Serves 4, 2 hours preparation, 10 minutes cooking
What better way to round off a romantic home cooked meal than with an indulgent, rich chocolate mousse? With our recipe you will have this delicious dessert made in no time.
Ingredients
- 170g/6oz good-quality dark chocolate (around 60 per cent cocoa if possible) roughly chopped
- 7 egg whites
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- 40g/1½oz caster sugar
Method
- Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water).
- Whisk the egg whites and lemon juice in a large, clean bowl until they form soft peaks – use an electric whisk if you have one or a hand-held one with a lot of elbow grease. Soft peaks are when you lift the whisk out and the egg whites start to hold themselves up in the bowl.
- Add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to whisk until firm peaks form when the whisk is removed. Do not whisk beyond this stage - the egg whites will start to collapse and separate into dry froth and runny liquid, and you'll lose all the air that you've whisked in.
- When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk one-third of the egg whites into the hot chocolate quickly and vigorously, until thick and well combined - if you add the egg whites in too slowly, their cold temperature can make the hot chocolate turn into a lumpy mousse.
- Gently fold in the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture, using a spatula, until all of the egg white has been completely mixed in. Don't overmix at this stage as you'll knock out the air bubbles and the mousse won’t be light and fluffy.
- Spoon the mousse mixture into four Martini glasses or pretty bowls then chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours until set. Serve at the end of your meal with shortbread biscuits or fresh strawberries.
