Chocolate Mousse

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone. Before you start your diets, I have one more recipe from Christmas to share so you can start planning your Christmas dinner for next year...or for your next special occasion. How about Valentine's Day? This is a super easy recipe and everyone loves it, even kids. When I started getting ready to serve dessert on Christmas, one of the children asked "What are we having for dessert?" and I said, "Chocolate mousse which is like a really good chocolate pudding. You'll love it". And they did. I even sent home a big Tupperware of leftover with them. ha ha ha That's one of the reasons I wanted to post this recipe. This recipe did not state the serving size and I ended up making way too much. My servings were only 1/4 cup since I served them in these really cute shot glasses tied with a ribbon to hold a super dainty demitasse spoon (this forces you to eat slowly!)

I ended up with twice as much chocolate mousse than I needed because the portion size in the recipe was apparently 1/2 cup. I got this recipe from a Bobby Flay video and it is no doubt a great recipe, he just didn't state the portion size. But then, it wasn't that bad of a disaster. I just needed more clarification. So, here's my version of the recipe...with clarification.

Make 12 servings of 1/4 cup each or 6 servings of 1/2 cup each

5 1/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

14 ounces cold heavy cream

3 large egg whites

2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

sweetened whip cream, for garnish

shaved chocolate, for garnish

1. Place chocolate over a double boiler and a low simmer. I used 60% good quality baking chocolate for this recipe. This is on the low end of dark chocolate which I think was just the right amount sweetness. They also come in chocolate chip format. I used a combination of both to get the right weight. You can use any level of percentage cocao you like, depending on the level of sweetness you like. (The higher the percentage, the less sweet.)

2. Stir chocolate until it is melted, going very slowly.

3. Turn off heat and let stand over the hot water so it remains melted.

4. Beat cream until it forms soft peaks. Set aside and hold at room temperature.

5. Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until firm.

6. Using a whisk, fold the egg whites into the melted chocolate all at once.

7. When the whites are almost completely incorporated, fold in the whipped cream with a rubber scraper. I kept using the whisk but I think you ought to switch for this part. Just make sure there are no white streaks and that the mousse is completely brown.

8. Put the mousse into goblets or whatever serving dishes you choose to serve the dessert in or you can cover the mousse and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour or until set. Serve in goblets topped with more whipped cream and shaved chocolate. I put my mousse in the goblets before it set since mine were tall and narrow glasses. The mousse went in easier before it set. But if you're serving in wider dishes, let the mousse set first. It will look better in the dishes when it holds it's shape.

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