Mousse Au Chocolat – Deep, Dark & Sinful
The French, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1) My wonderful boyfriend 2) delicious desserts. Rich and decadent, the perfect way to satisfy your sweet, chocolaty tooth…
I’ve always preferred chocolat au lait but my French counterpart is slowly but surely converting me to the dark side. Whenever I do our groceries, I always make sure to stock up on Lindt, usually 85% but on occasions I’ll stumble upon 90% and what a treat for him! He’s even gone as far as eating an actual cocoa bean when we were in Bayonne.
A technique first taught to me by his cousin visiting us from Paris, I never jumped on another opportunity to prepare this dessert until after our return home from France this summer. Traveling never ceases to inspire us to go outside our boundaries and cook! I was especially excited to use our replenished stock of piment d’espelette! Who would’ve guessed my first recipe for this A.O.C. spice would be for dessert?
| 4 1/2 | ounces Lindt 85% dark chocolate |
| 1/2 | cup heavy cream |
| 3 | tsp sugar |
| 6 | egg whites |
- Break the chocolate in several large chunks and using the bain-marie technique, melt the chocolate. Meanwhile, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until it turns into a white froth (you can either give your arms a workout or I use our beloved Cuisinart hand blender with a whisk attachment). Slowly add sugar to your egg white mixture. Continue to whisk until firm.
- In a separate bowl, gradually add the heavy cream to the melted chocolate. This mixture should thicken. With a wooden spoon, gradually fold egg white foam into the chocolate mixture, using large circles. Transfer into individual ramekins and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. I love to add different flavors to each serving by alteranting with orange zest, berries, chopped nuts or our personal favorite, piment d’espelette!
November 12th, 2009 at 15:52
Nice. Simple but delicious. Now to find Lindt Chocolate.
November 12th, 2009 at 15:56
You can find them everywhere (besides the CBRE vending machines)! I’ve even bought them from CVS sometimes.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:20
Your pictures are beautiful, it looks fabulous… Can’t wait to try it!
November 13th, 2009 at 13:46
beautiful pictures Dhale! I love your use of colors and textures and not to mention this recipe looks amazing, thanks for sharing
November 14th, 2009 at 10:34
need to make this now!
November 17th, 2009 at 21:01
My brother in law from Sardinia showed me this same method. The % cocoa solids is important. Such a different result from using ‘cooking’ chocolate which is usually compound chocolate. Like the design of your photos
November 18th, 2009 at 09:10
I don’t think my French family would ever allow me to get my hands on cooking chocolate! Anytime I make a chocolate dessert, I always use high quality chocolate bars. It really does make a difference. I’ll be posting a recipe for mi cuit au chocolat soon. Thanks for dropping by!
November 18th, 2009 at 09:11
@ doggybloggy: Let me know how this turns out for you!
November 20th, 2009 at 15:13
@ Paul: Thanks! Hope you like it
December 21st, 2009 at 17:09
Sinful indeed… after my girlfriend Kat made this for me we both had to go to confession.
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:47
@Rodeez: I’m glad you and your girlfriend shared this sinful treat together