Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Greg Case's and Keri Fisher's One Cake, One Hundred Desserts. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, click here.
One of the best things about this mousse is that it's very simple, with only a handful of ingredients and a few steps. Yet the mousse is so versatile—not to mention so tasty—you'll soon find yourself whipping some up to fill a graham cracker crust for chocolate mousse pie, or to serve on its own, topped with some fresh raspberries for an elegant dessert. Or you could just eat it right out of the bowl with a soupspoon, as we do.
Be careful when combining the chocolate and the whipped cream. Whipping the cream adds lots of air and volume to it, and overworking it when adding to the chocolate will allow all that air to escape (and then you'll have chocolate sauce, not mousse.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Bring a small pot of water to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Combine the coffee, chocolate and rum, if using, in a medium metal bowl that can sit atop the pot of water without touching the water. Place the bowl on the pot and heat until the chocolate is melted, stirring often. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and set aside to cool until no longer warm to the touch.
Step 2
Whip the cream at high speed to speed to soft peaks, about 1 minutes.
Step 3
Fold half of the cream into the chocolate until combined but not fully incorporated and some streaks remain. Add the remaining cream in two batches, mixing to fully incorporate when the last batch is added.
Step 4
If you want to serve it on its own, you can our it into dessert dishes to set or leave it in the bowl to scoop when you're ready to serve. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours.
