February is so special to me because it is my birthday month and was also that of my father’s. In fact, so many people I love have their birthdays this month! Top that with Valentine’s Day, and it’s enough celebration to get me through the coldest month!
As I’ve said so many times before on The Kitchen Scout, nothing says celebrate more to me than chocolate in any way, shape or form. Come to my house at almost any holiday, but particularly Christmas and Easter, and there will be bowls of wrapped chocolates strategically placed so you cannot avoid having one or two on your way in or out. It’s something I inherited from my mother, and I know I’ve already passed it down to one of my girls who adores chocolate as much as I do.
This past week, I had occasion to make chocolate mousse to bring to a dinner for my cook group, and it was so easy and fun to make that I thought it would be great to share, just in time for Valentine’s Day tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever named a recipe “Easy” before but I did that to encourage you to try it! When I signed up to bring chocolate mousse to our French bistro inspired dinner, I forgot that I hadn’t made chocolate mousse since perhaps 2014 when I posted a recipe for Espresso Chocolate Mousse here on the blog!
For this occasion howeverI wanted a bit more of an authentic mousse. I did some digging through various recipes, including Julia Child’s, and settled on one from Serious Eats that was very straightforward and had great reviews. The only ingredients I needed to source were a block of 70% chocolate (Whole Foods) and a new jar of cream of tartar as mine had expired in 2019! I guess that was the last time I needed it to whip egg whites! Good reminder to always check your spices and also your baking powder.
For the mousse, the chocolate is melted with heavy cream in a double boiler and once cooled, 3 egg yolks are whisked in until combined. Separately, 3 egg whites are whipped with cream of tartar, a pinch of salt, espresso powder and just a bit of sugar until soft peaks form. The whites are folded into the chocolate and then the mousse is chilled for at least 4 hours. It will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge – even better as the recipe serves 6-8 and if you are just 2 then leftovers will abound.
Make sure to get pure chocolate such that you see sold in blocks, not bars in wrapping that have stabilizers as that will affect the outcome of your mousse. Serve the dessert with some slighly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries. And if you want to consider some other chocolate desserts, I’ve listed a few more below for your consideration. Perfect for yourself, your Valentine, or a birthday celebration now or later.
Happy February and Happy Valentine’s Day! Until next time…
Glazed Chocolate Cake – easy and delicious
Salted Chocolate Caramel Brownies
Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 7 ounces dark chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped into smallish pieces
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 large eggs, separated
- rounded 1/4 teaspoon Morton's kosher salt (or use 1/4 teaspoon table salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Whipped cream, for serving
- Raspberries, for serving
Instructions
- Place 4 cups of water in a 3-4 quart saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. You don't want the water to be at a rapid boil here. In a stainless steel mixing bowl large enough to nest in the saucepan without touching the water, combine the chocolate and heavy cream, set it over the saucepan, and, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula, cook until the chocolate has melted. Stir until homogenous, then remove the bowl from the saucepan and allow to cool a bit.
- Once the mixture is warm to the touch and no longer hot, whisk the 3 egg yolks into the chocolate-cream mixture until well combined. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl if you are using a hand-held mixer), combine the egg whites, salt, espresso powder and cream of tartar. Whisk on medium speed until egg whites begin to foam (1-2 minutes). Then, with the mixer continuing to run at medium speed, slowly and steadily pour in the sugar. Continue to whisk until meringue is glossy and reaches medium-stiff peaks, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside.
- Add one-quarter of the egg white mixture (meringue) to the chocolate mixture and fold until thoroughly combined. Add remaining meringue and gently fold until incorporated.
- At this point, you can fill individual ramekins, or place the mousse into a large serving bowl. Refrigerate until the mousse has set, at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.
- Serve, topping mousse with dollops of whipped cream and raspberries.
- Enjoy!
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