The Sausage Dog

This Chocolate Mousse is definitely decadent. It’s one of my guilty pleasures, and I only really bust it out for special occasions.

I know this recipe is probably a bit more effort than your Coles/Woolies boxed mousse, but it is seriously worth the effort. I would advise using two people for this recipe, as one person needs to hold the beaters over the double boiler, while the other person pops in the butter cube by cube. Or if you are a gym junkie with guns of steel, by all means, beat with one hand while you throw in the butter with the other. Although, if you are a gym junkie with guns of steel, you probably won’t be making this dessert.

This is not healthy. In fact, it bears a remarkable resemblance to a heart attack.

It is INDULGENCE.

This recipe really needs those strawberries as an accompaniment to cut through the richness of the chocolate mousse. You could also use this mousse recipe as part of a larger dessert, perhaps a chocolate and fruits trifle, or a chocolate mousse cake with blackberries. It certainly has the body for it.

When you are combining all the ingredients together at the end, it may look a bit dodgy. When I made it, my chocolate mixture had turned a bit rubbery, and when I folded in the cream, it didn’t seem to incorporate very well. I fixed it by putting the whole lot in my MixMaster to whisk on low for a couple of minutes. I guess what I’m saying is – Keep Calm and Don’t Panic. It will come together in the end, you just have to MacGyver it. At least, that’s what I told my husband.

It was still delicious 😉

Serves: 12-14 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Chilling time: Preferably overnight

Ingredients

7 egg yolks

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

200g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped

250g unsalted butter, chopped, softened

65g good-quality cocoa powder, sifted

600ml thickened cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Halved strawberries and thickened cream or creme anglaise (see note), to serve

Instructions

1. Lightly grease an 8cm x 22cm (1-litre capacity) terrine. Line with plastic wrap, leaving the excess to hang over the sides.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn’t touch the water). Add chocolate and whisk for 5-6 minutes until melted. Add butter one piece at a time, whisking between each addition until melted. Remove from heat and fold in cocoa. Allow to cool 30 min.
3. Beat cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold a little cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remainder until combined. Pour into terrine, fold over plastic wrap to cover, then refrigerate overnight.
4. Turn out terrine, cut into slices and top with strawberries and creme anglaise.