Mousse au Chocolat

White Vs Dark Chocolate

The origins of Mousse au Chocolat are French.  The timing, somewhere in the mid 1800's.  Mousse, meaning 'foam' in French describes its texture.  Made correctly, it really is a chocolate foam.

There are many ingredient variations, with some adding cream for a softer and lighter texture, egg yolks for richness and liqueur for flavor.  There are also many different techniques to making chocolate mousse.  

Due to these variations, I opted to try three distinctive methods and test them against each other.  The first recipe was basic, chocolate, cream and oil.  The second was the combination of ganache with meringue in a traditional method.  The third also used meringue but opted for milk rather than cream.

The specimens

The three mousse (what is the plural for mousse?), despite having been made using the same chocolate were very different.  After being made, the only thing left to do was to taste test them.

Four taste testers, each category marked out of ten and the categories being:

• Yield
• Taste
• Smoothness
• Ease of recipe
• Consistency

Since I was the one to make them, the yield and ease of recipe were determined by myself. 

The taste testers

Recipe one scored an average total of 35/50.  This was the favorite amongst the lover of strong dense coffee.  Recipe two scored an average of 40/50.  It was a favorite amongst the sweet toothed, with light and fluffy texture and a massive yield.  The recipe made so much, that my guests were given a bowl of mousse #2 to take home.  Recipe three scored an average of 25/50, scoring low in the yield and consistency boxes. It was a favorite of the not too sweet, not too dense palate. 

And so, recipe two was the clear winner.  The recipe is as follows:

WINNER!

Serves 6

125 ml water

125 g caster sugar

250 g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

600 ml thickened cream

4 egg yolks

2 eggs

Place the water and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, swirling the pan occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Cook for 5 minutes until the temperature reaches 110 degrees Celcius.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water.  Stir occasionally with a metal spoon until melted.

Using an electric mixer, whisk cream into soft peaks.  Set aside.

Whisk the yolks and eggs on high speed for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.  With the motor running, slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup, whisking the mixture until it is cool.

Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate until combined.  Fold in half the cream until combined, followed by the remaining cream.

Serve!