My search for a perfect chocolate mousse, led me to Julia Child’s recipe on David Lebovitz . In addition to containing booze and coffee, Julia’s recipe calls for a technique that resembles parfait-making but that is simpler. Yolks and sugar get whisked until thick, first in a double boiler then over an ice bath. Beaten egg whites get folded in at the end.
Lebovitz describes Julia’s mousse as having “a perfect, slightly-gummy texture, backed up by a wallop of pure dark chocolate flavor.” This “gumminess” or chew is what I love about parfait and what I love about Julia’s chocolate mousse — it doesn’t just taste like chocolate-flavored whipped cream. It has body with a lightness coming exclusively from beaten egg whites.
I adjusted the recipe slightly by using less sugar than called for because I was using a sweeter chocolate, and I’ve made notes in the recipe. Chocolate mousse is a great make-ahead recipe if you plan on spending Valentine’s Day at home, and, I mean, as much as I love love love those vanilla bean pots de crèmes , Valentine’s Day calls for chocolate, right?
Description
Adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking via David Lebovitz
Notes: I use Guittard Chocolate, 64% cacao. Lebovitz used Green and Black, 72% cacao. I mention this because I cut the sugar to ½ cup due to the extra sugar in the chocolate. If you are using a darker chocolate, you might want to use ⅔ cup sugar, which is what the original recipe calls for.
What I love about this recipe is that there isn’t any whipped cream. One recipe I tried this week tasted too much like chocolate-flavored whipped cream. This one has body with a nice lightness thanks to the whipped egg whites. The key to making this recipe successfully is getting those egg yolks to that pale yellow ribbon stage — see DL’s photo for guidance. If you don’t get that consistency in the yolks, the finished mousse will not have that nice chew.
- 6 ounces ( 170g ) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (see notes above)
- 6 ounces ( 170g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup (60ml) dark-brewed coffee
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup ( 116g ) to ⅔ cup ( 170g ), plus 1 tablespoon sugar (see notes above)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) dark rum
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dark chocolate for shaving over top, optional
- Heat a saucepan one-third full with hot water, and in a bowl set on top, melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee, stirring over the barely simmering water, until smooth. Remove from heat.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
- In a bowl large enough to nest securely on the saucepan of simmering water, whisk the yolks of the eggs with the ½ to ⅔ cup of sugar (see notes), rum, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick, like runny mayonnaise. (You can also use a handheld electric mixer. Note: Be sure this mixture is thick before removing bowl from heat. )
- Remove from heat and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks within the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick, as shown in the photo in DL’s post . Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff, then the vanilla.
- Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume.
- Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.
- Use a microplane grater or peeler to shave chocolate overtop before serving (optional).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Description
Adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking via David Lebovitz
Notes: I use Guittard Chocolate, 64% cacao. Lebovitz used Green and Black, 72% cacao. I mention this because I cut the sugar to ½ cup due to the extra sugar in the chocolate. If you are using a darker chocolate, you might want to use ⅔ cup sugar, which is what the original recipe calls for.
What I love about this recipe is that there isn’t any whipped cream. One recipe I tried this week tasted too much like chocolate-flavored whipped cream. This one has body with a nice lightness thanks to the whipped egg whites. The key to making this recipe successfully is getting those egg yolks to that pale yellow ribbon stage — see DL’s photo for guidance. If you don’t get that consistency in the yolks, the finished mousse will not have that nice chew.
- 6 ounces ( 170g ) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (see notes above)
- 6 ounces ( 170g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup (60ml) dark-brewed coffee
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup ( 116g ) to ⅔ cup ( 170g ), plus 1 tablespoon sugar (see notes above)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) dark rum
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dark chocolate for shaving over top, optional
- Heat a saucepan one-third full with hot water, and in a bowl set on top, melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee, stirring over the barely simmering water, until smooth. Remove from heat.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
- In a bowl large enough to nest securely on the saucepan of simmering water, whisk the yolks of the eggs with the ½ to ⅔ cup of sugar (see notes), rum, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick, like runny mayonnaise. (You can also use a handheld electric mixer. Note: Be sure this mixture is thick before removing bowl from heat. )
- Remove from heat and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks within the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick, as shown in the photo in DL’s post . Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff, then the vanilla.
- Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume.
- Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.
- Use a microplane grater or peeler to shave chocolate overtop before serving (optional).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2015/02/12/julia-childs-chocolate-mousse-simple-stinky-valentines-day-menu-two/
There’s nothing like a good stomach bug to make you appreciate health, to inspire an outing in sub-zero weather, to revive an appetite nourished by ginger ale and dry toast for too many hours.
Last Friday morning, after a day spent on my deathbed, my aunt, Wren and I drove to Vergennes Laundry, a wood-fired bakery located in a former laundromat in Vergennes, VT. Run by a husband and wife, this gem of a café is the kind of place you could lounge in all day, beginning with a latté and croissant, moving onto fresh-squeezed orange juice and cheddar-and-tarragon gougères, finishing with an espresso and chocolate crème fraîche truffle. Every bite will make you wish you lived two doors down and kindle dreams of opening up your own Vergennes Laundry, which your town (that you love dearly) so desperately needs.
Everything we tasted, from the blueberry scone to the canelé to the morning bun (which Wren hoarded) to the gougère to the loaf of bread we brought home and cut into thick slices and slathered with butter, was exceptional. I can only imagine what a treat the tartines and seasonal tarts must be.
Anyway Friends, I hope you all have managed to stay healthy. No recipe today — just happy to be alive. It’s a new day! Things are looking good.
my favorite: cheddar and tarragon gougère:
morning bun:
morning bun hoarder:
canelé:
blueberry scone:
Julianne, shaping loaves:
Didier and Julianne:
Vermont
