Chocolate Dreams ~ Classic Mousse au Chocolat

Every October, chocolate lovers have made a pilgrimage to Paris to attend the Salon du Chocolat. The Salon celebrates chocolate in ways you may not have imagined. Fashion designers create fantastic chocolate couture creations with white and dark chocolate. Patissiers share their new sweet taste sensations with all the attendees, combining almost any flavor you can imagine with chocolate. The year I attended, I enjoyed every bite and marvelled along with the other attendees at the creativity of it all. The taste sensation that has stayed with me the longest, however, was the pure taste of “plain” chocolate. I attended a tasting demonstration where we tasted 10 different chocolates from the 4 corners of the globe. My favorite was a 70% chocolate from Cuba. The memory of that “pure” chocolate taste and the recent show prompted me to share this very classic French recipe. Et voilà. Mousse au Chocolat ~ Chocolate Mousse INGREDIENTS 5 oz. chocolate (65% or more depending on how intense you would like the taste) 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter 2 egg yolks (from “large” eggs) 3 egg whites pinch of salt 2 Tablespoons superfine sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature. 1. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie. Remove from the heat. 2. Mix the butter into the chocolate until the mixture is very smooth. 3. Quickly blend in the 2 egg yolks. 4. Beat (or whisk) the egg whites with the pinch of salt to stiff peaks. 5. Beat (whisk) in the sugars. 6. Take about 1/3 of the egg whites and fold them into the chocolate mixture. 7. Gently fold the rest of the whites into the mixture. 8. Divide the chocolate into 4 champagne coupes (or other small containers) and chill for at least 12 hours. Note: This is the classic French recipe for chocolate mousse. You will note that it uses raw eggs. The FDA has said that raw eggs may cause food poisoning and should be avoided by small children and those with compromised immune systems. When I make this recipe, I use fresh, undamaged eggs to insure that the risk is minimal.