Hello from yet another day in Lockdown 3.0…
This newsletter is different from my usual as it’s not covering an ingredient but instead focusing on one of my favourite desserts - chocolate mousse. Growing up, my mum used to buy this particular potted chocolate mousse; it was light in texture, rich in flavour and extremely indulgent. Imagine eating a cloud made out of the best creamy milk chocolate. That was it. I’ve searched the internet far and wide to find it but no such luck.
So, here’s the drill. There’s a chocolate mousse recipe that I LOVE from Jamie Oliver. It used to be my go-to for dinner parties and celebrations, BUT there are currently no dinner parties or celebrations, so a mousse that uses EIGHT eggs and makes TEN portions feels a bit excessive.
I only had 3 eggs last week and I wanted to make enough for us and maybe a portion or two for the day after. So I had to work out a formula to make it work with 3 eggs. As I’m the ultimate “feeder” I’m going to share this formula with you. It’s in the form of a table because I care and because I think everyone should have this chocolate mousse at least once.
(By the way, here’s the original recipe in case if you do want to feed 10 or just have a really sweet tooth)
So here’s the magic table. I rounded up all the quantities, to avoid 0.5’s, .375, .1387 etc. I’d say don’t bother if you only have one egg however if you do try it please let me know how you got on.
Below is a quick recap of how to make the mousse in case if you don’t want to click the recipe link.
Before you start, you’ll need FOUR mixing bowls. FOUR. Yes I know it’s a bit much - but its worth it! I only have 3 so had to move my stiff egg whites into a salad plate when they were ready. I’d also advise using a rubber spatula to avoid losing any precious ingredients or final mixture.
Method
1) Place your chocolate in one of the bowls, with a pinch of salt and place over a pan of simmering water. Make sure water doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan.
2) Using two more bowls, separate egg whites and egg yolks. I used the simple method of cracking the egg, pouring the whites out and catching the yolk. Do whatever works for you.
3) Add the sugar to yolks and whisk together. Add a pinch of salt to egg whites until you have soft peaks (you know that old bowl upside down trick, yes, use that).
4) Chocolate probably has melted by now, so take it off the heat carefully and mix well.
5) In the final bowl, lightly beat the cream, you want volume but not stiffness.
6) Now add the alcohol to your chocolate (if using). I’ve previously used Amaretto and Bailey’s, both work a treat. I think Kirsch and maybe even rum wouldn’t hurt. Now add the cocoa powder and mix well. Finally, add your melted chocolate and mix well.
7) Now add the cream to your chocolate/egg bowl and mix well. Pretty, right?
8) Now it’s time for the egg whites, add them to the bowl and mix gently, using figure of 8 movements, you don’t want to lose the bubbles. It’ll look like a dog’s dinner at first. Keep going, it’ll get better.
9) Now pour into your vessels. You can use small glasses, martini glasses, that collection of GU pots, or you can make one big dish of mousse. I used a few glasses and a silicone sphere mould (it didn’t work, don’t repeat my mistake). They need about 2 hours to set. I usually make them the day before I intend to serve them.
10) Top the mousse with roasted chopped nuts, fresh or stewed fruit or maybe, syrups or anything else your heart desires.
There you go, not really my recipe but I hope the handy table makes life slightly easier.
Here’s more mousse inspiration:
Delia’s Very Chocolatey Mousse (cream-free, so suitable for those with intolerance)
Felicity Cloake runs us through various mousses to make the OG mousse
Chocolate Olive Oil Mousse from Nigella (this recipe also doesn’t use cream)
John Gregory-Smith’s totally vegan 3 ingredients chocolate mousse
I’m sure that at least a few of you are as fanatic about chocolate mousse as I am, so do yourself a favour and treat yourself this weekend, and whoever you share your home with. And if you’re living alone, share some joy with your neighbours.
I’ll see you next Sunday with another issue of Appetite, all about one of my favourite ingredients - Tahini!!!
Have a great week,
Anya xx
If you enjoyed this issue of Appetite, you can buy me a Ko-fi to help fuel the next issue (it’s likely to go towards my cookbook fund, my lust-list is never ending)