Chocolate mousse has never gone out of fashion because it simply tastes so good (and is so easy to make). The trick to good mousse is keeping it as light as possible, so when adding the egg white and cream gently fold it in without stirring more than necessary, better to have a slight unevenness in colour than a flat mousse. You can melt chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds or so on high. If doing it the traditional way over simmering water, be careful that steam doesn’t get into the chocolate or it will harden and be unusable and ensure the bowl has completely cooled to room temperature before folding in the cream. The better the chocolate, the better the mousse, look for one marked ‘couverture’, meaning it contains a high percentage of cocoa butter.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 70g dark chocolate, plus extra for grating
- 15ml brandy
- 2 eggs, separated
- 100ml single cream
Method
- Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl.
- Stir in brandy and set aside until completely cool.
- Add egg yolks and beat vigorously until smooth.
- Whisk egg whites until firm peaks form.
- Add about a quarter of the egg white to the chocolate mixture and stir it in to loosen the chocolate mixture.
- Gently fold remaining egg white into the chocolate mixture.
- Whisk cream until firm peaks form and gently fold into chocolate mixture.
- Spoon into serving dishes.
- Refrigerate until firm, preferably overnight.
- Serve with a little extra chocolate grated on top.
