Description
A rich and indulgent chocolate mousse made with Italian olive oil and Brittany sea salt barely adapted from Nigella Lawson’s At My Table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 70g (2 1/2 oz) Plain or Dark Chocolate, finely chopped
- 100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Large Eggs
- Fleur de Sel de Guerande
- 50g (1 1/2 oz) Golden Caster Sugar
Instructions
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl (I used Pyrex bowls for all my cooking – see above in the ‘You Might Need’ section!) over a pan of just boiled water, set over a medium low heat. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water, but the steam should melt the chocolate, stirring to combine just occasionally.
- Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat, stir in the olive oil and set it aside to cool a little.
- In a clean glass bowl using an electric whisk or in the bowl of a stand mixer whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks.
- In another bowl (the largest one you’ve got) whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 tsp of fleur de sel and the sugar until the mixture is pale, glossy and has roughly doubled in size.
- Slowly pour the chocolate oil mixture into the yolks, whisking vigorously until everything is combined.
- Now you need to fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to make the mousse. What I find is easiest is to add a big spoonful or two of the whites to the mixture and gently stir them in to lighten the chocolate, then it is easier to fold the whites into the mixture to get a mixture that is not lumpy, and still has lots of air. Add about 1/3 of the whites to the bowl, and using a metal spoon (this also helps keep the air in), make a cutting motion from the top of the bowl to the bottom around the edge, rotating the bowl a little after every cut. Repeat twice more, each time with another 1/3 of the mixture.
- Once the mixture is light, smooth and airy, spoon it equally between six ramekins. Set the mousses in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours, but I ideally would make these first thing in the morning to enjoy in the evening.
- Take out of the fridge for about 20 minutes before serving, and sprinkle the top of each mousse with a little more Fleur de Sel.