Dark Chocolate Mousse
A silky, airy French-style dark chocolate mousse made from a cooked egg yolk custard folded into whipped cream. Serve on its own or use as cake filling.
- 4 whole egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pint heavy cream, divided
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Godiva chocolate liqueur
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Whip the egg yolks in a bowl with a hand mixer until they turn pale yellow and thick, about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the granulated sugar while continuing to mix, then set the egg mixture aside.
- Heat 1 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it just starts to bubble around the edges, scoop about half of it into the bowl of egg yolks and stir it in — this gently tempers the eggs so they won't scramble when combined with the rest of the hot cream.
- Return the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan along with the cocoa powder and Godiva liqueur. Stir constantly until the mixture cooks through and thickens, about 5 minutes, keeping a close eye on the heat and never letting it come to a boil. Stir in the chocolate chips until fully melted and smooth.
- Take the pot off the heat and transfer the chocolate mixture to a sealable, heatproof container. Give it a stir, seal it up, and chill for 2 hours, stirring occasionally as it chills since the liquid will separate — it will solidify again as it cools, so don't worry if it looks off partway through.
- Once the 2 hours are up, whip the remaining heavy cream in a large bowl until it forms stiff, fluffy peaks. Use a spatula to fold the chilled chocolate mixture thoroughly into the whipped cream, working gently to keep the mousse light and airy.
- Serve immediately in pretty bowls, or use it as cake filling. It will keep sealed in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Chef's Note: Tempering the egg yolks with a small amount of hot cream before combining everything is the step that keeps this mousse silky rather than scrambled — adding cold eggs straight into hot cream would cook them too fast and leave you with flecks of curdled egg. Chilling the chocolate custard base before folding in the whipped cream also matters more than it seems, since a warm base would deflate the whipped cream instantly instead of staying light and airy.
Don't be alarmed if the chocolate mixture looks separated or grainy partway through chilling — a quick stir brings it right back together, and it solidifies into a smooth base by the time the 2 hours are up. This mousse doubles as an excellent cake filling if you're not serving it on its own, and it keeps well sealed in the fridge for a couple of days.
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