Ingredients for a successful chocolate mousse
The success of a chocolate mousse depends on the quality of the products. Use 200 g dark pastry chocolate, ideally between 64% and 70% cocoa, 6 fresh eggs, a pinch of salt and possibly a little sugar to soften the bitterness.
Recipe step-by-step
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Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.
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Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Stir the yolks into the melted chocolate.
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Mix stiff egg whites with a pinch of salt. Add a little sugar if you like.
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Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate, lifting the mixture.
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Divide into verrines or a salad bowl and set aside in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Chocolate mousse / Image by Olinda/Shutterstock.com
A variation: chocolate mousse without eggs
For those who avoid raw eggs, here's a light and creamy alternative.
Ingredients for 4 people
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200 g dark chocolate
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25 cl full-cream cold liquid
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2 tablespoons powdered sugar
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1 pinch salt
Step-by-step recipe
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Melt the chocolate and leave to cool.
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Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and salt until stiff.
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Gently fold the melted chocolate into the whipped cream.
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Divide into verrines and chill for 3 hours.
The result is a softer, egg-free mousse that's just as delicious.
An ever-popular dessert
Chocolate mousse crosses generations without ever losing its charm. A dessert for family meals and restaurants alike, it embodies the simplicity and elegance of French cuisine.
Tips for making chocolate mousse
For an even more gourmet mousse, choose a quality dark chocolate and add shavings, hazelnut chips or a little whipped cream when serving. You can also flavour with coffee or a spoonful of amber rum to spice up the taste (alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, consume in moderation).
The history of chocolate mousse
Before the discovery of cocoa by the European conquistadors, nobody in Europe had ever heard of cocoa, and therefore chocolate. In France, chocolate arrived in the 17th century via the Netherlands, close to Spain, and the queen Marie-Thérèse of Austria, who, as her name does not indicate, was Spanish and loved chocolate. Liquid, full of spices and cream ever since Spanish monks came up with the idea of mixing cocoa with sugar and milk, chocolate has long been a drink only. It was served in fine French homes with "chocolatières", containers with domed bellies. Solid chocolate, which we like to crunch only arrived in the 19th century.
Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, Reine de France et épouse de Louis XIV by Henri and Charles BEAUBRUN (Château de Versailles collections).
Chocolate mousse: an idea from Switzerland:
The first person to taste chocolate mousse was King Louis XVI, at the end of the 18th century. It is said to have been concocted for him by Charles Fazi, a Swiss chef who worked for the king.
Louis XVI in coronation costume. 1777 by Joseph Duplessis
The chef Fazi was probably talking about mousse de chocolat because it reminded him of the mousse du chocolat chaud de époque, which was very strong and made mousse with a stick.
The mousse AU chocolat : une gourmandise Française
What is certain is that the first to talk about Mousse au chocolat was Joseph Menon, the author of numerous culinary works in the 19th century. In 1820, the Mousse au chocolat featured prominently in the best-selling reprinted 32 times named " le cuisinier royal" by André Viard, who gives the recipe. And as " impossible is not French" we come across one of the most famous painters of the 19th century above the bowl of Mousse au chocolate since it's to him that we owe, between two sessions of drawings at the Moulin Rouge, the idea of mixing eggs in snow with cocoa...
FAQ Chocolate mousse
How long can you keep homemade chocolate mousse?
It keeps for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator, well covered.
Can you make chocolate mousse without eggs?
Yes, by replacing the eggs with whipped cream.
Which chocolate to use for a successful mousse?
Dark pastry chocolate with a cocoa content of 60% to 70% is ideal.
How do you get lighter, airier mousse?
Gently fold in the egg whites without breaking them.
