Last time I tried to master the chocolate mousse was a disaster. I couldn’t make the ‘mousse’ part stick and it ended up being more of a custard. But it is a staple of French cooking and I felt like I was letting the team down; you can’t claim to be any kind of decent French cook if you can’t make a basic chocolate mousse. But which chocolate mousse recipe to choose? There are hundreds of versions online so how do you know which one will taste the best? Well, my mother-in-law is French and she makes the best chocolate mousse I’ve ever eaten, as in, seriously blissful, so I thought I would start there. Why is it the best? It makes a dense, rich and utterly addictive chocolate mousse. So I tried to replicate it in the hope that I would manage to produce a half-decent version. Did I succeed in my attempt? Well… Let’s just say it’s a good thing I got past the ‘bowl of dog vomit’ stage that I instagrammed as it happened. Yes, this is part of the recipe sharing process here at A Frog at Large, the failures are shared as loudly, maybe even more so, than the successes, so you know it’s All Real.
Ingredients
- 180 g chocolate (I recommend 70% dark chocolate for this)
- 4 eggs (separate the whites from the yolks but keep everything)
- 75 g butter
- 90 g caster sugar
Method
1. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie i.e. in a glass bowl set over hot water for a gentle melt.
2. Add the butter, then, away from the flame, add the egg yolks one by one whilst whisking with the sugar.
3. Whisk the egg whites to make stiff peaks, then add them carefully to the chocolate mix.
4. Place the mousse into a serving bowl or individual ramekins and keep in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5. Eat!
Note: the chocolate mousse is even better when served with a big dollop of fresh squirty cream on top to cut through the big hit of rich chocolate.
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Sounds so delicious. I have struggled to make a good mousse but I’m craving it now I have read your post. I’ll give your recipe a try – thank you!
Good luck!
I can never resist chocolate mousse whenever it’s on the menu. However, although I used to make a mean version in the UK, I have never been able to get it right in France. Maybe it’s the addition of the butter that helps? But I could never get the chocolate to melt properly. And perhaps adding the yolks singly is better, since I’ve always beaten them all and then added them, which leads to a curdled mess. I will definitely try your version and report back. Thank you!
I would definitely recommend adding the yolks and mixing them separately. But as it was my first time doing it AND it looked scarily curdled at one point (only looked it mind you), so all I can say is good luck. As for the chocolate, make sure it melts very slowly, it goes wrong when it overheats. And good luck!
I have to admit to clicking through to your “bowl of dog vomit” instagram pic and yup, it didn’t look great, but this one looks fab! I’m now craving a good chocolate mousse. Thanks for linking up with #AllAboutFrance
Ahem yes, past the ugly stage it turned out wonderfully!