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Mousse scares people. It’s one of those texture-forward desserts of yester-year that gets made fun of because it’s misunderstood. I don’t know why people still balk at this perfectly retro dessert, but I’m here to change that. This recipe may be my best kept secret: the recipe for Grandma's chocolate mousse. It’s easy, it takes an hour to prep, and it’s the perfect dessert for parties.
This mousse is so heavenly that my dad and brother ask for it instead of birthday cake. It's transformed mousse haters into mousse lovers, and it's been eaten without shame for breakfast. As I've mentioned before, I carry the recipe card around in my wallet everywhere I go, both for mousse emergencies and for bragging rights. At parties, I transform it into cups of mousse that I can pull out of the fridge, fully garnished, right as people start craving something sweet. It’s decadent, chic, and oh-so-kitsch. There’s nothing not to love.
Tips
To make any mousse, you need the perfect balance of lighter-than-air texture and rich decadent flavors. The air comes from the whipped egg whites, which need to be gently folded into the mixture to maintain texture. The thickener is the gelatin that you bloom in the lightly warmed milk. If you want to make this a vegetarian mousse, you need to use pectin instead — it's not made from animal products.
Opt for the good quality chocolate here. My family used semi-sweet and milk chocolate with delicious results, but since then I’ve started opting for dark chocolate. All are great, but whatever chocolate you choose, opt for the expensive stuff.
I think the perfect consistency for mousse is scoop-able but still jiggly. Unfortunately, we have yet to come up with a word for that. I look for a texture that, when chilled, is pipe-able like icing but can hold the weight of the whipped cream on top. Of course, you do not need to pipe this into individual servings. You can easily serve it in one large bowl with dollops of whipped cream on top.
Oreo Chocolate Mousse
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