I must start by saying that I am not a sweets person at all. I never crave chocolate, GASP....I know I get that all the time. I much prefer savoury things. Every once in a very long while, I will crave my chocolate mousse. Blame growing up in the 80's and Portuguese. I mean have you ever gone to a Portuguese restaurant that doesn't have this on the menu? Me neither?
This my friends is the recipe for the real deal, not the whipping cream added version, which to me has more of a pudding like consistency. This is chocolate and eggs at their most spectacular. Use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on and wash them with warm soapy water, since the risk of salmonella is on the shells. The inside of an egg is actually sterile. If you are still concerned, you can always buy pasteurized eggs in a carton.
The texture of the mousse is heavenly light and full of little air bubbles. You want to use really good chocolate for this, now is not the time to penny pinch. The mousse is stunning and sure to impress your guests. Once you taste my mousse you'll throw out all your other mousse recipes. It is that good. When ready to eat, my husband Carlos loves to add his own twist. He adds a teaspoon of his favorite brandy and blends it in. You can substitute with whisky, but he recommends 1/2 teaspoon as it is a bit stronger than brandy. All of our guests love this boozy touch.
Have a sinfully delicious Sunday
Enjoy XOXO
Mousse de Chocolate Clássico ❦ Classic Chocolate Mousse
Makes 8, 4oz. servings
200 g. Best quality dark chocolate, I used a mix of two different 70% cacao chocolates. The different nuances in them really add a depth of flavour to the mousse.
6 Free-range golden egg yolks, room temperature (very cold eggs take longer to reach the "ribbon stage")
6 Free-range golden egg whites, room temperature
100 g. Salted butter
100 g. Granulated sugar, divided
1. Break the chocolate into small pieces into a bowl with the butter. Place a saucepan on the hob on a low heat, with just a bit of water. You want the bowl to be bigger than the pot. Place the bowl on top making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the surface of the water. Melt chocolate and butter over the bain marie and mix very well until fully incorporated. Be careful not to let any water get into the mixture as this will cause your chocolate to go grainy. Set aside to cool.
2. In a bowl beat egg yolks with half the sugar (50 grams) until it is pale yellow, this is called the ribbon stage. When you lift the whisk over the mixture the batter should fall slowly forming a ribbon that will hold it's shape for a few seconds.
3. In another bowl beat the egg whites with remaining, 50 grams, of sugar until soft peaks form.
4. Gently fold in the egg yolk mixture with the cooled melted chocolate until incorporated.
Do not add to warm egg yolks or you will end up with scrambled eggs!
5. Add the beaten egg whites to chocolate mixture. Start with a small scoop of whites and with a spatula fold into the chocolate gently folding from bottom to the top in a gentle folding motion until incorporated. Continue adding egg whites and gently folding. Do not beat or you will loose volume.
6. Divide the mousse by the ladleful into 8, 4-ounce ramekins, or decorative cups of your choice. I used 4 oz. martini glasses.
The mousse needs a minimum of 4 hours to set in the refrigerator before serving.
Egg yolks and sugar. Pale, thickened ribbon stage
