Classic Airy Chocolate Mousse: Rich, Light and Made With Just a Handful of Ingredients
Ingredients for Classic Chocolate Mousse
This recipe makes 6 servings.
For the mousse
- 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate: 60% to 70% cacao, finely chopped.
- 3 tablespoons butter: cut into pieces, for silkiness.
- 3 large eggs: separated, at room temperature.
- ΒΌ cup sugar: divided.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Pinch of salt.
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream: very cold.
For the topping
- 1 ounce dark chocolate: for curls.
- 2 tablespoons chocolate pearls or chocolate-covered crispy balls: optional.
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream or fresh raspberries: optional.
Choosing Your Chocolate
The chocolate is the star, so choose one you enjoy eating. Look for bars labeled bittersweet or semisweet, with 60% to 70% cacao, in the baking aisle or near the candy bars. Bars melt more smoothly than chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers to help them keep their shape.
A chocolate with 60% cacao makes a sweeter, milder mousse that children love. Seventy percent gives a deeper, more grown-up flavor. Milk chocolate is too soft and sweet to set properly on its own.
About the eggs: this classic mousse uses uncooked eggs. Choose the freshest eggs you can find, and use pasteurized eggs, sold in cartons at many US grocery stores, if you are serving young children, elderly guests, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system. Pasteurized egg whites whip up well; they just take a minute or two longer.
For the chocolate curls, a room-temperature bar and a vegetable peeler are all you need. Run the peeler along the smooth side of the bar, and pretty curls will fall right off.
Use the coldest heavy whipping cream you can find, labeled at least 36% fat, for the fluffiest texture.