Name: Raymond Blanc's bitter chocolate mousse recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves: 4
Ingredients: 165g dark chocolate, 70%, grated; 240g (8) egg whites; 40g caster sugar (or 20g fructose)

By GoodtoKnow

published 1 June 2010

in Recipes

The classic chocolate mousse recipe from episode 1 of Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets - it has no cream or butter so it's lower in fat than other mousses, but remember to use good quality chocolate

Ingredients

165g dark chocolate, 70%, grated
240g (8) egg whites
40g caster sugar (or 20g fructose)

You'll also need:

Electric mixing bowl with whisk attachment
Bain-marie (pan for slow-heating water)

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Method

Melt the grated chocolate in a 20cm bowl set over a pan of simmering water, for 10 mins or so. Then turn the heat off.
In an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg whites and sugar until they form soft but firm peaks.
Then, to make your work easy, place the mixing bowl with the egg white on your worktop with a large spatula by its side.
Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the bain-marie, place it next to the bowl of egg white and have a whisk ready by its side. Now you must work fast. Scoop a third of the egg white into the melted chocolate and abruptly and with no mercy whisk the egg white in; this will lighten the chocolate mixture for further incorporation of the egg white.
Now you take your time. Delicately fold in the remaining egg white using the spatula. Your chocolate mousse is now ready.
Pour into a serving bowl or individual glasses, as you wish, and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or until required.

Top Tip for making Raymond Blanc's bitter chocolate mousse

Enemy number one of chocolate is water. Egg white is 90% water. It is also a cold mass, which you are going to mix with a warm mass. If you mix in slowly, the chocolate is likely to seize up and solidify. To prevent this, fast whisking is essential.

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