Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse

Kitty FloridoFebruary 9, 2015

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This dessert. This one. This is the only dessert you need to learn how to prepare. Do this and you will be forever known as the one who makes the best and most luscious chocolate mousse ever. I am not kidding. The mousse cups here did not last long, it is delicious! Make sure to get the best kind of chocolate you can, as it makes all the difference in the world!

Earlier this week we were talking with Helga on what recipes to share with you for Valentines’. She is doing a new version of French Toasts, this time with Chocolate and Nutella. So, I knew I didn’t want to give you another chocolate cake, but something more… airy. Browsing around, the answer was obvious. Chocolate Mousse. But not any mousse. I had to make Julia’s version. I think we can call her Julia like she is an old friend of us. Specially after reading her book My Life in France.

My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking sits next to my many cookbooks, but I often look through it the most to read about french cooking techniques and some Julia wisdom. This mousse has butter, but besides that, no additional dairy is added. The mousse’s consistency is all about the eggs. We can use hand mixers to do most of the work that Julia did by beating by hand, so the preparation of the recipe (from the video that I am sharing bellow, that is) is cut in half. Maybe more.

Oh, and for those wondering about the raw eggs, the yolks are cooked through, and it does take a bit of time (about 5 minutes, it’s not that much), and then they are brought down to room temperature again in a water bath. After that, they are added to the warm chocolate and butter, and later to the egg whites. What I love about Julia is her explanation of every single ingredient needed for the recipe, as well as every single item (from pots and pans to electric mixers or candy thermometers), and that makes her recipe books an invaluable addition to any food enthusiast library.

What Julia recipe will I try next? I don’t know, maybe a Tarte Tatin (Apple Tart) or a Soufflé. Let me know what recipe you would like me to prepare, no matter if it’s a Julia recipe or not. Ah, and follow us on Instagram as @twofoodies – we are posting behind the scenes shots from when we are busy in out kitchens!

Kitty

Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse

Yields, 4 to 6 servings
Recipe by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck’s
Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Ingredients:
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
¾ cups sugar
¼ cup orange liqueur
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
4 tablespoons of strong coffee
6 oz. unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar

Special Equipment:
1 pan of simmering water
1 pan of cold water

Directions:

In a heat-resistant bowl, beat the egg yolks and ¾ cups of sugar until it’s pale, thick and when it falls back on itself forms a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in the orange liqueur.
Set the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water (off the heat) and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and too hot to touch.
Move the mixing bowl over to a pan of cold water and beat for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is cool, resembles mayonnaise and again forms the ribbon like it did on step 1. Set aside.
On a small sauce pan, melt the chocolate with coffee over a pot of simmering water. When it’s melted, remove from heat and add the softened butter, bits at the time and mix them until they all together make a smooth creme.
Beat in the chocolate to the egg yolks and set aside.
Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form, and sprinkle the remaining tablespoon if sugar until stiff peaks are formed.
Combine ¼ of the egg whites with the chocolate to lighten the mix, and then add the chocolate to the side of the egg whites. Fold together until you can no longer see streaks of egg whites in the mixture.
Set up your ramekins or small dishes in front of you, and with the help of a ladle, fill all the dessert cups. Refrigerate them for 2 hours or overnight. Serve with berries and shaved chocolate.

Note:

Here is the video I mentioned from Julia Child’s The French Chef TV Show, with a slightly different preparation. The concept is the same… just the steps to create the mousse are a bit different. I followed the recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which was published in 1961, three years before the show premiered.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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