Rachel Roddy's Chocolate Mousse Recipe | A kitchen in Rome

The pudding – perhaps my favorite – arrived in two bowls. The first was glass and filled to the brim with chocolate mousse. The second, fluted white plastic, was twice the size of the first and filled with whipped cream. Both have been placed on the buffet in the living room accompanied by a pile of plates and a remarkable choice of spoons: tea, soup, table, plastic, service. Also some forks and what looked like a catering ladle, which someone decided was the best thing for the cream. So in a small apartment filled with dozens and dozens of people under a light covered in tissue paper, we all helped ourselves to mousse and large amounts of cream that had to be brushed to get it out of the ladle.< /p>

In his book On Food And Cooking, Harold McGee notes: "The full foaming power of egg white seems to have erupted in the early 17th century." Of course, the ability of eggs to foam was known long before this, but the extent of foaming was undoubtedly limited by tools, or lack thereof. Then "around 1650, cooks began to use more efficient whips, either twigs or bales of straw."

As a rule, physical agitation destroys the structure . With egg whites, however, the reverse is true: the whisk creates structure, the air disrupts and unfolds the proteins, which in turn form bonds, a sort of protein bubble, if you will, holding water and air in place. By whisking the egg whites, the cooks were able to "harvest the air," meaning the opaque, watery whites became chunky, stiff peaks, and the meringues and soufflés began to appear in the books. of the kitchen. Over time, custard, syllabubs and cream puddings were aerated into mousses. Then when cocoa, arriving from the east coast of central Mexico, changed the shape of cooking, it also met foam.

There are different theories about the origins of chocolate mousse: that it was created by the Swiss chef of Louis XVI; that it was first included in André Viard's culinary encyclopedia Le Cuisinier Impérial; an invention in the late 1800s by artist Toulouse-Lautrec... Maybe it's all whipped together, with real recognition to the Olmecs for chocolate. My mousse is based on the recipe of the friend who hosted (and clarified) the aforementioned party. I use an electric mixer with two beaters. It's great for egg whites, but messy for cream, meaning I lose at least 5% to splatter, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.

>Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate invariably makes people happy: bars, squares, buttons, cake, pudding, brownies. The chocolate mousse, on the other hand, makes people happy and elated, which I attribute to the aeration and millions of little bubbles. They also explain the vertigo it causes: chocolate mousse is the helium balloon of desserts. Add whipped cream, cherries in syrup, large serving spoons and a ladle to its helium nature.

For 10 people

300ml liquid cream250g 60-70% chocolate, chopped3 eggs, separatedSalt80g icing sugar200ml whipped cream, plus more for serving

Add cream and chocolate in a saucepan and heat over medium - low heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the cream begins to boil (do not let it boil), remove the pan from the heat and stir until the chocolate melts in the residual heat.

During you let the cream and chocolate cool slightly, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt until frothy, then add the icing sugar and whisk again until they form peaks farms. In another bowl, whip the whipped cream, also until stiff.

Incorporate the egg yolks into the cream and chocolate mixture, then incorporate the whites and the cream, working slowly but steadily, until everything is well incorporated and the color is even.

Scrape the foam into a large glass bowl (or individual bowls) and chill in the fridge for at least six hours (less and it won't have the required velvety texture) and up to 24. Serve with cherries in syrup and more whipped cream.