Pandemic Eggless Chocolate Mousse
Traditionally, a chocolate mousse is made with whipped raw egg whites, but not everyone likes eating raw eggs and it is a bother to pasteurize them, and also you may not want to go to the grocery store to get eggs in a pandemic. Many alternate recipes set the mousse with gelatin instead. To avoid fiddling with gelatin packets, this recipe sources its gelatin from an easy pantry ingredient - marshmallows!
Use good chocolate (surely you must have good chocolate in your pandemic pantry). This recipe is not the moment for cheap chocolate. I did a medley of 70% and 90% bitter chocolate.
- 75 grams mini marshmallows
- 25 grams soft butter
- 125 grams good dark or bitter-dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) chopped into small pieces
- 30 millilitres hot water (from a recently boiled kettle)
- 142 millilitres whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.
Heat the saucepan on low, gentle heat, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. If you overheat it and the fat separates (like a broken ganache), remove from the heat and beat with a hand beater or whisk until it is reconstituted.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool. If you put in the whipping cream while the chocolate mixture is too hot, it will not be as airy and foamy as it could be.
Whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.
Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, and chill until you want to eat. Serve with vanilla ice cream, or fruit, mint, or with a sprinkling of fleur de sel.
Source: Nigella Lawson