Mousse au Chocolat

About Mousse au Chocolat

Mousse au chocolat is the classic French chocolate dessert, and this is the traditional egg-set version rather than the cream-based one, which gives it a lighter, more intensely chocolate character. Its structure comes entirely from air: dark chocolate is melted with butter for gloss and richness, the yolks are stirred in for body, and whipped egg whites beaten to firm peaks with sugar are folded through to lift the whole thing. Folding the whites in three additions, gently, is the technique that matters, since knocking the air out at this stage is the difference between a cloud and a pudding. With only four ingredients, the quality of the dark chocolate does most of the flavouring work.

Eaten cold from its pot, the mousse is airy and almost weightless on the spoon yet floods the palate with deep, slightly bitter chocolate, the sugar and butter keeping it from turning harsh. It's a make-ahead dessert by necessity, needing at least three hours in the fridge to set, which makes it ideal for a dinner party where you want the sweet course handled in advance. Serve it plain to let the chocolate speak, or with a spoon of softly whipped cream or a few berries if you want contrast. Despite its bistro pedigree it's genuinely quick to assemble, with the chilling doing all the patient work.