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About the Recipe
Chocolate mousse may sound difficult but I promise that you too can make this delicious treat! This recipe is a family favourite and definitely something you can whip up to impress your friends.
It's a long wait to let the mousse set in the fridge but I promise it's worth it!
Ingredients
270ml heavy cream
2 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
4 tbsp sugar (granulated or caster)
75g bittersweet 60-80% chocolate (trust me, it's worth splurging a bit and getting good quality chocolate!)
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder/granules
28.5g unsalted butter (roughly equivalent to 2 tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Equipment
2 large bowls
1 medium bowl (make sure the bowl is made of a material that can withstand high heat)
1 small bowl
Small pot (a good size for the medium bowl to fit on top without touching the bottom)
Whisk/ hand-held mixer/ stand mixer (any of these will work)
Preparation
Step 1
In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks (when you raise your whisk the cream stands straight up without falling. Make sure you keep checking – it is possible to overwhisk!). Then place the bowl in the fridge.
Tip: make sure the heavy cream is just out of the fridge before you whisk. It makes it easier!
Using a whisk: you will most likely be whisking vigorously for about 5-10 minutes depending on how many breaks you take. The benefits of this are that you are less likely to overwhisk!
Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer: this depends on your mixer and the speed but it will most likely take about 6-8 minutes. Please check every 30 seconds as soon as you see the cream start to thicken. This will prevent overmixing. Also, be aware that there may be a bit of a mess!
Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until it becomes thick and pale yellow in colour and you no longer see any obvious sugar granules (if you use caster sugar you should not be able to see any sugar granules).
I recommend whisking by hand for this unless you are unable to whisk vigorously in which case use a hand-held mixer, not a stand mixer. Mixing by hand will take about 2-3 minutes of hard whisking. The hand-held mixer will take about 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on your mixer and the speed. I don't recommend a stand mixer for this step because the whisk in a stand mixer tends not to reach the very bottom and therefore it doesn't become properly mixed.
Step 3
Add about an inch of water to your pot and wait for it to simmer (medium heat then lower to medium low). While you're waiting, you can add the chocolate, butter, water and coffee to a medium bowl. When the water is simmering, place the bowl on top of the pot and mix with a spoon until the chocolate mixture melts together. Take it off the heat (but leave your water simmering). Mix again.
Note: your chocolate mixture may be clumpy and watery. Don't worry! It will all come together later.
Step 4
Once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly (wait about 2 minutes), add 2 spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture and mix. Then add your egg yolk chocolate mixture into the rest of the chocolate mixture and mix with your spoon. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
The purpose of adding the chocolate to the egg yolks first is to bring the temperature of the egg up slightly without cooking it. If you miss this step, you may get scrambled eggs when you add the egg mixture to the chocolate!
Step 5
Add your chocolate mixture back over your simmering water and mix for about 2 minutes. Your chocolate mixture should be thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Extra: after removing from the heat, if you wish, you could add very small pieces of any extra chocolate you may have to the chocolate mixture. When it all comes together, you will have small pieces/chips of chocolate in your chocolate mousse.
Step 6
In a large bowl, whip your egg whites until it forms stiff peaks (same as the heavy cream).
Stiff peaks: a good sign that it is whipped correctly is if you turn it over above your head and it stays in the bowl. I don't recommend doing this without checking it safely first! Otherwise you may get egg whites all over you.
Using a whisk: again you will most likely be whisking vigorously for about 5-10 minutes depending on how many breaks you take. The benefits of this are that you are less likely to overwhisk!
Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer: this depends on your mixer and the speed but it will most likely take about 4-6 minutes. Please check every 30 seconds as soon as you see the egg whites start to form streaks. You may even want to switch to whisking by hand at this point. This will prevent overmixing.
Step 7
It's time to bring everything together! Check that your chocolate mixture has cooled (it should have by the time your egg whites have been whisked). Fold your egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
Folding is different from mixing. You are not whisking everything together, you are slowly folding parts of the mixture into itself to incorporate it. The purpose of this is to keep the frothy airyness of the egg whites. If you whisk, you will remove those bubbles and you won't get the frothy 'moussey' texture of chocolate mousse.
Step 8
Fold your chocolate mixture into the heavy cream that was left in the fridge. Make sure that your heavy cream is still at stiff peaks. Some fridges may not be cold enough and it may have melted down a bit. If needed, hand whisk it back to its stiff peakiness before folding the chocolate in!
Note: definitely use a hand whisk instead of a hand-held or stand mixer if you need to re-reach stiff peaks. This is to prevent overwhisking.
Step 9
Pour your chocolate mousse into your serving container of choice and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours. You can use fancy glasses or little ceramic bowls. Alternatively, you can just pour it into a large plastic container.
After 24-48 hours the chocolate will taste much richer. If you can wait that long!
Step 10
Serve and enjoy!
Meal Prep Factor
Can I keep...
1) the whipped heavy cream, whipped egg whites and/or the chocolate mixture overnight?
NO! I do not recommend keeping any of the ingredients once you have started working on them for the mousse. Once you start, make sure you get through to the end!
2) the chocolate mousse overnight?
YES! This is a requirement. Do not eat the mousse right away. Leave it in the fridge for 6-8 hours (i.e. overnight) to set before eating.
How I Like It
My favourite foods to eat with mousse:
1) Strawberries
2) Mousse cake
3) Parfait
Do you have any favourite foods to eat with mousse?
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