Mousses are wonderful summertime desserts. They are light, require no (or minimal) cooking and can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to be served – and it is certainly hard to resist a cool dessert on a hot night. Chocolate mousse has to be one of the most popular mousses out there, and a rich, velvety chocolate mousse is the ideal dessert if you’re in the mood for something that isn’t heavy and won’t weigh you down after a meal, but is still ultra indulgent. Of course, in the face of how light chocolate mousse feels, we all know that they are generally chock full of melted chocolate and whipped cream, so the lightness of a mousse is definitely not in fat and calories.
Fortunately, there are ways to have a deliciously chocolaty mousse without all the unhealthy extras. This light chocolate mousse is just such a dessert and that makes it a much better option than a more traditional mousse for a summertime dessert in my book. Its light texture comes from meringue, rather than from whipped cream, and it is stabilized with gelatin. The gelatin is really easy to work with and this recipe is a great one to start with if your only previous gelatin experience is making boxed Jello (it goes without saying that the experienced gelatin handlers should not have a problem, either).
The mousse has a light, almost milk-chocolaty color, but is not too sweet and tastes more like cocoa than anything else. The flavor is not intense, but it comes through very well and would be an amazing backdrop for fresh summer berries. Once you’ve worked with the recipe, you might even want to play around by adding a few drops of mint or a splash of a favorite liqueur to the mixture before refrigerating it. I boosted the flavor in the finished dish by grating some dark chocolate over the top, using a zester to create a fine dusting. I also garnished mine with a few larger pieces of dark chocolate, although a sprig of mint or a few cookies would be a lovely accompaniment, as well.
Light Chocolate Mousse
1/2 cup water, boiling
2 tsp gelatin (powdered)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
dark chocolate
Combine water and gelatin in a small bowl and whisk until gelatin has completely dissolved. Whisk in cocoa powder and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, working with 1-2 tbsp at a time, while you beat the egg whites.
Once the egg white mixture has reached soft peaks, beat in the egg yolks one at a time at high speed. Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and mix until uniform in color and well-combined. Evenly distribute the mousse into six 8-oz. ramekins or other serving cups (small coffee cups would make a nice presentation) and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.
Using a zester, grate dark chocolate over the top of each mousse before serving. Garnish with larger shards of chocolate, if desired.
Serves 6.
melissa
August 30, 2007ooh, this looks fantastic! And thanks very much for adding a lighter recipe, too. Sometimes we need virtuous desserts to offset the others. 😉
Lyra
August 30, 2007Looks delicious, and I thought it was quite light until I got to the part about beating the egg yolks back into the mixture. I wonder if you could cut the number of egg yolks by two and still get a good result? High cholesteral is a problem in my family and I try to avoid it for that reason. Also, I have a hand egg beater which works great for egg whites-do you think it would be fine to use for this?
Cheers, Lyra
Nicole
August 30, 2007Hi Lyra. If I were you, I would try cutting out one egg yolk and seeing how you like the result. If you want to try to take it even lighter from there, try another. I think that the egg yolks do add a touch of richness that keeps the mousse from seeming too much like marshmallow or meringue, so you’ll definitely need some in there.
Let me know how it works when you cut them back – it’s a great idea for those watching their cholesterol.
Krisrtal L. Rosebrook
March 22, 2008Great tip Nicole, “Hi Lyra. If I were you, I would try cutting out one egg yolk and seeing how you like the result. If you want to try to take it even lighter from there, try another. I think that the egg yolks do add a touch of richness that keeps the mousse from seeming too much like marshmallow or meringue, so you’ll definitely need some in there.
Let me know how it works when you cut them back – it’s a great idea for those watching their cholesterol.”
Thanks Kristal Rosebrook
Alex
May 23, 2009Tried this deeelicious looking recipe today. And I’m really enjoying it! It works really good with bananas on top, just make sure to put them when the mousse have spent 2 or more hours in the refrigerator, or they might ‘sink down’ 🙂