Chocolate Mousse

It figures that after a rather extended break from blogging for the holidays, I’d surface to confess that for the first time since joining the Daring Bakers 18 challenges ago, I decided not to participate in the bake fest this month.

I’m feeling quite sheepish about it, too, so I’m not going to bore you with my whining  and excuses.  Instead, I’ll send you to this month’s hosts, Hilda of Saffron and Blueberry and Marion of Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux to take a gander at the French Yule Log I was to have made — but didn’t.  It is quite the beautiful creation!

Instead, I have a simple, but decadent chocolate mousse that we enjoyed after our Christmas dinner with some sweetened cream and raspberries.  This is my favorite chocolate mousse recipe because it’s very straight forward, so quick to make, and very, very chocolatey.

Mousse au Chocolat

serves 4

Ingredients

7-1/2 oz. dark chocolate
1/2 c. half-n-half
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
3 T plus 1 tsp. sugar

Directions

1. Coarsely chop chocolate and combine with half-n-half in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally until chocolate is completely melted.
2. Off the heat, beat in the egg yolks one at a time, stirring rapidly with each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition and until whites are stiff and glossy.
4. Using a whip, add whites to chocolate mixture a third at a time, carefully folding to incorporate and lighten.
5. Divide mousse into four serving bowls and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Recipe Notes

• I used bittersweet chocolate but have used semisweet as well.  Trader Joes sells giant bars for a great price, so this dessert is fairly inexpensive.
• I routinely freeze left over egg whites in small marked baggies.  It comes in handy for recipes like this when more whites than yolks are required.  To thaw, I set them in a cool dish of water, occasionally pressing on the whites in the bag to break them up.  It doesn’t take very long.
• I doubled this recipe and it generously served 11 with perhaps 2 more servings left over.
• I found this recipe a few years ago in The Paris Cafe Cookbook by Daniel Young.  It’s a collection of recipes from 50 of the “best” Paris cafes and I haven’t tried one that hasn’t been delicious.