Chocolate Mousse

Servings: 6

Recipe from Julia Child with revisions by Laura S. Kirkley
Turn the mousse into an attractive serving bowl or into individual coupes. You can also pipe this mixture into beautiful stemmed glasses or when still soft spoon it into little trendy cups. Cover and chill several hours. For serving, decorate with swirls of whipped cream, and/or pass whipped cream separately. Seasonal berries or a splash of cocoa also look and taste great.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces, semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup, strong coffee
• 3 ounces, butter, unsalted – softened
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon, salt
• 1/4 cup, sugar
• 1 cup, heavy cream
• ice cubes

Directions:

Break chocolate (if not in chip form) into a 2-quart sauce pan, add coffee, cover pan and set into a larger pan of simmering water. At once, remove water pan from heat and set aside. In 5 minutes or so, when chocolate is melted and smooth, beat in butter and egg yolks.

In a clean, dry bowl, beat 3 egg whites until foaming; beat in salt and continue beating until the egg whites form soft peaks. Continue beating and sprinkle in sugar; beat until egg whites form stiff, shining peaks.

Fold egg whites delicately into the chocolate mixture.

Pour heavy cream into a metal bowl and set in a larger bowl containing a tray of ice cubes with water to cover them.

Using a large balloon-shaped whisk or a hand-held electric beater, whip the cream until doubled in volume (to beat in as much air as possible, circulate beater about the bowl); beater should leave light traces in the surface of the cream–do no overbeat.

Fold the cream into the chocolate.