Described by Dame Mary Berry as a “no frills” chocolate mousse that can be whipped up in 20 minutes, I was ready to give it a go.
Recipe:
Serves: six to eight
Ingredients:
- 225g plain chocolate such as Bournville, broken into small pieces
- A knob of butter
- One tbsp brandy, optional
- Three large eggs, separated
- 150ml double cream, lightly whipped
Below is Mary Berry’s method, but having followed it myself, there are some important lessons I will be taking forward when I make my next chocolate mousse.
Mary Berry said chocolate mousse is a “good pudding to serve” at lunch, but I would have to disagree with that.
Having placed a bowl over a pan of simmering water, I think it would be easier to melt the chocolate in the microwave next time.
BBC Good Food’s easy chocolate mousse recommends melting the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until it’s melted.
Whipping the egg whites
It is crucial to make sure that no egg yolk falls into the bowl where you’re going to whip your egg whites, or else it will not form stiff peaks.
This took me a few tries to get done correctly, which ended up in a lot of wasted eggs.
And, for convenience, if you’re going to bake a lot, invest in a good electronic mixer, instead of whipping manually.
I made the chocolate mousse late in the evening, not knowing exactly how long it needed to be in the fridge.
Having a quick look on Google, Martha Stewart said chocolate mousse needs to chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, but the longer, the better.
I decided to try my chocolate mousse the next day at lunch, and while the first few bites were heavenly, it quickly turned sickly – and that’s from a woman who loves chocolate.
