This chocolate mousse was one of the first things I learned how to make at pastry school. It’s become my go-to dessert for special occasions and when company comes over. It’s elegant, it’s decadent, it’s easy to prepare ahead of time, but it’s not heavy.
It is not, however, a cooked mousse, meaning the eggs are not cooked, so per the FDA, children, the elderly, pregnant woman and the immuno-compromised should not eat this mousse. Substitute pasteurized shell eggs if needed.
There are three basic components to this mousse: whipped cream, whipped egg yolks, and whipped egg whites. These are folded together to create a light, fluffy mousse. Folding is a technique used to combine whipped ingredients without deflating them. Using a rubber spatula, cut down the middle of the bowl, then sweep up the side of the bowl, scooping the contents of the bottom of the bowl up to the top. Give the bowl a quarter-turn, and repeat. Your goal is to fold everything together quickly but gently, so no air bubbles are lost.
Steep the mint in the cream up to a day before you plan to make the mousse, and you can make this mousse up to a day before you plan to serve it. Store it in a bowl in the refrigerator, with a layer of plastic directly on the surface of the mousse to prevent a skin from forming. Then scoop or pipe with a pastry bag into individual serving dishes. If you prefer a stronger mint flavor, increase the amount of fresh mint leaves to 1/3 of a cup.
It is helpful to have both a stand mixer and a hand mixer when making this mousse, but if not, whip the heavy cream and the egg whites by hand. Think of it as your workout for the day!
1. Info for Mint Chocolate Mousse
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: unavailable
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Mint Chocolate Mousse
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- 8 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate (Ghirardelli, Valrhona, Callebaut,etc.)
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 egg whites
3. Directions:
- Place the cream in a medium-sized heavy saucepan.
- Add the mint leaves.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until scalding (small bubbles form around the edge of the pan).
- Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill.
- When ready to make the mousse, melt the chocolate over a double boiler.
- Set aside on a kitchen towel to keep warm.
- Whip the mint cream to soft peaks.
- Return to the refrigerator until needed.
- Place the egg yolks and the 2 tbsp of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk just until the sugar dissolves.
- Place the bowl on the stand mixer with the whip attachment, and beat until the yolks lighten in color, triple in volume, and stream in a ribbon when the whip is lifted.
- When the yolks are nearly finished whipping, beat the egg whites with the ¼ cup of sugar to firm peaks.
- Fold the warm melted chocolate into the egg yolks.
- Stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate egg yolk mixture.
- At this point, don’t worry about deflating the egg whites.
- This “lightens” the chocolate mixture so it will more easily combine with the rest of the egg whites.
- Now, fold the remaining two-thirds of the egg whites gently but quickly.
- Fold in the whipped cream.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before serving, or pipe into serving dishes and garnish with fresh mint leaves.
