Chocolate Moose

After my success with the Charlotte Russe with Raspberries dessert, I decided to try making a more traditional chocolate mousse.  I looked in several of my cookbooks until I found a very easy recipe in my Mark Bittman cookbook: How to Cook Everything.

And no, I didn’t make a mistake in the spelling of the title.  When I think of chocolate mousse, I think of one of my favorite shows from the late 1970’s: The Muppet Show, and my favorite character the Swedish Chef who makes chocolate moose.



As it is very difficult to find a moose in our local stores, I decided to go with the mousse.  This recipe uses six simple ingredients including four ounces of your favorite chocolate chips.

I made a double boiler with a large saucepan containing about an inch of water with a metal bowl on top and put the chocolate chips and the butter in the bowl to melt.  While the chocolate warmed, I got out two small mixing bowls and split the 1 /4 cup of sugar between the bowls.  I separated three eggs, put the whites in one of the mixing bowl, and reserved the yolks to mix with the melted chocolate.  Into the second mixing bowl, I added the 1 /2 cup of whipping cream and the vanilla extract.

The chocolate and butter melted, so I removed it from the stove, dried the bottom of the bowl, added the three egg yolks, and whisked until the mixture was smooth.  I covered the metal bowl and placed it in the refrigerator to cool while I whipped the other ingredients.

In the first bowl with the sugar and egg whites, I used our hand wand with the whisk adapter to whip the eggs until they formed firm peaks.  (I am getting better with practice to figure out what the difference between firm and soft peaks.)  I whipped the bowl with the whipping cream until it formed soft peaks.

Removing the bowl of chocolate from the refrigerator, I added a spatula full of the egg mixture and folded the two together to lighten the chocolate.  One the first spatula was integrated; I added the remainder of the egg white mixture and folded it into the chocolate.

The next step was to add the whipped cream and fold that into the chocolate.  I transferred the mousse into a bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

I tried a few spoonfuls of the chilled mousse and it had a very velvety and creamy texture.  It has a nice milk chocolate taste and I would like to sit and eat the entire bowl.  Though I think the next time I make it, I will find some pasteurized eggs, as this recipe does contain raw eggs.

This was very easy to make, and it is the kind of dessert that could easily be made on very short notice for guests.  Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go back to the internet and find some more Swedish Chef video clips.

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell