Chocolate mousse

I'm an ultimate chocolate lover, which easily makes chocolate mousse one of my all time favourite dessert options.

Once you get practising with meringue making and melting chocolate you can make this very quickly! It was hard finding a chocolate mousse recipe which was both rich and creamy, yet light and fluffy at the same time, but this is the recipe that worked best for me.

Ingredients

3 large eggs - (only need the egg whites for this recipe)

130g dark chocolate (at least 70%)

100ml heavy cream (double cream)

100ml full fat milk

20g sugar

a pinch of salt

Decoration options

Mint leaves

berries - raspberries or strawberries

whipping cream

wafer sticks/brandy snaps

chocolate shavings

To ensure the meringue comes out with firm peaks, keep the eggs out at room temperature an hour before the process. Also, make sure that no egg yolk pieces fall into the egg white mixture. The bowl should also be completely dry and clean before adding in the egg whites.

Mousse making requires techniques such as whisking and folding. I haven't made any videos yet, but in the meantime you can click here to watch a YouTube video to get an idea of these techniques.

If you prefer the taste of normal chocolate to dark chocolate, try using a semi sweet chocolate. The higher the percentage of coco, the less sweet the taste will be.

Don't let the melted chocolate or cream-milk mixture cool completely, it should be warm - room temperature but not hot hot either! I usually melt the chocolate, and heat the cream & milk at the same time, and then make the meringue. So by the time the meringue is done I'm ready to combine the ingredients.

1. Break the chocolate up in a glass bowl.

2.Add some water to a saucepan (an inch or two) and start heating the water. When the water starts to simmer place the bowl with the chocolate on top. Make sure the water in the saucepan doesn't touch the bowl.

3. Leave on a very low heat, and allow the chocolate to melt. Use the spatula to mix now and then, keeping an eye on it as you don't want the chocolate to cook, just melt. Remove from the heat once all the chocolate has melted and forms a smooth liquid. You can also turn the heat off completely and allow it to melt that way if you are worried it may cook.

4. Pour the heavy cream and milk into a saucepan and heat. Once the liquid starts to boil, turn off the heat and set aside to cool a bit.

boiled and set aside

5.And now to make the meringue. Separate the egg whites into a large bowl. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt. I'm going to use my electric hand blender to make my meringue. Start whisking at a low speed and increase, until firm white peaks are reached.

The trick to knowing when firm peaks form is if you turn the bowl upside down the meringue won't fall or move!!! Be careful when you try this, just move it slightly and test first.

Another way to tell is that the peaks should stand up straight when the beaters are lifted.

holding the bowl upside down ish!

6.Now we are going to assemble everything together. Add the cream & milk mixture into the melted chocolate and stir until all the milk and cream have been incorporated and forms a dense liquid.

7. Add in a small amount of the meringue and whisk rapidly using the hand whisk until the mixture is uniform.

8. Add another portion of meringue in, and this time gently "fold" it in using the spatula.

9. Keep adding the meringue in batches and folding using the spatula. The folding process may take a few minutes, and will help improve the classic airy texture of the mousse.