Chocolate Mousse

As far as I'm concerned, chocolate mousse falls under healthy foods as long as your ingredients meet certain specifications. One - the eggs have to be very fresh and from hens you personally know. Yes, the variety that run around your neighbor's yard, eat grubs and get regular workouts while being chased by your or your other neighbor's dog. All right, perhaps not in that order. Two - the cream needs to be equally fresh and preferably raw, none of that pasteurized stuff, paleeeze! If you've made it this far, continue. Three - the chocolate has to be harvested from a west facing hill overlooking.....ok, this is a joke.

But seriously, between raw eggs and cream with all those wonderful enzymes and some good chocolate you really can't go wrong especially if you believe in the redeeming qualities of chocolate. Everything else is used for flavoring and in small quantities. My friend Babette, a nutrition expert, maintains that for her young son this kind of breakfast is much preferable to feeding him industrially produced corn flakes  and low fat milk. I wholeheartedly agree.

Texture in chocolate mousse is of premier importance. It has to be light but with some substance. A frequent problem when combining melted chocolate and egg yolks is that the chocolate seizes up, no matter how slowly or quickly you combine the two.

If you are wondering about the water the recipe calls for, that is precisely where the secret lies. The ratio of solid-to-liquid is important and if you want to be sure to avoid seizing up your chocolate use at least 1 TS liquid for every 2 oz of chocolate. This recipe calls for 6 TS of liquid if you also count in espresso and booze, hence, success is practically guaranteed.

Ingredients
8 oz combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate, 50/50, 70/30 whatever ratio you like, chopped
2TS cocoa powder, Dutch process
2TS strong espresso
3TS water
1TS brandy or orange liqueur
2 large eggs, separated
1TS sugar
1c whipping cream
salt

Start by melting the chopped chocolate over medium heat in a metal or glass bowl set over a saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water. Add cocoa, espresso, water and booze. Stir until smooth.

Whisk egg yolks, 1 1/2 tsp sugar and salt in medium bowl until mixture lightens in color and thickens slightly about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into egg mixture and whisk until combined. Let cool about 5 minutes.

In the meantime beat egg whites in medium bowl until frothy and add remaining 1 1/2 tsp sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Using whisk, stir about one-quarter of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it then gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula.

Whip cream until it begins to thicken and fold into mousse with rubber spatula. Spoon into individual dishes or medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set and firm. Voila!