Why you are cooking this tonight
The chocolate mousse is the dinner party dessert that makes people think you went to a cooking school in Paris. Good dark chocolate, eggs, a little sugar, whipped cream folded in with the gentlest spatula you own. That is the whole recipe. It takes twenty minutes of work and two hours in the fridge, and when it comes out it is airier than cream and denser than foam and it tastes like the best chocolate you have ever put in your mouth.
Use chocolate with at least seventy percent cocoa solids. Callebaut, Valrhona, or our own Haigh’s work. The mousse is only as good as the chocolate.
Notes on method
Work quickly once the chocolate is melted. The egg-yolk mixture stiffens as it cools, so fold the whipped cream in while the chocolate is still warm enough to stay loose.
What to pour with it
An Australian sparkling shiraz. Or a small glass of Pedro Ximénez. Cocktail match: an Espresso Martini – dark roasted coffee next to dark chocolate is the classic.
Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
Espresso Martini with chocolate mousse is the perfect dinner-party finish.
Read more →
Woodford Reserve Bourbon
Bourbon over a single ice cube. Bitter chocolate, vanilla bourbon.
Read more →The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Cool 5 minutes.
- Whisk egg yolks with half the sugar until pale. Whisk in the warm chocolate.
- Whip cream to soft peaks. Fold gently into chocolate mixture in two batches.
- In a clean bowl whip egg whites with salt to soft peaks, then add remaining sugar and whip to firm glossy peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture a third at a time, keeping as much air as you can.
- Divide into 6 glasses or ramekins. Cover and chill 2 hours.
- Serve cold with a small cloud of whipped cream and some shaved chocolate on top.
Nutrition
Two things that go wrong
You folded too aggressively.
Mousse is air. Aggressive folding deflates it and you end up with chocolate ganache pretending to be mousse. Fold with a spatula in slow lifts, turning the bowl as you go. Stop the moment it’s combined.
Your eggs weren’t room temperature.
Cold yolks seize the chocolate when you mix. Cold whites don’t whip to full volume. Let everything sit on the bench for an hour before starting.
Variations worth knowing
- White chocolate and raspberryReplace dark chocolate with good-quality white chocolate. Top each ramekin with fresh raspberries.
- Salted caramel mousseStir 60g of salted caramel sauce into the chocolate-yolk mixture before folding the whites in.
- EspressoAdd 2 tablespoons of strong brewed espresso to the chocolate as it melts. Coffee-chocolate pairing always works.
Leftovers and make ahead
Mousse keeps 3 days in the fridge covered with cling film pressed onto the surface. The texture firms up — let the ramekins sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving for the right consistency. Spare mousse: pipe into store-bought meringue nests with whipped cream for instant dessert.