Chocolate Mousse

Living in France you would think that I am a pro at French cooking by now, this however is not true. James doesn't really love French food and so I just haven't spent much time learning the traditional dishes. However, I have been learning some of the traditional desserts.

One of the simplest desserts here in France is chocolate mousse. It only requires 2 ingredients, minimal effort to make, and some time to chill in the refrigerator. I remember the first time I had chocolate mousse in France and thinking it must be so complicated to make and I was intimidated to try. This quickly changed when the recipe was shared with me. So I feel that it is my duty to pass on this delicious chocolate piece of heaven to all of you.

Recipe for Chocolate Mousse
serves: 6 | prep time: 15 minutes (plus 3 hours for it to chill)

Ingredients
1 bar dark chocolate (200g, I used the Nestle dessert brand here in France)
6 eggs


Directions
1. Separate the egg whites and the yellow into 2 bowls.
2. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until white peaks form.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate bar over low to medium low heat on the stove.
4. Once the chocolate is fully melted add the egg yellows to it. Stir quickly and remove from heat.
5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites. Stir this together by hand until mixed.
6. Place in 1 large bowl or many small bowls that you intend to serve it in.
7. Chill in the fridge for a about 3 hours to allow it to cool and set.
8. Garnish with your favorite fruit or it is perfectly fabulous without fruit too!

Enjoy!!!

Note
***if presentation is important to you be sure to place in individual dishes prior to chilling as it isn't as "pretty" if you let it chill and then scoop it into separate bowls.

I hope you find this an easy addition to your dessert options. If anyone gives it a try I would love to hear what you think!

Chocolate and White Chocolate Mousse

So having guests in France has inspired me to get a lil fancy in the dessert department. In one of my classes a few weeks ago a student gave me a recipe for a Chocolate Mousse so I decided to make it for the girls on their first night in France.

It was a huge hit and pretty easy to make. So here is that recipe.

Chocolate Mousse-6 servings
6 eggs, separate the yolk and the whites
1 bar of chocolate, dark (180 grams, approx 6 1/2 ounces)
pinch of salt

1. Separate the eggs and place in separate bowls, the whites in a bigger bowl and the yellow will be fine in a smaller bowl.
2. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat to fluffy peaks with an electric mixer
3. Melt the chocolate with a double broiler on the stove.
4. Beat the egg yolks with a fork (or the mixer) and add to the chocolate once it is melted
5. Gently mix the chocolate and egg whites together.
6. Place in individual serving dishes or 1 dish and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving

After the success of making this mousse and dealing with rain too many days in a row, Jess and I decided to get really brave and make a white chocolate mousse recipe for a recipe book I got for Christmas (which was all in French). So after spending 20 minutes or so translating the recipe we got down to business.

The recipe in French

What it is suppose to look like according to the cookbook

The chocolate bar before melting it

Beating the whipping cream

Beating the egg yolks

The 2 mixtures prior to putting them together

The finished project ready for the fridge

Compared to the first mousse I made this one was a little less of the mousse texture and a bit more sweet. So in my opinion a very small amount goes a long ways. It would be fun to serve it with some fresh fruit and it could be used as the dip.

Here is the recipe to the best of our translating abilities. 

White Chocolate Mousse

¼ c. sugar

2 c. whipping cream

4 egg yolks

10.6 oz of white chocolate (330 gram solid bar)

1.     Whip the cream using an electric mixer until firm and light.

2.     Mix the sugar with 1 ½ TBSP of water in a saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring very frequently. (The sugar should not take color) Remove from heat once it starts to boil

3.     Whisk the egg yolks until light and smooth. Little by little add the sugar syrup while continuing to beat. Whisk the mixture until it is light and warm (this will occur since the sugar syrup is hot).

4.     Melt the white chocolate on the stove using a double broiler until smooth.

5.     Using the hand mixer mix the chocolate into the egg yolk mixture. Continue mixing until smooth.

6.     Add the whipped cream into the chocolate/egg mixture and whip until smooth.

7.     Pour into a serving dish (or dishes, cover, and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 

If you end up making one of these let me know what you think.