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Chocolate Mousse

The richest, most elegant dessert you can make with so little work.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2

tablespoons unsalted butter

4

ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

3

eggs, separated

1

/4 cup sugar

1

/2 cup heavy cream

1

/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a double boiler, a small saucepan over low heat, or the microwave, melt the butter and chocolate together. Just before the chocolate finishes melting, remove it from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

    Step 2

    Transfer the chocolate mixture to a bowl and beat in the egg yolks with a whisk. Put the bowl in the refrigerator.

    Step 3

    Beat the egg whites with half the sugar until they hold stiff peaks but are not dry. Set aside. Beat the cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks.

    Step 4

    Stir a couple of spoonfuls of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it a bit, then fold in the remaining whites thoroughly but gently. Fold in the cream and refrigerate until chilled. If you are in a hurry, divide the mousse among 4 to 6 serving cups; it will chill much faster. Serve within a day of making.

From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books. Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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