Champagne Chocolate Mousse
- Sweet
- No cook
A dense, silky dark chocolate mousse lightened with softly whipped cream and a splash of champagne. Make it ahead for New Year's Eve and finish with fresh raspberries.
- Total
- 4 h 25
- Prep 25 · Rest 240
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Whisking · Folding
Instructions
-
Chop the dark chocolate into small even pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in a larger bowl of hot tap water and stir until the dark chocolate is fully melted and smooth.
~6 min
Gentle water-bath heat melts chocolate evenly without scorching, which would make it seize and turn grainy.
-
Lift the bowl out of the hot water and whisk in the champagne and the pinch of salt. The mixture will look grainy at first; keep whisking until it is glossy and slightly thickened, then let it cool for 5 minutes.
~5 min
Whisking emulsifies the champagne into the fat so the mixture turns glossy instead of splitting; cooling prevents the cream from melting when folded in.
If the melted chocolate seizes when the champagne goes in, whisk in 1 tbsp of the champagne at a time until it turns glossy again.
Whisking Whisk steadily and watch for the trail to hold for a second; stop at soft peaks, since overwhipped cream turns grainy and stiff.
-
Pour 300 ml of the cream into a large bowl with the sugar and whip to soft peaks, until the whisk leaves a trail that holds for a second. Stop there, since overwhipped cream turns grainy.
~6 min
Soft peaks still hold air that lightens the mousse; overwhipping breaks the fat structure and gives a grainy, stiff texture.
Whisking Whisk steadily and watch for the trail to hold for a second; stop at soft peaks, since overwhipped cream turns grainy and stiff.
-
Fold a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate with a spatula to loosen it, then fold in the rest in two additions, stopping as soon as no streaks of cream remain.
~4 min
Loosening the dense chocolate first lets the remaining cream blend in without deflating the air you just whipped in.
Fold the cream gently and stop early: the mousse sets dense and rich, and aggressive stirring knocks out the air that makes it silky.
Folding Use a spatula to cut down and lift the mixture over itself, turning the bowl, and stop as soon as no streaks remain so you keep the air.
-
Spoon the mousse into 4 serving glasses, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours, until set firm enough to hold a spoon upright.
~240 min
Chilling lets the chocolate set and the mousse firm up so it holds its shape on the spoon.
-
Whip the remaining 100 ml cream to soft peaks. Top each mousse with a spoonful and scatter over the raspberries just before serving.
~2 min
