Chocolate Mousse

A perfect dessert for times you forgot you needed dessert.

I take hosting extremely seriously (actually, I take most things extremely seriously, but that’s a different conversation), which means I plan everything. I create a schedule (in my head) for the days leading up to the big event, I plan the menu, and meticulously write a grocery list, which is categorized according to each dish I plan on serving. Most of the time, I even remember to wash my tablecloths and napkins. But dessert is something that I almost always forget to plan, because honestly, I don’t care about it that much. Since I know that most people actually do like a dessert, I start panicking, thinking about what I could whip up that doesn’t require a ton of prep, time, or fancy ingredients I would have to hunt down. After years of experience, I have developed a perfect dessert, which has saved my ass multiple times. Shockingly, it’s nothing you’ve never seen before, and it’s definitely not groundbreaking. However, it is extremely easy to whip up, and can be made in advance, gently saving your nerves and mental well-being.

Chocolate mousse bathing in the winter sun

I’m talking about chocolate mousse, which is, in my opinion, a perfectly light and decadent way to finish up a meal. A small dollop of mousse, paired with lightly whipped cream, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, is honestly the only thing I have space for in my stomach after eating and drinking for hours. I like to serve it with a tiny glass of digestivo (hazelnut liqueur pairs especially well). How adult.

As you probably know, mousse is traditionally prepared with eggs and cream, but in this case, eggs have been replaced by a stiffly beaten aquafaba, and cream by its plant-based counterpart. The other three ingredients are chocolate, powdered sugar, and salt. When I first made the recipe, I only used aquafaba, but quickly realised it was almost too decadent and chocolate-y. That’s why I decided to swap half of the aquafaba meringue for whipped cream, which lends the same airy texture and lightness, but makes the mousse slightly less heavy (so you can eat more of it). And not to oversell it, but this mousse is also a perfect dessert, if you’re serving a bunch of people with different dietary requirements, since it doesn’t contain gluten, dairy, eggs, or nuts.

So, if you’re in need of a quick and easy dessert for tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve dinner, this mousse might be just what you are looking for. If you’re lucky, you already have all the ingredients in the pantry.

All the mousses I've made

Equipment

• kitchen scale (for measuring ingredients)

• standmixer/handheld mixer with a bowl (for whipping aquafaba and cream)

• double boiler (saucepan with water and a metal/glass bowl for melting chocolate)

• spatula (for folding aquafaba and whipped cream into chocolate)

Ingredients

• 200 g dark chocolate (I use Callebout 54% (Recipe No. 811))

• a sprinkle of fine sea salt

• 50 g + 100 g plant-based whipping cream (I’ve tried Oatly and Flora Plant/Rama Plant-Based cream, and they both worked well)

• 100 g aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)

• 75 g powdered sugar

To serve

• lightly sweetened whipped plant-based cream

• good quality olive oil

• flaky sea salt (I use Maldon)

Method

1. Place chocolate, 50 g of whipping cream, and a sprinkle of salt into a stainless steel/glass bowl, and melt using a double boiler (place a bowl over a pot of simmering water). Once most of the chocolate is melted, remove the pot from the heat (but leave the bowl over the steaming water), and let the remaining chocolate melt with the residual heat.

2. Open a can of chickpeas and drain 100 g of the liquid (aquafaba).

3. Pour the aquafaba into a spotlessly clean mixing bowl and whip until soft peaks form. I like to use my Kitchenaid for that, but a handheld mixer should work perfectly fine.

4. Add powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

5. If using a stand mixer, transfer the whipped aqafaba into a different bowl, and use the same bowl to whip the cream (no need to clean the bowl). If using a handheld mixer, use a new bowl to whip the cream.

6. Remove the bowl containing melted chocolate from the heat, and slowly fold in whipped aquafaba. I like to do it in 4 to 5 steps, making sure the previous batch of aquafaba is properly folded in before adding the next one. Try to be gentle to incorporate as much air as possible.

7. Once all the aquafaba has been folded in, repeat the same process with whipped cream in 3-4 steps.

8. Cover the mousse with cling film (skin contact), and store in a cold place for 2-3 hours (fridge, or balcony in the wintertime). Chocolate will slowly harden and thicken the mousse.

9. Serve a spoonful of mouse with lightly sweetened whipped cream, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.

The process

Talk soon, x