Everyone loves chocolate mousse, right? It reminds us of being children. (Do you remember the Rolo mousse with caramel at the bottom? Do they still make them? Oh god, they do.)
Anyway, this is a good basic mousse recipe, one you can modify to suit. I've done it with white and milk chocolate, I've done it with layers of different chocolate, added a bit of cointreau at one point, also tried it with coffee...The possibilities are endless. You can also decide the fat content of the yoghurt to suit your needs. It works well regardless. (I'm avoiding any mentions of "January" or "diet" or "resolution" as those words together bug me).
This serves 4.
This serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
170g good dark chocolate
4 egg whites
2 tbsp caster sugar
100g plain yoghurt
About 250g raspberries for decoration
Cocoa powder for dusting
Shortbread (optional)
Break up the chocolate and melt it over hot water using the bain-marie method. When it's melted stir in two tablespoons of boiling water so the chocolate thins down slightly (if you're adding booze or a shot of espresso, this is when you would do that. Substitute the water for your liquid of choice).
Whisk the egg whites for a couple of minutes so they have a thick milkshake consistency, then add the sugar, and whisk again until you have soft fluffy white peaks. They should be so stiff you could hold the bowl over a friend's head without them falling and ruining your friendship.
In another bowl mix together the yogurt and now slightly cooler chocolate. Gradually fold the egg white into the chocolate and yoghurt mix in a figure-of-eight using a large metal spoon or spatula. Be very gentle as you don't want to knock out all the air from the egg whites. Spoon the mousse into four ramekins and chill for a couple of hours.
When you're ready to serve, dust some cocoa powder onto the mousse and top with the raspberries. I also put out some shortbread as it goes really well with the mousse.
Good luck guys... don't mousse it up!