There is nothing I can describe such pleasure drinking a glass of merlot and licking a mousse au chocolate covered spoon on wet rainy evening here in Florida… while my mental state drags me back to Europe with its cold autumn days.
But the best pleasure is… it’s the first time I ever actually made mousse. For those who have been reading this blog for years, know that when I crave for something I thought complicated and I could not do there was the Swiss Cheese who would whip those delectable food.
So to actually satisfy my gustatory needs and wants I have to learn to experiment recipes.
When I was in Athens, for a very brief period of time I managed to spend time at Eleutherodakis. This is one of the largest bookstore in the city that stocks English books. I go there to check the latest books that have been translated to Greek to see the titles. Then get lost with my thoughts at the cookery section.
No I did not buy any cookbooks this time. I got instead “Don’t Try This At Home” Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Cooks and Chefs and Plat du Jour by William Black. The first book kept me occupied during my Frankfurt _ Miami flight. Tales of mayhem in the kitchen.
The later is a slow book to read, but having lived in South of France for few months a year for around 6 years I understand somehow the French mind when it comes to food culture… a chapter is about Valrholna.
It’s French product after all and on this book a recipe of mousse au chocolat.
As I read through it I realized how easy a mousse is. If you have the basic understanding of whipping egg whites, folding, knows how to handle a spatula et voila, ” elementary, dear Watson.”
So I checked the cupboards, I still have some Valrholna….
As I worked on the chocolate I could already see the smoothness of the quality. My wee mistake perhaps was adding the whipped egg whites while the chocolate, egg yolk, sugar mix was still a bit warm. I could see globules of egg whites so I took the whip and made sure it incorporated well.
Next time though I might as well add an extra egg white to lighten the mousse but over all its a fantastic easy recipe.
Mousse Au Chocolat
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200 g best bitter sweet chocolate. Valrholna’s Le Noir Gastromie if possible
4 eggs
1 soupspoon full sugar
50 g unsalted butter cut into dice
How to:
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Break the chocolates into pieces and melt in a bain maire, or a bowl over hot water.
Separate the eggs, put the egg whites into a bowl, and the yolks and sugar into another and work them together.
Add the butter to the melted chocolate and melt.
Allow to cool.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and incorporate delicately into the mixture, running a spatula from the outside of the bowl to the middle, until all is well mixed.
Pour into individual glasses and cool in the fridge for 3 hours.
I used ramekins but I did wished if I were home I could place the mousse into the clear glasses I bought for this kind of dessert just like what I used here….
I topped mine with shaved almonds and some of them with strawberries. For chocolics and want to check some recipes using Valrholna check their site here.….. just be prepared to hum the Willy Wonka’s Oompa Loompa song.
27 Comments
OMG! looks soooooooooo goooood!! *drools*
i’m sooo going to try this and then let you know how it ends up! hahaha
I love Chocolate mousse and yours look fantastic! Extremely scrumptious and flavorful! Nice pics too!
Cheers and have a nice week,
Rosa
Oh dear…. And here I’m trying to lose 5#. Thank God there’s no chocolate bars in the house right now or they’d be gone.
This looks amazingly delightful.
Classic. Add some lime zest in there for a fresher twist!
Sha,
This reminds me of Sacha when he just arrived everytime we are out for dinner dessert is…mousse au chocolat?
Can I please order 20 of those for 14th of November for the tea party I am giving for the local branch of the National Childbirth Trust?
dear sister of mine…. surely you can do this…. just keep these away from the little devil as the poor thing might suffer from allergy.
But its soo easy and surely that tea party you are hosting will be a success.
Do you want me to send Clive over to help you out?
He is perfect when it comes to tea parties you know.
Tell Nikos this goes well with wine, well just in case you are hosting Nono H for a dinner surely he will be impressed.
Whenever I order something sweet from Starbucks, the first person came to mind is YOU. Just how creamy and sweet this choco mousse looks like in a Martini glass while I lick my spoon until my mouth began to blister.
agapi its so easy… want to know how yours turned out. Filakia
merci Rosa…. think am back to my old self again creativity flowing once again. Oh yes dark choc is amazing will test another one with white chocolates.
Looks like Sacha and Shasha will be best of friends… say hello to him.
your sensory delight is wicked K…. I thought of martini glasses too… wont blister mouth since this so smooth….
and cant wait to see you in new specs
delightful…
delectable
divine….gorgeous am in chocolate heaven myself toni
Hi Jo never tried with lime zest.. maldon….yes
Hi PJ … we are trying to lose some pounds here too but a treat will do once in a while..
Shazzli,
This is sabotage! Some of us are on a sort of reducing DIET 2 get into an itty-bitty-yellow-polkadot-bikini”.
In my case,black-polka-dot- ewwwww…..!!!
We are hitting the beaches…and summer outdoors…
just looking at this yummy choc mousse foto-is so sending my 5 sensis berserk! The aroma of chocholate!
How can one satisfy a craving w/out gaining calories?
Hmmm…you just waken up creativity…he he he…I’ll
try it on my “King of Dehiwela”, it might work. Email
you the result….maybe my virgin BLOG…L.O.L.
G’Day Shazzli,
“Saboteur” !!!
How can YOU do this to readers like me?
I was trying my best to get into my “itty-bitty-polka-dot-bikini”
(black-polka-d0t actually)he he he…
I’m glad your creativity is back and in the flow-coz
you lady- are torturing me!!! Chocaholic numero uno.
Mantra today is “resist Shazzli’s temptation”….oomm
Hopefuly this works…if not…hmmm..(thinking creative thoughts)How can one have chocolate w/out gaining calories??? >>>> Hubby ….oommm…I hope it works…!!! aha! my first virgin Blogg..l.o.l…I’ll
blogg about it if it works….L.O.L.
ehem, my bad…
I thought my first log did not worked.
I’m feeling “hot now” (BLUSH-Blush)and it’s not hot flushes…l.o.l…okey byeeee…hot-chilli-tamale!!!
wow sha, i can’t wait to try this one! mmmm!
Shalimar, your photos are gorgeous and I agree, mousse is such a simple but oh so lovely dessert choice.
so I got inspired, propped my laptop on the kitchen counter and started rummaging for ingredients, got them all, started in a frenzy, then stopped. The recipe included the yolk and sugar, but could not find it in the recipe above.Should I fold it into the chocolate before I add the egg whites? Help! I guess I did not melt the sugar thoroughly, I could feel itty bitty grains. No worries though, I devoured it, with some blueberries I found lurking in the chiller.
My goodness,
This is mighty delicious! Beautiful photograph!
Cheers,
Elra
Merlot and mousse au chocolate was a new combination to me, but I’m sure it’ll work in dark and wet fall in Norway too
Thanks for sharing the recipe and great pics – my mouth is watering!
Just here to say hello and to thank you for sharing the pics from Norway at FB!
Your blog is super. So are your photographies. They make me hungry. I have spent a nice moment when seeing them. Thanks a lot.
Nagtuto na sad ni atong laway ani hehe
Musta inday ((besos))