Combine a) and b), and you get me sitting at home, trying to sort my life out and actually do stuff I've been meaning to do for ages, including posting some actual food on this blog. Because guys, I totally made food, took shitty pictures of it, and now I shall post!
I was leaning towards something savoury and winter-friendly as a first post, given all this gnarly weather we've been having. But then the first week of February happened. I was a sad banana for no particular reason... it was definitely an Eat My Feelings kind of week. So, in an attempt to make myself feel better, I made whatever the hell I felt like at the time. And that happened to be chocolate mousse. Mousse au chocolat. Mmmm.
My mum is the Queen of Chocolate Mousse. As a kid, I always got really excited when my parents had company over, because it meant there was a possibility of having leftover chocolate mousse for breakfast the next day. And I've never been a breakfast person. That's how far my devotion to this chocolate mousse goes. This recipe is based on hers. It's only been slightly adapted. She won't mind.
Because I wanted to go a bit further than a plain dark chocolate mousse, I decided to try making a milk and dark version and layer them, separated by ginger nut crumbs. Mum thought the milk chocolate idea sounded gross, and in the end she was right - she usually is. I didn't like the milk chocolate version. It was just a bit too sweet and bland for my liking. But I had three taste testers try some, and all three liked it. I guess it's a personal preference ting, but I'd recommend sticking to dark chocolate. Keep it old school, people! Also, the ginger nut crumbs were a yummy addition, mainly for texture, and because I love ginger nuts so much I want to become one. Just be sure to eat it within 24 hours, otherwise the crumbs go kinda soggy and blah.
If you have a mixer for the egg whites and the cream, this will be easy-peasy. If you're like me and have no kitchen utensils to speak of, it's gonna be a bitch to make. Especially those effing egg whites. I recommend arming yourself with a whisk. Or if you're like me and don't even have that (yeah I know...), then get a fork, think of someone you'd really like to punch in the face repeatedly for 15 minutes, and start beating the shit out of those egg whites. It's therapeutic, and I'm pretty sure it counts as exercise too. You'll need it if you're about to eat a portion of this.
Here. Look. Shitty photos. I promise they will get better.
You will need:
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| Add caption |
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| The dark mousse finished, plus my blurry hand. |
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| Double dark chocolate on the left, milk/dark combo on the right. Oh yeah, next time I'll remember to clean and make the background look nice. |
You will need:
- 100g good-quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 75%)
- 3 large eggs
- 125 ml heavy cream
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
Place chocolate in a bowl (preferably pyrex), place it in a larger bowl/pot of boiled water to let it melt.
In the meantime, whip the cream in a bowl, and add 2 tbsp of sugar. Set aside.
Separate egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls. Set aside the yolks, and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add a tbsp of sugar.
Lightly beat the egg yolks until creamy, and add that last tbsp of sugar.
Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl with the egg yolks, stir in. Add the cream and lastly, gently fold in the egg whites.
Pur it into a pretty bowl, or a goblet, or whatever, and refrigerate. If you want it layered with the crumbs, make two batches, one dark and one milk chocolate*. Start with one batch at the bottom, add crushed ginger nuts, layer the second batch at the top... you get the picture.
*If you do decide to make a milk chocolate version, omit the granulated sugar. It's very sweet, even without it.
You're welcome.
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