mix is glossy and pourable again (if that doesn’t work, repeat the process until it does).
7 Fold in the egg whites
Stir a spoonful of the whipped egg white into the melted chocolate and egg yolk mixture to loosen it up, then add the rest. Use a large metal spoon gently to fold it in, using a D-shaped action so you don’t knock too much air out of the meringue. Stop as soon as everything is uniformly mixed, with no streaks.
8 Chill to set
Spoon the mousse into a serving bowl or into two separate bowls or glasses (don’t worry if the serving looks ungenerous; this is a very rich dessert). Put in the fridge to chill (covered, if you like, especially if you have any strongly scented ingredients in there), preferably for a couple of hours, so the mousse has a chance to set properly. It will keep well for several days.
9 Variations on the theme
To ring the changes, when melting the chocolate, stir in the grated zest of a well-scrubbed orange, or two tablespoons of strong coffee, a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or chilli flakes, a little more salt, or a splash of vanilla extract or rosewater. Serve as is, or top it with whipped cream, cocoa nibs, orange zest, mint leaves or chopped nuts.
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