Dark Chocolate Mousse Cups
A dense, silky no-cook chocolate mousse made with just dark chocolate, eggs, sugar and cream. Rich and spoonable, with a pinch of salt to sharpen the chocolate.
- Total
- 140 min
- Prep 20 · Rest 120
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Folding · Whisking
- Sweet
- No rush
- No cook
Instructions
-
Break the dark chocolate into small pieces into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a larger bowl of hot tap water and stir until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth.
~6 min
Gentle indirect heat melts chocolate without scorching, since chocolate burns easily above 120F/50C.
-
Separate the egg: put the yolk in one small bowl and the white in another. Whisk the yolk and 1 tbsp sugar into the warm melted chocolate until glossy.
~4 min
The warm chocolate and sugar help the yolk disperse smoothly, while cooling slightly prevents the yolk from scrambling.
Let the melted chocolate cool for a minute before adding the egg yolk, so the yolk thickens the base without scrambling.
-
Whisk the egg white with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt until it holds soft peaks, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Whipping incorporates air into the egg white, and soft peaks add lightness without drying out the mousse.
Whisking Whisk steadily and watch for soft peaks that curl over when the whisk is lifted. Stop there; overwhisking egg white turns it dry and lumpy, and cream can turn grainy.
-
Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until it just holds soft peaks, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Chilling the bowl and cream helps fat globules trap air, giving stable soft peaks instead of grainy overwhipped cream.
Whisking Whisk steadily and watch for soft peaks that curl over when the whisk is lifted. Stop there; overwhisking egg white turns it dry and lumpy, and cream can turn grainy.
-
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the egg white in two additions until no streaks remain. Spoon into a serving glass and smooth the top.
~4 min
Folding preserves the air bubbles in the cream and egg white, which is what makes the mousse light rather than dense.
Fold gently with a spatula in a figure-eight motion: vigorous stirring knocks out the air from the whipped cream and egg white and makes the mousse heavy.
Folding Use a spatula in a figure-eight motion, turning the bowl as you go, until just combined. Stop as soon as streaks disappear; overmixing deflates the air and makes the mousse heavy.
-
Chill the mousse in the fridge until set and cold, at least 2 hours.
~120 min
Cold firms the chocolate and sets the whipped structure so the mousse becomes spoonable rather than runny.