Brown Sugar Chocolate Mousse
I'll be angry if you don't make this
Hello and welcome to The Big Night In. We talk recipes, restaurants, and the occasional bit of drivel. If somehow you have slipped into my house and are still not subscribed, don’t worry, we can fix that:
Welcome to the first New Recipe Drop!
Today’s Letter Includes:
A recipe for the best (and easiest) chocolate mousse I’ve ever had.
Where to buy The linen pants (my linen pants).
The best songs from TTPD. From a gigantic Swifty who feels no shame - be afraid.
Margaret Qualley appreciation
Erin Morgenstern appreciation
What I’m listening to this week: The Tortured Poets Department (Duh). Initial thoughts - the second half of this anthology is not (yet) for me. However, I didn’t f*ck with Midnights upon first listen, came back to it before the Eras tour, and fell in love with 98% of the album. Don’t know what that says. Don’t care to know what that says. Current rankings 1) So Long, London 2) Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? 3) Fortnight 4) My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys. Also, please see here for interesting discourse regarding the less-than-positive New York Times article talking about the album. I don’t know where I sit; it’s not scathing, but is it about consumerism? Actually who cares. Go listen to the album if you like it, ignore it if you don’t, read the article if you’re curious, ignore it if you don’t. I’m also listening to (and watching) Espresso (Sabrina Carpenter) on repeat because it’s such a bop.
What I’m watching: Maid on Netflix. Based on a book, based on a true story, this is my second watch. If you are emotionally prepared to face themes involving DV then give this a go. It’s heavy, but Margaret Qualley is a powerhouse, and I think everyone should watch it.
What I’m reading: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. This book is pure escapism. I have not been so encompassed in a long time. As corny as it sounds, you will be transported to another world. Set in Victorian England, following a magical circus, with a curious love story at its heart, it’s a great way to wrap yourself up in something other than social media.
What I’m wearing: I get compliments on my linen pants every time I wear them. Which is every other day. I famously don’t iron; ironing is a lie. I rock the crushed look out of protest. I still get compliments. They are on their final sale so get in quick or find people re-selling them (half price!). If these options are unavailable, see here, and here, for very similar ones.
^ Look how well they move
Onto the mousse (yay).
There are many mousse recipes out there, they’re all pretty good, this is slightly better. It’s scoopable, so you can make it in a big dish and serve a scoop on a plate with some cream or mascarpone. There are endless ways to make it ‘prettier’ if you want (edible flowers, toasted sesame seeds, olive oil, honey, the list continues), but the age of less-fussy presentation is upon us. I do condone extremely fussy presentation too though. It’s fun! Mousse is like a blank canvas, and if you want to be creative, this is a time to do so. Fussy deserves a place in the home-cook zeitgeist if it’s enjoyable to you. Displaying effort is not a weakness; screw the ‘oh I just threw this together’ energy. That said, I did just throw this mousse together, because it is that is easy.
The Recipe
Brown Sugar Mousse
*If you saw the wrong title in your email, no you didn’t
Chocolate mousse is deceptively easy. If I had the stomach to work in a professional kitchen again, I would pitch a chocolate mousse (this chocolate mousse). It acts as a great base for being adventurous with your flavours. You can doctor most chocolate desserts to suit your taste, seasonal produce, and your need for creativity.
The type of chocolate you use *is* important. Sorry. Fat content changes the texture of mousse very easily. I use a 72%, Whittaker’s Dark Chocolate (not expensive, but not Cadbury, and certainly not Hershey’s). As far as butter goes - yes it’s a small amount, so small in fact, why bother browning it? 1. you have to melt it anyway. 2. Make more than you need & save the rest for your sourdough in the morning. Easy. That said, if you only want to microwave-melt the butter, be my guest.
40g (4 tbsp) Unsalted Butter
220 millilitres (1 cup) Whipping Cream
220g Dark Chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon Ground Coffee
(120g yolks) 6 Large Eggs, separated
80g (6 tablespoons) Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
For Serving
4 Nectarines, diced
4 tablespoons of Brown Sugar
Mascarpone or double whipped cream for serving
Flakey sea salt
Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl and set aside.
Heat the butter in a medium-sized pot. Let the butter melt & begin to brown. Using a spoon or whisk, scrape the browned bits (milk solids) off the bottom & swirl the butter around in the pot. When the butter is golden brown & smelling nutty, remove from the heat (this will happen quickly once the milk solids have browned). Add your chocolate to the pot and stir thoroughly until the chocolate has completely melted. If your chocolate does not completely melt you can put it in a microwavable bowl for 20 seconds at a time until it’s completely smooth. Then whisk in the coffee grounds. (In the video of this recipe, I pour the butter over the chocolate, but I have since found that unnecessary, just use the one pot).
Whip the cream until thickened (but not until stiff) and set aside. It should be whipped enough to scoop it up without it running off your spoon, but not so whipped that you would readily put it on a cake.
Whip the egg whites & sugar until stiff peaks just form.
Fold the yolks into the cream. Pour in the chocolate and butter mixture and mix to combine.
Fold ⅓ of the whites into the mixture - we do this to help stabilise the mixture before adding the rest of the egg whites, it helps the egg whites to not deflate and keep the mixture light and airy. Then gently fold the rest of the egg whites in until they are just mixed through. Pour the mixture into a high sided dish (or small, individual dishes), cover, and place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, heat up the diced nectarines with 1/4 cup of water and the brown sugar. Cook until the nectarine flesh is softened (about 8-10 minutes). Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Serve the mousse with mascarpone or whipped cream, a sprinkle of flakey sea salt (do this, it makes a big difference), and nectarines.
Notes:
(Quality) melted honey, slightly cooled, drizzled at the last second lends a great mellow caramel flavour if you want to present the mousse in a slightly more ~ elevated manner.
If the chocolate doesn’t melt from the heat of the butter, microwave it in 20 second increments.
Don’t use cooking cream (it won’t whip), don’t use double cream (fat content is too high).
Folding is your friend in this recipe, learn how to fold things not mix things. It stops you from knocking all of the air out of the mousse, which would make it too dense & cakey (you might want that actually, I don’t).