Taking on dessert this Thanksgiving?
Well it’s our favorite part of the meal (after good conversation). We love all things chocolate and this recipe is easy to make and has a light, creamy and delicious chocolate taste. It is important to use good quality chocolate. We really like TCHO (from San Francisco), Valrhona (France) and Guittard (also from S.F.). This recipe is a variation on a classic from Cooks Illustrated.
Serves 8 (or 16 if you use tall shot glasses* for the mousse)
Ingredients :
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped coarse
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons strong coffee
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream, plus extra for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Melt chocolate in medium bowl set over large saucepan (or pot) of barely simmering water. (you don’t want or need boiling water) Whisk butter into melted chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time; stir in salt, vanilla, and coffee until completely incorporated. Whisk in yolks, one at a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated before adding the next; set chocolate mixture aside.
2. Stir egg whites in clean mixing bowl set over saucepan of hot water until slightly warm, 1 to 2 minutes; remove bowl from saucepan. Beat with electric mixer set at medium speed until soft peaks form. Raise mixer speed to high and slowly add sugar; beat to soft peaks. Whisk a quarter of the beaten whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in remaining whites.
3. Whip cream to soft peaks; gently fold into mousse. Spoon portion of mousse into eight individual serving dishes or goblets. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 2 hours. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 24 hours.) Serve with a dab of additional whipped cream on top.
* We used tall shot glasses for our mousse which allowed everyone to try a few different desserts.
Enjoy
