Chocolate Mousse

This recipe request for Chocolate Mousse comes from Thalia.

I must confess that I’ve never made any type of mousse, although I love to order it while dining out because it’s just so darn creamy and yummy.

This recipe is from my girlfriend Andre’ who lives in Florida. She’s a pretty good source for tons of things. Well, maybe not all things. No…on second thought, there are some things that I’ve learned to refrain from asking her.

With good reason, I might add. For instance, one day I asked her why she didn’t listen to a particular CD on her computer since it was right there in her bedroom. She said, “Don’t be silly…I don’t feel like going downstairs and disconnecting the CD player to bring it up here to place it on top of my computer and find a plug and all of that.”

I said, “No Andre’, there's no need for that. You have a built-in player right inside your computer. It looks like the drawer in your player downstairs.”

She got extremely defensive and started ranting and raving about…”What do you know about my computer…when my son gave it to me he didn’t put any drawers in it! I don’t have any drawers and I wish you’d stop telling me about some stupid computer drawer that I don’t have!”

Well, just to let you know…I’d used her computer frequently while I was visiting. I’d played tons of music from the drawer that she ‘just didn’t have’ and even danced to it!

About two hours later, she sheepishly admitted “Oh, that’s where it is…they should put the damn thing where I can see it!”

So Thalia, luckily for you, she’s not that absentminded when it comes to digging up recipes. I hope that the following recipe will whet your appetite.

NOTE: You will need an Insta-Read Cooking Thermometer (or a candy thermometer).

Your Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated
1/2-cup + 1/4-cup granulated sugar
1/2-stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4-cup water
1/2-pound bittersweet (NOT unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

PLACE the large (empty) bowl of an electric mixer in the fridge.

PLACE a saucepan of water over medium heat and allow it to simmer.

IN a large stainless steel bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, butter, and water.

USE a wire whisk to blend the ingredients.

PLACE the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly until the thermometer reaches 160ºF, about 3-4 minutes (you’re dealing with raw eggs).

ADD the chocolate and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Turn off the heat but leave the bowl over the simmering water.

REMOVE the chilled bowl from the fridge and add the egg whites. Beat the whites until they have soft peaks.

GRADUALLY add the remaining 1/4-cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (but not dry).

FOLD in about a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture (to temper). Then fold in the remaining whites.

DIVIDE the mousse into 6 fancy dessert glasses, place a piece of plastic wrap on each, and chill overnight.

GARNISH with a dollop of whipping cream (the real stuff) and sprinkle a few raspberries on top.

YUM! Thalia, please let me know if you enjoy this recipe.

Always Enjoy!