CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Introduction
This is undoubtedly the best chocolate mousse I have ever eaten. Do use the best chocolate, with 70 % cocoa solids then you will have the best chocolate experience!
Introduction
This is undoubtedly the best chocolate mousse I have ever eaten. Do use the best chocolate, with 70 % cocoa solids then you will have the best chocolate experience!
Serves: 4
Difficulty rating: 2/3
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: N/A
Special equipment: Stainless steel whisking bowl
Planning ahead: This can be made and stored in a clean kilner jar and kept, refrigerated, for several weeks.
Ingredients
165g Dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids, chopped 240g 8 Egg whites, organic, free-range 20g 4 tsp Caster sugar.
Method
Place the chocolate in a large bowl set over a pan of hot water and leave to melt over a low heat. Turn the heat off. In an electric mixer, (not on full power) whisk the egg whites and sugar until they form soft peaks (*1).
Whisk in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the mixture and immediately fold in the remaining egg white with a large spatula (*2). Pour into a glass bowl or individual glasses and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or until required.
Chef’s notes
*1 By whisking egg whites (or egg yolks) one has the amazing ability to ‘harvest’ the air and to trap tinny air bubbles inside a protein network. However if you over whisk the egg whites, they will become thick and grainy, lose volume and separate into a dry froth and a runny liquid.
*2 Don’t overmix at this stage as you will knock all the tiny bubbles of air out and be left with a dense mousse. /p>
Variations:
You could use this recipe for a baked chocolate fondant by filling small oven proof moulds (buttered & lined with cocoa powder) 2/3rd of the way up the mould and baking in a preheated oven (170°C) for 6-7 minutes.
Nutrition Facts:
1. Nutritional highlights: At the centre of chocolate’s health benefits are flavonoids. These plant pigments are responsible for many of the benefits of many fruits and medicinal plants, but chocolate may be a much more sensually pleasing vehicle. In addition, there is evidence that not only in chocolate rich in flavonoids, but that factors in chocolate somehow dramatically increase the absorption of the compounds. The key flavonoids are proanthocyanidins (also called procyanidins) similar to those found in grape seed extracts, apples, berries, and pine bark extract. Chocolate is very well endowed with these compounds. In fact, procyanidins constitute from 12 to as much as 48 percent of the dry weight of the cocoa bean. Cocoa powder can contain as much as 10 percent flavonoids on a dry-weight basis.
2. Health Benefits: One of the key areas of research into the benefits of chocolate consumption is its effect on cardiovascular disease.