Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mousse

One of my favorite chocolate desserts to surprise my friends and family with is mousse.  Mousse is light.  Mouse is fluffy, and it’s a little taste of heaven.  When I have guests over for dinner, it is always fun to surprise them with this semi-sweet decadently delicious chocolate delight served in elegant dessert glasses and garnished with sliced fresh strawberries.  Wow!  That’s a lot of embelishment.

Yes, it’s true that chocolate mousse tastes great served in any type of dessert dish or cup, but it much more fun to make sure it looks as amazing as it tastes, especially after putting all the effort into preparing the dessert.

Chocolate mousse served in most restaurants is almost always way too sweet for my taste.  Sugar rush!  Too much sugar overwhelms the dessert’s other flavors.  I want to taste the chocolate and the fresh fruit, and I generally don’t like too much sugar in my desserts anyhow.  

I would prefer to have a little less sugar rather than a little too much, so I use semi-sweet chocolate chips and limit the amount of sugar added to the mousse itself.  In fact, I will sometime make this recipe with 1/2 a teaspoon less sugar, and I think it still tastes great, maybe even better.

If you like desserts on the sweeter side, then use the full 2 tablespoons of sugar called for in the recipe.  I know my daughter would add 4 tablespoons of sugar if given the choice.

The texture of a good mousse should be thick and light, so that when you scoop out that first spoonful, the dessert holds it’s consistency.  That’s what makes a great mousse along with the flavor.

After you’ve mastered the technique and recipe for making this mousse, try some additional flavors and recipes.  There are so many wonderful flavor possibilities with mousse.  Enjoy!

Yield: 6

Chocolate Mousse

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Try this semi-sweet chocolate mousse dessert. It's light and fluffy and goes perfectly with fresh strawberries..

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Instructions

1. Combine the chocolate, water, cocoa, and rum in a heatproof metal bowel set over a saucepan filled with 1 1/2 inches simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Set aside, and let it cool slightly.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl until it thickens slightly. Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and whisk together. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add the egg whites to a medium bowl. Whisk with an electric hand mixer at low speed until foamy. Add the remaining sugar to the whipped egg whites. Turn up the mixer to medium-high speed and whisk until the the foam has firm peaks.
4. Stir about 1/2 the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten the color. Using a rubber spatular, fold in the remaining whipped egg white very gently until there are no white streaks.
5. Spoon mousse into 6 individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 1/2 hours until firm.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 356Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 81mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g