Introduction
French chocolate mousse is light and airy yet intensely chocolatey, made from just dark chocolate, eggs, a little butter and sugar. It is made several hours ahead, which makes it a good dessert for guests. The difficulty is in folding the whipped egg whites in gently, so the air stays in.
Recipes for chocolate mousse appear in France in the 18th century, and the dish became a staple of French bistros and homes in the 20th. The eggs are raw: use very fresh eggs, and don’t serve it to pregnant women, small children, elderly people or anyone with a weak immune system.
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate (about 70 % cocoa), broken into pieces
- 30 g butter
- 6 very fresh eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 30 g sugar
Tools
- 2 large mixing bowls, one heatproof
- A saucepan
- A hand mixer or a whisk
- A large spatula
- A serving bowl or 6 small glasses
Preparation
- Melt the chocolate and butter in the heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Stir until smooth and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Separate the eggs: whites in the clean large bowl, yolks aside. Stir the yolks one by one into the chocolate.
- Whisk the whites with the salt until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar and whisk until firm and glossy.
- Stir a quarter of the whites into the chocolate to loosen it.
- Add the rest of the whites and fold them in gently with the spatula, lifting from the bottom and turning the bowl, until no white streaks are left. Stop as soon as it is even.
- Pour into the bowl or glasses and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.