Dark Chocolate Moussé... and quick!

I love chocolates and for me a dessert made of chocolate 'has to be' smooth, luscious and oh so chocolatey. Any compromise made with the quantity or quality of chocolate in a choco-dessert is a strict no-no for me.

 

Chocolate Moussé has got to be one of my all time favourite desserts, but I was never making it at home before because I was apprehensive of using raw eggs in my cooking, moreso in my dessert.

 

And then, one day, when the cooking angels were smiling at me, I came across a recipe of 'quick chocolate moussé by one of my favourite chefs, Nigella Lawson (oh, I really love her and her style of cooking...and eating). This recipe caught my interest because (besides being Nigella's recipe ofcourse) it had NO eggs in it! Awesome!

 

Though the original belongs to Nigella Lawson, I have tweaked it a bit according to my preference without compromising on the taste of the moussé. And hey! I must say, Nigella would be really proud to eat my moussé because it turned out just right.

 

This is my version of dark (quick) chocolate moussé. Here you go.

Serves: 4 moulds for 4 persons.

Ingredients:

 

Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa)                           1 cup

Sweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips               1/2 cup

Soft butter (at room temperature)                     1/2 cup

Big Marshmellows                                        3/4 cup or 7-8 pieces

Cream                                                            1 tin or 160 g

Plain water (a little warm)                                1/2 cup

 

 

Method:

 

• Chop the dark chocolate into small bits. Take a non-stick saucepan and combine together the dark chocolate, chocolate chips, butter, marshmellows (if big, cut into pieces just to speed up the melting process later) and water.

 

• Keep the saucepan on medium heat and stir gently.

• You will see that the chocolates are starting to melt and getting incorporated with the butter and water.

• Slowly the marshmellows will also start melting. Keep stirring gently to avoid it from sticking to the pan.

 

• Once you see that the marshmellows have melted completely (it may take some time, so have patience :) ) and you have now got a smooth chocolate mixture (control your temptation of licking the wooden spoon or eating this mixture straight from the saucepan.. haha!), turn the gas off.
 
• Take a mixing bowl (preferably a glass bowl which is heat-proof) and empty the tin of cream.

• Pour the smooth chocolate mixture onto the cream and just stir it all gently. Ideally, I would use the term 'folding in' here, but thankfully this recipe does not need that level of cooking expertise. So, I will leave the folding in for another day and another recipe where we will use that technique.

• So once you are done with gently mixing the cream and chocolate mixture and you now have got one, uniform, brown chocolate mixture, pour this mixture slowly into a serving dish or individual moulds/shot glasses/ramekins- choose whatever suits you. Just keep in mind that smaller portions are better when you serve this moussé, as this is a rich, heavy dessert and nobody would be able to eat more than 4 spoons.

 

• I chose individual glasses as it looks classy and makes for beautiful presentation.
 
• Allow it to cool at room temperature and then cover with cling wrap and keep it in the fridge to chill for atleast 4-5 hours or more. Please do not try hurrying with the chilling process and do not put the moussé  in the freezer. Again, have patience :)
 
• After 4 hours, test if the moussé has set by taking the mould and shaking it gently. If there is no wobble, then you know your moussé has set and ready to be served to your guests or devoured by you ;)

 

 

 

• Voila!! There you have it, a spoonful of sinful goodness.

 

Tweaking Tips:

 

•  If you are not a fan of the taste of dark chocolate which is usually bitter, you can use 1 cup sweet chocolate chips instead of 1/2 cup and reduce the quantity of dark chocolate from 1 cup to 1/2 cup.

• Alternatively, if you do not have or cannot find chocolate chips, feel free to use regular milk chocolate like Cadbury Dairy Milk (plain) or any milk chocolate that is available.

• The marshmellows are used here instead of eggs to set the and give it the desired texture.

• Incase you have not eaten marshmellows before and are not comfortable with the idea of using it in your cooking, please don't let that stop you from trying out this moussé. You can still make it without the marshmellows. Just use plain gelatin (now available in all the supermarkets). We even get vegetarian versions of gelatin now. Just use it in this dish according to packet instructions and you are good to go!

• Always use a wooden spoon to mix and stir chocolate or any dessert or sweet-dish and use a wooden spoon specially while using a non-stick vessel.
 
• The original recipe calls for whipped cream to be mixed along with the chocolate mixture. But, I have used tinned cream because it is easily available and does not have to be whipped using a fancy electric beater. However, if you wish, you can buy the whipping cream from the supermarket and whip it with 3 tbsps of sugar and a pinch of salt until you get soft peaks. The tinned cream does not take away from the texture of the moussé- rest assured :). And I will deal with the technique of 'whipping cream' in my later blogs.

 

 

Happy cookin' & keep it stylish!!