What’s the secret to great chocolate mousse? | Chefs

I at all times order chocolate mousse in eating places, nevertheless it by no means seems fairly proper after I make it at house. Assist! Daniel, by electronic mail“Chocolate mousse defies physics,” says Nicola Lamb, writer of Sift and the Kitchen Initiatives e-newsletter. “It’s acquired all of the flavour of your favorite chocolate, however with an aerated, dissolving texture, which is kind of extraordinary.” The very first thing you’ve acquired to ask your self, then, is what sort of mousse are you after: “Some individuals’s dream is wealthy and dense, whereas for others it’s mild and ethereal,” Lamb says, which might be why there are such a lot of methods you can also make it.That stated, normally you’re normally coping with some type of melted chocolate folded into whipped eggs (whites, yolks or each), adopted by evenly whipped cream. And, with so few substances, it’s essential to make them rely, Lamb says: “What you’re doing by making chocolate mousse is extending the flavour of the chocolate, so first off at all times go along with a bar you actually like.” And, for her, meaning 70% darkish chocolate.One potential stumbling block, nonetheless, comes when folding the melted chocolate into the colder substances (eggs, say): “The chocolate can seize and you find yourself overfolding or knocking out all of the air.” Her resolution? Whisk a bit of water, alcohol or espresso (“a few tablespoons for 100g chocolate”) into the melted chocolate, and “it’ll be simpler to work with”.Use older eggs, too, provides Matthew Ryle, writer of French Classics: “As an egg will get older, the white will get looser, which isn’t what you need in terms of poaching, however for meringues and mousses it’s excellent, as a result of these looser whites have extra elasticity, so that they stretch and incorporate air with out breaking.” Room-temperature eggs may also assist with this.As with every troublesome relationship, it pays to take issues sluggish, too. “The longer and slower you whip the meringue, the smaller the bubbles shall be,” Ryle says, “leading to a stronger, positive meringue and mousse.” To make sure a light-weight mousse, Lamb at all times provides an additional egg white, whereas Ollie Templeton pours in sizzling honey. The co-founder of Carousel, the place chocolate mousse has been on the menu because the day it opened, says: “Carry some honey to a boil, pour that into the eggs and whisk till they’ve cooled; that creates a light-weight and ethereal texture.” He then folds within the compulsory whipped cream, seasons with salt and pops within the fridge for 4 to 5 hours to set.In case you’ve made a dense, truffle-like mousse (ie, with out cream), nonetheless, Lamb would take it out of the fridge 20 minutes earlier than serving: “It’s much less of an issue with a cream-based mousse,” she says, “though that may nonetheless profit from 10 minutes out of the fridge earlier than digging in.”Templeton would prime his mousse with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and some crushed hazelnuts: “You need some crunch [a veil of peanuts or breadcrumbs would also do the job].” Lamb, nonetheless, will not be one for gilding the lily, and simply provides a pinch of salt: “Chocolate mousse is a kind of issues that’s finest left alone,” she says. Until whipped cream has been omitted from the recipe: “In that case, a coupe of chocolate mousse with a spoon of barely whipped cream could be actually stylish. Stylish and scrumptious.”