I love bistro style food and my favourite French dessert, is one that you find in every bistro in France – rich, dark chocolate mousse. My search for the perfect, most luscious and intense chocolate mousse brought me right back to my mother’s old recipe. Although I have a few other chocolate mousse recipes in my repertoire, her recipe is a classic and has that perfect rich yet light flavour that sticks to your taste-buds, then hits you with a wallop of pure dark chocolate flavor. Although this version has an intense chocolate flavour and richness, it is not dense as we include the whipped egg whites to lighten the mousse and give it a beautiful airiness. As the recipe is classic French, it uses raw eggs. Some people are concerned about raw eggs, but there really is no need to be. When I make anything that uses uncooked eggs, I use the freshest eggs I can get my hands on. Also, since the flavor of the mousse depends on good chocolate, make sure to buy a good brand; you won’t regret it. For today’s recipe I used up a tablet of dark, bittersweet Belgian chocolate and melted it with Cointreau along with good, strong coffee. Yum!
This is the same mousse as above but seeing as I was serving it for Easter dessert, I cut a chocolate egg in two and placed my mousse in the egg before placing in the refrigerator overnight. Just before serving, I shaved some white and dark chocolate on the top. Delicious!
Serves 4 to 5
Ingredients:
115 g / 4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
30 ml / 2 tablespoons freshly brewed strong coffee
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
30 ml / 2 tablespoons Cointreau
15 ml / 1 tablespoon Armagnac or Cognac
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
85 g / 6 tablespoons butter, diced at room temperature
4 eggs, separated, at room temperature (you only need 2 whites)
1/4 cup sugar – divided into two
Pinch of salt
Preparation:
In a medium to large bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt together the chocolate, coffee, coffee powder, Cointreau, Armagnac and vanilla extract stirring until smooth
Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool
Beat in the softened butter
Place the egg yolks and half the sugar in a bowl and beat at high speed for about 5 minutes (use an electric mixer if possible)
Add the chocolate mixture while on low speed
In a separate bowl, beat the 2 egg whites with the salt until frothy
Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape
Whip in the remaining sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff
Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula
Then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume
Pour into a large serving dish or 5 ramekins
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight
The chocolate mousse can be refrigerated for up to 5 days
Decorate with whipped cream or chocolate shavings just before serving
Bon Appétit!
lynne hoareau said:
Chocolate Mousse is my favourite dessert of all times. I literally make every recipe I come across ‘to find the perfect one’. I am dying to try yours 🙂 I have a feeling it is going to be great !
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Nadia said:
You are like me then in that regard. I never pass up a chocolate mousse recipe. Hope you enjoy it.
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AverageSouthAfrican said:
Nooooooo now I want some 😦 OMG it looks so delicious
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Nadia said:
It was, rich, creamy yet light and tasty. Now, I need to make more too.
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AverageSouthAfrican said:
If only I could bake/cook LOL I would make it all the time 🙂
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Nadia said:
This is so easy, you do not even have to know how to bake. You should give it a try.
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AverageSouthAfrican said:
I will and let you know how it goes
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camparigirl said:
Serving it inside a chocolate egg is adorable! Here is my plan for Passover: chocolate meringue with chocolate mousse. One of those dessert staples I never tire of.
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Nadia said:
That sounds delicious. Serving in the egg was my mother’s tradition.
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MB@Bourbon and Brown Sugar said:
So thrilled to have found your blog… I love the Dordogne – we vacationed there years ago at a campground when our children were younger! Lots of canoeing and hiking 🙂 Delicious mousse recipe!
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Nadia said:
Merci. It is a truely beautiful and unspoiled regions of France.
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tentimestea said:
Mmm, the addition of cointreau and coffee makes this sound divine Nadia! Chocolate mousse is full of delicious contradictions– it looks rich yet light, and delicate yet decadent. 🙂 I’ve heard that it helps to wash the outside of the eggs as sometimes the bacteria is on the outside and only comes into contact with the egg itself when it is cracked.
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Nadia said:
You are 100% right about the contradictions. Luckily all yummy though. Great tip about the eggs, thanks.
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Julie is Hostess At Heart said:
Chocolate anything is my favorite, especially a smooth and creamy chocolate mousse!
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CakePants said:
This chocolate mousse looks wonderful!! I have to admit, I’ve never made a classic chocolate mousse…sounds like something that should be on my culinary bucket list, though! That’s a great idea to put the mousse in a candy egg for Easter 🙂
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Nadia said:
Do give it a try, it is actually very easy. The mousse in the chocolate egg was my late mother’s Easter dessert tradition.
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Nadia said:
Me too😃
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basket76b said:
I made this kind of eggs but with white chocolate end a 1/2 yellow sphere in the middle like a “jaune”…
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Nadia said:
That must have looked amazing. Wish I could have seen it.
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basket76b said:
I can send you a photo…
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Nadia said:
Oh yes, please.
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basket76b said:
Hi Nadia,
Do you know the mousse made with a a “pâte à bombe” ?
Try it if you have never done it. So tasty…
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Nadia said:
I do not think so. Do you have a recipe? I will google.
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basket76b said:
You can find one easily on the net.
When you learn baking you have to do it.
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Nadia said:
Found it. Yes, I learnt that 25 years ago when at Le Cordon Bleu. Did not remember the terminology.
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basket76b said:
“Le Cordon Bleu” !!!!
You have learned cooking, baking there ?
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Nadia said:
Yes, I studied there 25 years ago in Paris.
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basket76b said:
The interesting thing when you do a “pâte à bombe” for a mousse is the that it is stable and the taste is quite different. Very “onctueux”…
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Nadia said:
I agree. Have not done one that way for years though.
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basket76b said:
Don’t answer about “Le Cordon Bleu”. I have just learned your biography.
Joli et gourmand parcours. Félicitations !
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Nadia said:
Merci.
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Anjana @ At The Corner Of Happy & Harried said:
I love how you served it! Chocolate mousse is always welcome 😊
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Nadia said:
Merci. Being a chocoholic, I could not agree more.
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FrugalHausfrau said:
Chocolate mousse was very popular when I was a child and I still LOVE it! Gorgeous recipe.
Mollie
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Nadia said:
Thanks. In France it is by far the most popular dessert on restaurant menus from a cheap bistro to a top Michelin, followed by tiramisu.
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FrugalHausfrau said:
🙂
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Osyth said:
My husband is on a quest to find the perfect mousse au choc. Can I do a dirty deal with you – I use your recipe and claim it as mine in return for anything you want for me that is vaguely legal?
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Nadia said:
Mais, bien sûr!
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Effi - the wine sinner said:
The idea of the chocolate egg is beyond perfection!! I’ll definitely try this 🙂
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Nadia said:
This was my moms tradition and I am glad to continue it.
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