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Chocolate Mousse Heatter
(recipe, Maida Heatter)
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Ingredients
- ½ lb. bittersweet chocolate
- 1 Tbsp. instant coffee
- ⅓ cup boiling water
- 5 eggs, separated
- Pinch of salt
Steps
- Break up the chocolate into a small, heavy saucepan. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Place over low heat and stir occasionally with a small wire whisk until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- In the small bowl of an electric mixer at high speed, beat the egg yolks for 3 to 4 minutes until they turn a pale lemon color. Reduce the speed and gradually add the slightly warm chocolate mixture, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth. Remove from mixer.
- Add the salt to the whites and beat until they hold a definite shape but are not dry. Without being too thorough, gently fold about one-quarter of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in a second quarter, and finally fold the chocolate into the remaining whites, folding only until no whites show.
- Gently transfer the mousse to a wide pitcher and pour it into six large dessert or wine glasses, each with about a 9-ounce capacity. Don't fill the glasses too full; leave generous headroom on each. (This mousse must be prepared in individual portions. It just won’t work if it is all done in one large container.)
- Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate 3 to 6 hours. (The mousse may stand longer, up to a day. The texture will become more spongy and less creamy. Delicious both ways.)
- Serve as is, or topped with Mocha Cream.
Note
If you don't have instant coffee available, just use the 1/3 cup hot water.
Try to make this mousse the same day you serve it. If it sits overnight, it'll become too dense.