It’s summertime, which means that although I will perpetually crave cake, I must concede that the best dessert on a hot, steamy night is a chilled one.
Enter: Chocolate Espresso Mousse.
This recipe goes along with my latest read, In a Cottage in a Wood. If you read my review, you’ll know that there were not many cozy cottage suppers in this novel. Neve, the main character, doesn’t have a lot of money and is a bit of a mess, so she’s not really into the culinary arts.
However, she does make a LOT of coffee; that seems to get her through whatever crazy mess is suddenly appearing in her new home. And, at one point, all she has is a chocolate bar for breakfast. (No judgement. Kinda envious.) I crossed these two life-sustaining foodstuffs and decided that Neve might enjoy a chocolate espresso mousse to ease the tension of her situation.
A dessert mousse sounds super fancy but is surprisingly simple to make. The original recipe is found on Real Simple, but I’m placing an adapted version below that contains a few tips of my own. Making the base for a mousse is similar to making the base for ice cream or a custard, but if you’ve never made either of these before, you might find the process a bit daunting. My extra tips should help.
I normally keep Tollhouse chocolate chips on hand for making cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels, but I wanted to use really good chocolate for this decadent mousse, so I bought two bars of Ghiradelli that I chopped up. I have no idea why, but I find that the more expensive chocolate melts better and more quickly than other chocolate, so keep this in mind when you are melting your own.
I know the traditional way of melting chocolate is to use a double boiler, which I painstakingly used to craft together by precariously placing a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. I would then singe my hand trying to hold the bowl in place while I stirred the melting chocolate, causing the bowl to alarmingly dip and turn into the pot every three seconds. I often ended up with burnt fingers, a very chocolatey oven mitt, and high levels of frustration.
NO MORE. I have found a better way. Behold, the wonders of the microwave.
This couldn’t be easier, and it blessedly requires only one bowl instead of the whole double boiler set up. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, stirring well in between, and you’ll have melted chocolate in no time. And, melting in 30-second increments ensures that the chocolate won’t burn, which is usually a chief concern when using the microwave to melt chocolate.
Try it. Your life will be changed forever.
You’ll also need a fine mesh strainer for this recipe. Although you are barely cooking the eggs in the custard mixture, and although you should be (will be) stirring the mixture constantly, little bits of egg will curdle in the pot. It happens to the best of us. The strainer will catch any of this unpleasantness–see photo above. You also want to make sure none of the espresso grounds make it into the custard mixture. Nothing is worse than gritty mousse. So, although it’s an extra step, trust me when I say Do not skip the straining step.
I say this recipe serves 6, but that’s only because I fill my mousse cups about halfway. Obviously, if you use smaller cups than I do, your serving size will vary. The whipped cream in this recipe makes the mousse light and fluffy, but the richness of the chocolate shines through. This is wonderful treat after a rough day at work or chasing unruly children, but a full serving is usually too much for people who aren’t in an “eat your feelings” mindset. (Please let me know what it’s like to live outside of that mindset…)
I like to top this dessert with a dollop of Cool Whip and a sprinkling of sliced almonds.
Chocolate Espresso Mousse
Ingredients
- 8 ounces semi-sweet good chocolate, chopped (could also use chocolate chips)
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar, DIVIDED
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Cool Whip/Reddi Whip for serving (optional)
- sliced almonds for serving (optional)
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS:
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites while your eggs are still cold; it’s much easier this way. Store the whites in a jar in the fridge (great for omelets!) and put the yolks in a little dish; set aside.
- Place the empty mousse cups in the fridge to chill. This is especially helpful if you’re making the mousse on a hot day in a kitchen without AC, like I did.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt the chocolate in a medium, microwave safe bowl. Place bowl in microwave for 30 seconds, then remove and stir. Place bowl back in the microwave for another 30 seconds, then remove and stir melted chocolate until smooth. If there are small lumps, keep stirring until everything is smooth. Transfer melted chocolate to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small saucepan, combine the egg yolks, espresso powder, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, and ¾ cup of cream, and whisk. Don’t worry if the ingredients don’t all mix together perfectly or if your espresso powder clumps; it will all come together soon.
- Heat the egg mixture on the stove over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula (and I mean constantly) until the mixture has thickened slightly and lightly coats the back of the spatula—only 2-3 minutes. DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE SIMMER OR BOIL.
- Place a fine mesh strainer on the large bowl containing the melted chocolate. Slowly pour the heated egg mixture through the strainer and into the melted chocolate.
- Whisk the egg mixture and melted chocolate together until combined. (Note: the chocolate may seize up a bit when you pour the hot egg mixture in. Don’t worry—just keep whisking and it will all come together.
- Add the vanilla extract and whisk lightly to combine.
- When everything is combined, the result should look like luscious brownie batter. Place the bowl uncovered into the fridge to cool completely for about 30 minutes. It should become cool, but not solidified.
- Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, take a clean large bowl and pour the remaining 1 ¼ cups cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar in it. Use an electric handmixer or a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With the stand mixer, this will only take 1-2 minutes on the highest setting, but if you’re using a handmixer, it may take close to 5 minutes.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture in three batches until thoroughly combined.
- Divide the mousse between the chilled serving cups. Cover with plastic wrap and place filled mousse cups back in the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes, or overnight.
- When it comes time to serve, place a dollop of whipped cream on top of the mousse. You could also sprinkle on some chopped nuts or shaved chocolate if you want to be really fancy.
