I am very excited to post my first recipe from Julia Child in celebration of her 100th birthday! I was asked to participate in JC100, a campaign launched by publisher Alfred A. Knopf to celebrate what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday in August by cooking her recipes. One of her recipes will be revealed each week and we would make it and write a post about it. As an avid home cook, it is my pleasure to try any interesting home cooking recipes, let alone French ones. This week’s recipe is Chocolate Mousse.
Challenge Accepted.
This mousse recipe doesn’t use any whipping cream, instead it uses beaten egg whites to produce its light and fluffy texture. The orange liqueur also compliments the chocolate very well.
Ingredients
- 4 Egg Yolks
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Orange Liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
- A pan of not-quite-simmering water
- A basin of cold water
- 6 ounces or squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (I used 72% cocoa)
- 4 tbsp. Strong Coffee
- A small saucepan
- 6 ounces or 1½ stickes of softened Unsalted Butter
- Optional: ¼ cup finely diced, Glazed Orange Peel
- 4 Egg Whites
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tbsp. Granulated Sugar
Method
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in the orange liqueur.
- Then set mixing bowl over the not-quite simmering water and continue beating for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger.
- Then beat over cold water for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is cool and again forms the ribbon. It will have the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Melt chocolate with coffee over hot water. Remove from heat and beat in butter, a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream.
- Beat the chocolate into the yolks and sugar, then beat in the optional orange peel.
- Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
- Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest.
- Turn into serving dish, dessert cups, or petits pots. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Notes
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
My step-by-step gallery:
I thought it would be interesting to serve the mousse in a mason jar, it seems like a trend now to serve desserts in jars. 🙂 I have also topped it with some whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and fresh mint leaves. I found that the mousse is best enjoyed at a warmer temperature because it will have a very smooth, light, and creamy texture. I had some right out of the fridge but the texture was close to a chocolate ganache. I used an extra dark chocolate (72% cocoa) instead of semi-sweet because I just love the flavour of dark chocolate. The chocolate, orange and coffee flavours in the mousse – so delicious together! This was quite easy to prepare, most of the ingredients are likely already in your pantry, so give this a try!
Looks really good!! I did mine in a little jar too! I love doing JC100!!!
Hi Tara,
Thanks for stopping by, your mousse looks very yummy too 😉
The chocolate mousse looks delicious! Grand Marnier…yum!I love the idea of serving it in a glass jar. It’s so pretty! I have Julia Child’s cookbook but I haven’t used it for a long time. I guess it’s time to get it out and try some of her recipes again!
Thank you for your compliments, Reiko! I actually don’t have Julia Child’s cookbook and this was my first time cooking from her recipe. Looking forward to try some of her other recipes 🙂
I have never made chocolate mousse but I can see my kids will love this dessert!
Thanks for visiting my blog, Reiko! I think this would make a great dessert for kids!