This is kind of cool, if you have 3 minutes to spare.
Rich, thick, silky chocolate mousse. I always forget how wonderful it is.
I had fun making the mousse with my 13 year old son. The recipe is great for teaching a few things; how to melt chocolate, how to beat egg whites and whipped cream, and the proper way to fold ingredients into egg whites so that the mixture remains light.
If you have health concerns about uncooked eggs, you might not want to make this, although the heat of the melted chocolate eased my mind as it warmed up the yolks and whites. Besides, I wanted to make the mousse just like Julia would.
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted with 1/4 cup coffee
3 oz unsalted butter, softened
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
Directions:
1. Beat the butter into the smoothly melted chocolate. One by one, beat in the egg yolks.
2. Beat the cream just until it reaches stiff peaks.
3. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. While beating, gradually sprinkle in the sugar and continue beating until stiff shining peaks are formed.
4. Scrape the chocolate mixture down the side of the egg-white bowl. Carefully fold in the whipped cream.
5. Turn the mousse into serving bowls. Cover and chill several hours.
6. Decorate the mousse with swirls of whipped cream if you like.
Makes about 5 cups, which will serve 8 easily
Recipe from The Way To Cook by Julia Child
A Parisian band to play along with the mousse? Oui.
Light, breezy alt-electronica with a toe tapping beat and some brass, too.
Check out Concorde on the band’s Website, where you can link to buy their music.
Cheers!
This worked well. I subbed in dark chocolate and it was an instant hit.
I didn’t really understand what was meant by step #4; I just interpreted it to mean you fold in the egg-white mixture before you fold in the cream.
I’m so glad the mousse was a hit….an instant hit is even better!
I can see how Step #4 is unclear. I will try and fix the directions so they make more sense. What I meant to say is to add the melted chocolate down the side of the bowl so it did not overly heat and deflate the egg.
Where does the coffee fit in!?
In the ingredient list, the 1/4 cup of coffee is melted with the chocolate. Sorry that wasn’t clear! Maybe I should put that as a step in the directions. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Where does the butter fit it? Thank you ;)
Oh sorry. Baby brain! Just saw it.
chocolate and water absolutely don’t mix. I am wondering what texture to expect when the chocolate and coffee are heated together. I just hate to ruin that much chocolate, and in the past the mixture of chocolate and water has always yielded a grainy texture. Thanks
Chocolate and water don’t mix. I was wondering what to expect when melting the coffee and chocolate together. In the past the fusion has always yielded a grainy texture. I hate to waste that much chocolate so I figure I better ask first. Thanks
This forum talks about the issue of chocolate seizing when liquid is added.
I did not experience any seizing, nor did I think about it….maybe just luck? Looks like “Porcupine” (in the forum thread) made the mousse many times and it seized a few. I don’t have any good answers! Maybe to be safe, melt the chocolate alone, add the butter and egg yolks and then stir in the coffee?
I’ll have to try this recipe again (because it was so good) to pay close attention to that step. Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate it!!
Now that sounds like a brilliant idea. Just rearrange a little. Thank you!!
And, ooooops, sorry! I see my question posted twice! :-(
Twice as nice. xo
Need to say something about letting the chocolate cool before you add the egg yolks, or else you will cook the egg!
“If you have health concerns about uncooked eggs, you might not want to make this, although the heat of the melted chocolate eased my mind as it warmed up the yolks and whites. Besides, I wanted to make the mousse just like Julia would.”
That is a quote from the post….does it cover the cooking issue?
Thanks SO MUCH for bringing this up to me.
Just made this. Worked perfectly. Yummm!!!!
Great! Thanks so much for letting me know.
About how long will this keep in the fridge? Thank you, can’t wait to try it!
The internet consensus seems to be that the mousse will keep for up to 3 days. I hope you enjoy the recipe!