sin on a spoon

The recipes I post to this blog tend to be ones I've tested on hordes of people, mostly idiot-proof, and unique in some way. This mousse is the sole reason I kept the cookbook it came in, Bake and Freeze Chocolate Desserts by Elinor Klivans. I've been making it for at least a decade and it's worth the extra effort you'll spend on it.

As the book title promises, you can indeed make it in advance and freeze it. Just follow the directions exactly and you can't mess it up. (I've liberally embellished Ms. Klivans' original instructions so novices know what to do.) Oh, and you'll want to throw some pillows on the floor because there will be swooning. Lots and lots of swooning.

Pure Chocolate Mousse
ingredients

• 11 ounces semisweet chocolate* (chopped if in brick form)
• ¼ plus 1/3 cup sugar
• ¼ cup very hot water
• 3 large eggs, separated and at room temperature**
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ¾ cup cold whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp instant coffee granules or 2 tsp mint extract or 2 tbsp Grand Marnier + 1 tsp orange extract (optional)

* I highly recommend an 11.5 oz bag of Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips. Melts like a champ and I've never had a problem with it binding.
** Room temperature helps ensure that eggs whites become meringue instead of glop -- that, and using a super-clean metal bowl and beaters. Any smudge of butter or slick of olive oil leftover from another recipe and you'll be cursing.

instructions
If you've got a double boiler, break it out. If not, put the semisweet chocolate, ¼ cup sugar, and the hot water in a container that won't crack when heated (like a stainless steel bowl) and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of gently simmering water. Wah-lah! A DIY double boiler! If the ingredients container doesn't have a handle, grab an oven mitt now. A dish towel won't adequately protect your hands from the heat, steam, and spitting water in the next steps.

1. Stir the mixture together until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. I like using a long-handled wooden spoon for this.


2. Remove the heatproof container from over the water and quickly whisk in the egg yolks. You need to do this fast enough so the yolks don't start to cook.


3. Place the chocolate mixture back over the simmering water. Stirring constantly, cook just until the temperature reaches 160° F. on a food thermometer, about 8 minutes. The chocolate mixture will thicken and look a bit grainy when the egg yolks are added, then become shiny and smooth as it reaches 160° F. No thermometer? No problem. You'll know when it's ready when the mixture is almost too hot to touch with the tip of your pinky and starts to look plump and glossy. It may also start to follow the stirring spoon around the container a little.


4. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large bowl and refrigerate or leave out on the counter to cool until the mixture is cool to the touch, about 20 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally while it is cooling so that it cools evenly. When you stir it, you may notice a skin or graininess; keep stirring and this should disappear very quickly. When ready, the mixture will have a temperature of about 110° F if measured with a food thermometer. No thermometer? It will be slightly warm on the tip of your index finger. Desperate to cool it off quickly? The mixture can also be chilled in the freezer for about 10 minutes.


5. About halfway through the cooling time, put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean large bowl of an electric mixer and with clean dry beaters (did you notice the word "clean" shows up twice there?), beat on low speed until the egg whites are foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat just until soft peaks form. Testing for soft peaks is easy. You can stop the mixer and look for peaks in the bowl as you fit the beater(s) out, but the sure-fire method is something I picked up from PBS's "Cook's Country": take the beater off the machine, dip it in the eggs, and turn it upside-down. If the peak of the mixture arches over into a graceful swoop and doesn't fall off, it's ready. If it sticks straight up, you've beaten the eggs into the "stiff peaks" stage and should complete the next step as quickly as possible to avoid beating the air out of the whites.


6. Slowly add the 1/3 cup sugar to the beaten egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time, sifting in a thin sheet to prevent the sugar from clumping.


7. Whisk about half of the beaten egg whites into the cooled chocolate mixture until it's smooth. I know -- it's horrifying, but don't be gentle. The point is to lighten up the chocolate mixture a little. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Instead of folding across the whole circumference of the bowl, work from the center, scrape to the bottom, and pull toward you and up the side -- rotating the bowl as you go.


8. Put the whipping cream, vanilla, and coffee in a clean large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the cream at medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, making sure to get the last streaks of cream and egg white incorporated. Pour the mousse into a 1.5 - 2 quart serving bowl or single-portion dessert dishes. Smooth the top of the mousse with a knife and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before you're ready to serve.

Serves about 6 -- or you and friend over a long, luxurious weekend.
May be frozen up to 3 weeks. Cover bowl(s) with waxed paper, then wrap in heavy aluminum foil. Defrost in refrigerator overnight before serving, but don't feel guilty if you have to eat it while still frozen.