Dark Chocolate Mousse

Did you know that you can enjoy a fancy, rich and luscious chocolate mousse worthy of a five-star restaurant in the comfort of your own home? Now you do and now you will! 

This recipe features our Herringbone Ramekins. Ramekins are truly a versatile kitchen item. Though they are traditionally used for desserts, ramekins are also the perfect portion size for soups, sauces, dips and other snacks. They also serve as handy prep bowls too.

So, what is chocolate mousse exactly?

Chocolate mousse is a light and airy chilled dessert containing whipped cream and egg whites for volume and flavored with my most favorite thing in the world — chocolate. I'm a serious chocoholic. I must confess that I eat chocolate every single day- no shame!

Please note, this recipe is made with raw eggs. If this is a concern, like for those who are immunocompromised, pregnant, elderly or children in their infancy, please find and use pasteurized eggs - which are eggs that have been exposed to heat briefly to destroy any potential bacteria. 

Selecting good chocolate is the first step. The flavor of the mousse depends solely on the chocolate you use. I highly recommend selecting a dark chocolate. You can use either fancy dark chocolate bars or dark chocolate chips. I always have a few bars of dark chocolate in my pantry. I like to use 72% dark, but use what you can get your hands on, semi-sweet works just as well. You’ll need a total of 6 ounces of chopped dark chocolate and conveniently, most bars are about 3 ounces. If you’re using chocolate chips, no need to chop them smaller, they’re fine the way they are. Working with small bits helps to melt and combine ingredients evenly.

Dark chocolate mousse recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
• ¼ tsp instant espresso powder (instant coffee may be substituted)
• 4 eggs at room temperature, yolks and whites separated
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar
• ⅓ cup cold heavy whipping cream
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. You’ll need three separate bowls, (including the bowl of a stand mixer) preferably all metal bowls or a combination of metal and glass bowls (FYI-liquids don’t whip as well in plastic bowls)

2. Whisk chocolate, butter and espresso powder in a bowl over a saucepan filled with ½-inch to 1-inch of simmering water (or in a double boiler) until smooth. Make sure the simmering water cannot reach/touch the bowl. We want the heat from the steam only. 

Remove the bowl from the heat. Let stand a few minutes until the bowl is not hot to the touch. Touch a knuckle into the mixture; we're aiming for it to feel at about body temperature or cooler. At this temperature, whisk in egg yolks one at a time just until smooth and incorporated; don't over mix. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at high speed until it starts to get foamy then add the cream of tartar. As the egg whites start to stiffen, gradually add ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

4. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until it starts to thicken then add 1 Tablespoon of sugar and add vanilla. Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. I suggest using a hand mixer since it's a small amount we're working with.

5. Carefully fold half of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg whites. Gently fold in the whipped cream just until incorporated.

Here are some tips for the folding technique:

• Use a medium to large bowl and a flexible spatula with a wide blade. A wide spatula helps fold more of the mixture at once.
• Think of the folding motion as gently chopping down the middle of the mixture, scraping to the side, inward and down, then out (scraping the side) and over.
• Get that spatula under the batter as you fold.
• Don’t forget to rotate the bowl as you fold!

6. Transfer the mousse into our Herringbone Ramekins. Refrigerate covered for at least 4 hours.

Enjoy!