Aileen's Chocolate Mousse

Aileen's Chocolate Mousse

Adapted from my friend Aileen Martin

My friend Lewis told me Aileen Martin traveled around the United States in 1973 with Carl Sontheimer doing Cuisinart demonstrations to rapt audiences anxious to see the new piece of equipment that had been adapted from restaurant kitchens in France to the home kitchen. This was one of their recipes.

There is a slightly different version of this recipe called Mourêmes au Chocolat in Classic Cakes - Great Cuisinart Desserts by Carl Sontheimer and Cecily Brownstone, which adds 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee granules to the mixture. I don't do that, but you might want to try it. If I were going to do that, I would add the granules to the simple syrup, and I would use instant espresso powder.  

Serves 8 but can easily be cut in half.

Notes:

 

The eggs in this recipe will not be cooked so make sure they are from a source you trust, and don't feed this to anyone with a compromised immune system, including the very young and the very old.

If your eggs are not at room temperature, put them in warm water until they are. 

I use chocolate between 64% and 70% cacao.

Ingredients

 
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 eggs at room temperature
6 ounces of good quality bittersweet chocolate chips or chocolate you have chopped by hand into small pieces 
2 tablespoons Cognac or 4 tablespoons Kahlúa, optional
1 cup cold heavy cream

Whipped cream for serving

 

Instructions

Put ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water in a small saucepan, and boil until it dissolves into simple syrup.

Put two room-temperature large eggs and a pinch of salt into your food processor fitted with the metal blade, and whir until blended.

Add the 6 ounces of chocolate to the food processor bowl with the eggs in it, and whir until it's as combined as it's going to get. It may still be a little lumpy; don’t worry.

Next, while the machine is running, pour the still-hot simple syrup through the top of the food processor, which has the chocolate mixture in it. Whir until the chocolate is completely melted, and the mixture is smooth. Pour this mixture into a separate clean bowl, and set aside.

Add 1 cup of cold heavy cream to the unwashed but empty food processor bowl, and turn on the food processor until the cream whips.

Pour the chocolate mixture you have set aside back into the food processor, which has the whipped cream in it, along with 2 tablespoons of liqueur if you are using it. Whir again, and combine completely. It will be as thin as chocolate milk; don't be alarmed.

Pour this mixture into pots de crème, ramekins, small martini glasses, or a pretty glass bowl, and chill. 

Serve with whipped cream.

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