Here in Salamanca, we have celebrated so many birthdays since the end of May that I’ve lost count of them all. I turned 25, as did my Spanish friend Carlos. Fernando, another Spanish friend turned 26 and before that, Amy turned 21. I feel old. To make her 21st at her home away from home special, a friend of ours, Kristina, invited us over to her apartment the night before Amy’s birthday last month for some red wine slurping and 21st cake baking.
The cake we made for Amy’s birthday was Nigella’s devil’s food cake, but instead of just coating the cake in melted dark chocolate, Kristina decided the icing needed mascarpone (minus the sugar). Kristina is so wise. After icing the cake, we took turns to finish the totally addictive mixture. Kristina then informed us that she had made the mixture previously for another friend’s cake and ate the remaining icing that was chilling in the fridge as a snack, saying it had turned into the most delicious chocolate mousse. Straight away, I knew I had to try it. I was so excited about this new discovery – I love easy, yet decadent recipes.
It turns out Google has all the info. I guess what I found new and exciting is old news for the interweb in terms of a highly popular recipe..but here it is anyway!
To make seriously rich chocolate mousse (4 servings) you need:
250g Mascarpone cheese
100g good quality dark chocolate
Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with water on medium heat. Alternatively, you don’t need the hob, just boil water, put it in a pot and place the bowl on the boiling water . It produces the same effect, glossy melted chocolate.
Add the molten chocolate sauce gradually to the mascarpone in a large bowl, stirring constantly. You need to keep stirring and adding the chocolate bit by bit, or you’ll end up with a chocolate chip effect.
Spoon the mixture into ramekins or small bowls and chill in the fridge for no longer than 5-10 minutes. Any longer than that and you’ll end up with mousse the consistency of rich chocolate ice cream, without the toothache for sensitive guests/friends.
If dark chocolate is too strong for you, try milk chocolate or add a teaspoon of vanilla pods/vanilla essence. This mousse is quite thick and filling, so it’s perfect after a summer salad as a sweet treat. Although it’s not exactly healthy, it’s lighter than other chocolate mousses made with double cream. Each serving contains around 400 calories.
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