Mousse au Chocolat

Desserts play an important role in our daily diets. But what about French desserts? You will not be left unimpressed after trying some, even if you’re not a sweet tooth like me. Since my daughter lives in France, Lyon, I happen to go there a lot. Lyon has the reputation of being the gastronomic capital of France. A well-known food critic, Curnonsky, described Lyon even as the world capital of gastronomy! Here prevails the cult of gourmet cuisine and the best restaurants in Lyon are highly worshipped. The medieval streets of Old Town (Vieux Lyon) are full of restaurants and cafes, where you can try out all sorts of different foods. 

Anyways, back to desserts. Let’s make an authentic traditional French dessert, chocolate mousse (mousse au chocolat). The word mousse in French means foam and, thus the literal translation is chocolate foam. The recipe was taken from a book called 'Cuisine et Vins de France: desserts de tradition' (éditions marie claire).

Ingredients:

for 6 portions 

10.5 oz (300 g) black chocolate (min. 52% cacao)

5 tsp brewed strong coffee

6 eggs

7 tbsp (100 g) soft butter

1.05 oz (30 g) powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl break the chocolate into pieces and pour the coffee on top. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or using a double boiler (bring water to boil in a saucepan, place the bowl with chocolate in it on top, let the chocolate melt). Add the softened butter in the chocolate and mix well. 
   

   

    
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks, in such manner that there are absolutely no traces of yolks in the egg whites. Incorporate and stir one-by-one the egg yolks in the chocolate-butter mixture. In a clean and dry large bowl beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Finally, slowly add the powdered (sifted) sugar, while still beating.
   

   

   
   

   
3. Very gently (in order not to destroy the created texture) add the egg whites in the chocolate mixture. Mix all together using a spatula. I can’t stress enough the fact that you have to do it very carefully (slow and gentle movements, going from the bottom to the top). Place the created mousse in glasses or other containers and refrigerate at least for 4 hours and at most for 24 hours.  
   

   

Let’s not forget that this is a French recipe, which means it goes with wine! According to the book the type of wine that goes best with this dessert is banyuls (region of Roussillon).  

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