Chocolate Mousse

Evan loves chocolate mousse. I had all of the ingredients handy, so I gave it a shot (specifically, we had extra heavy cream from the carbonara). It came out pretty well. A little grainy, but very tasty. After it has chilled, I recommend letting it sit for a little bit before serving, to let it mellow slightly. I served it with homemade whipped cream.

Chocolate Mousse
Adapted from Gourmet Cookbook (2004)

2 cups very cold heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat.


Whisk together yolks, sugar and salt in a metal bowl until well combined, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined.

Transfer to a saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160 F on a thermometer. Pour custard through fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water stirring frequently (or melt the chocolate in the microwave). Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth. Let cool. Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a large bowl with an electric until it just holds stiff peaks.

Whisk one quarter of the cream into the chocolate custard to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in remaining cream.


Spoon mousse into eight 6-ounce stemmed glasses or ramekins. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours.


Meanwhile, make the whipped cream. Simply beat heavy cream and sugar together until it is a desired consistency. Add sugar to suit your tastes.

When the mousse has set, let it sit out for a few minutes. Top with whipped cream and serve.