Chocolate mousse
Wed, 7 February, 2018

Chocolate desserts usually call for expert cooking skills: how to hit that fleeting moment between a wonderfully squidgy brownie and a dry cake. How long to freeze your fondant for to get that perfect runny centre with the firm outside. How to keep a soufflé from collapsing, or, let me rephrase: how to MAKE a soufflé.
Take one of the best loved chocolate concoctions in my house, the sponge roulade log: tricky not to overbake, trickier to roll up, unroll, fill and roll back up; that involves a construction made of several mugs and a damp tea towel. And don’t start me off on melting white chocolate – blink, and it splits; it splits even if you don’t blink.
Chocolate mousse – or ‘mouse’ as I always think about it after the eponymous dessert fed to Rosemary – is more often than not an elaborate eggy, custardy or raw-meringuey product. Not so this little thing: this is an astonishingly simple and easy to prepare pudding, very well suited for a Valentine’s Day supper for example; or an anniversary, birthday or any special night you want to finish with a bit of artisan chocolate production.
I’m offering the grownup version here: darkest chocolate, Grand Marnier; but it’s made just as well with milk chocolate and no alcohol, or even white chocolate (skip sugar in both cases). And it’s a recipe that even the least apt cookery dabbler, of either gender, can master.
chocolate mousse
Servings: 2Time: 10 minutes plus chilling
INGREDIENTS
- 250ml (1 cup) double cream
- 2 tsp icing sugar
- 1 tbsp. Grand Marnier or triple sec (or good quality orange essence)
- 150g (5oz) dark chocolate 70% cocoa
- chocolate shavings, for decorating
METHOD
1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and set aside.
2. On the hob: place the cream in a small pan, stir in the icing sugar and the liqueur or essence and bring to the boil. Immediately add the chocolate and take off the heat.
3. In the microwave: place the cream in a bowl, stir in the icing sugar and the liqueur or essence and microwave on full power for about 2 minutes, until it starts to boil. Immediately add the chocolate and remove the bowl from the microwave.
4. Let the mixture stand for a minute, then stir it until blended. Cool down and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
5. When completely cold, whip the mixture gently with an electric mixer on low speed or with a hand whisk – it will not take long at all. Stop when the mousse lightens in colour and starts to thicken – don’t over whip.
6. Spoon or pipe it into serving bowls or shot glasses and decorate with chocolate curls or shavings.
NEW recipe finder
Ingredients lying around and no idea what to cook with them? Then use my NEW Recipe Finder for inspiration!
Recipe Finder
Leave a reply
Your email address will not be published
Push notifications
You are subscribed to push notifications.
You have unsubscribed.
We'd like to notify you about the latest recipes and updates
You can unsubscribe from notifications at any time
Cuisine Fiend's