CHOCOLATE

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 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse in glasses topped with a dollop of cream and chocolate shavings, ready to be served

Raw eggs note: required to make real chocolate mousse. It is not possible to achieve the same result without using eggs, despite what other recipes promise - and I've tried many. It will either be denser, or be like eating whipped cream, or have a weird jelly like texture more like pana cotta. Read in post for more information. Note: raw eggs not advisable for pregnant women or babies to consume.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs (~55g/2 oz each)
  • 125g / 4.5 oz dark chocolate , bittersweet / 70% cocoa (Note 1)
  • 10g / 0.3 oz unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup cream , full fat (Note 2)
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine white sugar)

DECORATIONS:

  • More whipped cream
  • Chocolate shavings (Note 3)

Instructions

  1. Separate eggs and yolks while eggs are cold. Place whites in a large bowl and yolks in a small bowl. Leave whites while you prepare other ingredients. (Note 4)
  2. Yolks: Whisk yolks.
  3. Melt chocolate & butter: Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. (Stir in optional flavourings at this point, but read Note 6 first). Set aside to cool - proceed with other steps.
  4. Whip cream: Beat cream until stiff peaks form (see video).
  5. Whip whites: Add sugar. Beat whites until firm peaks form (see video, Note 5)
  6. FOLDING: Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula - 8 folds max. Streaks is ok.
  7. Check Chocolate Temp: Touch the chocolate. Should still be runny but only lukewarm. If too thick, microwave 2 x 3 seconds until runny.
  8. Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through - 8 folds max. Streaks ok.
  9. Add 1/4 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold through until incorporated - "smear" the spatular across surface to blend white lumps in - aim for 10 folds. 
  10. Pour chocolate mixture into egg whites. Fold through until incorporated and no more white lumps remain - aim for 12 folds max.
  11. Divide mixture between 4 small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight.
  12. To serve, garnish with cream and chocolate shavings. Raspberries and a tiny sprig of mint for colour would also be lovely!

Recipe Notes:

1. Chocolate: Ensure you use COOKING chocolate, not eating chocolate. Cooking chocolate (baking aisle) is made for cooking with - melts smoothly and is thinner than eating chocolate. If you use eating chocolate, the mousse is denser (I tried).

Bittersweet dark chocolate and 70% cocoa dark chocolate is best to get a good chocolatey flavour. The 70% cocoa sold at supermarkets in Australia is ideal (Nestle Plaistowe, Cadbury and Lindt 70% all work well) - these are bittersweet chocolates.

2. Cream: Must use a cream that can be whipped. Pure, thickened or heavy cream all work here. However, use cream WITHOUT whipping it ie in pourable form.

Do not use "Pouring Cream" that cannot be whipped - the label will say as such if the cream cannot be whipped. 

Must be full fat - now is not the time to go low fat!

3. Chocolate Shavings: Use a small knife and scrape at a low angle on the flat side of a block of chocolate.

4. Eggs tip: It's easier to separate whites from yolks when eggs are cold, but whites at room temp fluff up better when closer to room temp. So separate the eggs when fridge cold then set aside while you prep the other ingredients to let the whites come to room temp a bit.

5. Beaten whites consistency: Egg whites can be beaten to: soft peaks, firm and stiff peaks. We want the middle one - firm peaks. This is when you have a "elf hat" floppage at the top of the peak (see video). If it stands straight upright without the little hook then it's stiff, not firm (still works fine but it won't hold up as well after a few days in the fridge). If you do not get any type of peaks at all, then keep beating!

6. Flavourings: such as liquor, can be added into the melted chocolate, but make sure it is at room temperature other it can make the chocolate sieze. Stir it in then leave to cool per recipe. You can taste it later to see if the flavour is strong enough for you - but don't go overboard otherwise you may have issues setting the mousse! Up to 1 tbsp should be fine (and that should be enough!!), don't go overboard otherwise it might affect the melted chocolate or compromise how the mousse sets.

PRO TIP: Never add flavourings into just melted chocolate otherwise it might seize and become grainy, always ensure it's combined with something (butter, in this case).

7. Storage: Best within 2 days but keeps for a week in the fridge with only a slight reduction in aeration.

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