I’ve told you about the best part of working from home, but I realized I haven’t mentioned some of the not-so-delightful sides.
First of all, according to your friends, you no longer have a “job”. What they call a job requires an office – preferably, one with stale coffee and decade-old carpeting. So, when they call you in the middle of the day and invite you out to lunch, grab a coffee or go lamp shopping for their new house, don’t expect them to take your “I am busy!” response too seriously.
Besides, what work? After all, you are only baking a cake and taking its pictures.
When I told you about my recent career change, you expected my posts to be more frequent, didn’t you? Well, so did I!
And not to worry; I still have the same intention. As much as I’d like to update my blog more frequently, something always gets in the way (like this book for instance). But I have to admit, my friends are not the only ones to blame.
Maybe, after working day and night all those years (sometimes even without vacation days), I’ve gotten used to the comfort of my home and became a bit, ummm, you know, lazy… Maybe, I have been spending way too much time on eBay for antique bakeware. I might have even woken up at 6:40 AM this morning and watched an awesome linen napkin set slip away and crawled back to bed.
Or maybe, just maybe, I’ve developed this obsession to watch all the TV shows in the world (go Glee!) the moment they air in the US. Maybe.
But if there is one thing I am absolutely sure of, it is this: Chocolate mousse must have been invented by the smartest, kindest and most charitable person in the world. He/she certainly deserves some kind of a humanitarian award for finding an answer to this very important question: “How can I eat massive amounts of chocolate AND never get tired of it?”
A chocolate mousse recipe is all about gradually lightening the melted bittersweet chocolate. The egg yolks provide a silky texture and additions of egg whites and heavy cream give the mousse body and lighten the taste.
Some recipes use just egg whites, others use both egg whites and heavy cream. I have tried every possible combination and came to the conclusion that using both gives you a more balanced mousse without sacrificing the rich chocolate taste.
I think this recipe will also be appreciated by those who are worried about using raw eggs, as it is pretty common in mousse recipes. Adding scalded milk to the egg yolks and heating the egg whites on a double boiler takes care of that issue.
One last thing before I go: In order to achieve that “light as a feather” texture, pay attention to how you incorporate the egg whites and whipped cream. The melted chocolate combined with the yolks is much denser than whipped cream and egg whites. Adding them all at once will make it very difficult for you to incorporate them without deflating the air bubbles trapped inside. So, first add only one third of each to the chocolate mixture, which will lighten it, and then fold in the rest gently.
Chocolate mousse. Light as a feather.
Bon Appetite!
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE RECIPE
Ingredients
6 servings
- 8 ounces bittersweet (70% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) whole milk
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten with a fork
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup heavy cream, cold
Method
- Place a medium-sized mixing bowl and a wire whisk in the freezer and let chill (this will help you whisk the cream more easily).
- Melt the chocolate on a double-boiler, take off heat and let stand.
- In a small saucepan, bring milk and sugar to the boil and take off heat. While whisking the yolks constantly, slowly drizzle the hot milk in and continue whisking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Important: You need to add the hot milk in small amounts at first; otherwise the egg yolks will cook too quickly and the mixture will curdle. Once you’ve added half of the milk this way, the temperature of the egg yolks will rise enough to allow the rest of the milk to be added at once.
- Add melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
- In another mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water, place the egg whites and whisk until hot-to-the-touch. Add the salt and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the rest gently with a spatula.
- Place the heavy cream in the chilled mixing bowl and whip with the chilled whisk until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the rest gently with a spatula.
- Divide the mousse into 6 individual serving dishes (1/3 cup each), cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Serve cold. Additional whipped cream and/or summer berries won’t hurt. Will keep fresh in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Look’s divine!
Oh how I loves me some chocolate mousse. And such a perfect summertime dessert! Thanks for the inspiration.
I loved this post. As someone who just this month started working from home (and who never gets tired of chocolate), I related to it in every way.
Ahhh I totally empathize. I thought I was going to have more time after I stopped having classes for the summer. But apparently work requires more of an investment than school does. Who knew?
This mousse looks fantastic though. Light, airy, chocolaty heaven.
That looks sinful…I must try it. LOL
I do agree wiyh you from the very first word to the last one you’ve writen. Fabulous mousse. I’m drooling on my laptop
This mousse looks amazing! Great photos.
You’re so lucky to work from home. I would love to have that. I’m going to work hard to reach that goal, too.
Brilliant. I come into the category of those concerned about using raw eggs. Apparently the eggs here in Spain are some of the worst for salmonela so I always steer clear of recipes that require them & have been looking for a light chocolate mousse for ages.
Will be trying this recipe very soon, thanks.
OMG. I looks amaaazing! Can´t wait to try this recipe ;D
Once again ..amazing! I also scour EBAY for antique/ unusual bake ware..I hope you will do a post showing us your goods! Ummmm…. and I mean your bake ware, of course!
Looks lovely, and doesn’t sound too sweet! That is always a good thing in a mousse I find. Wonderful job – I’ll have to try this one!
I love your blog! just recently found it and i can’t wait to try some of your recipes.
🙂
n
I get the same thing from my friends about my working from home – and I have the same motivation issues to do the work but I wouldn’t give it up for ‘stale coffee and decade-old carpeting’ for a million… well, maybe for a million! Chocolate mousse is a favorite dessert. Yours looks spectacular.
Looks delicious !
I like Chocolate Mousse .
Thnx alot.
Looks delicious 🙂
Congratulations on your choice to become a full-time blogger. It sounds like you’re having fun!
Yummy, yummy, I used to eat loads of chocolate mousse when I was a kid. Though I love it, I’ve never tried making it at home…thanks for a great tip! The mousse looks DIVINE! 🙂
Cenk, your timing is impeccable.I’ve been looking for a chocolate mousse recipe for some time but every one I find either has too many eggs or too much butter, and I don’t have your patience to try each one of them. Yours looks perfect.
Oh, and congratulations on the book, nothing like a deadline to keep you disciplined! 😉
Definitely adding this to my “to do” list. I’ve always meant to try making mousse but have never got around to it.
Fab looking mousse, Cenk! And many many congratulations on the cookbook! I can’t wait for you tk make an English version of it.
The way you describe it, I don’t even need photos to imagine how good this would be.
The mousse looks awesome! And I can totally relate to the downside (and of course, the upside) of working from home and you’re absolutely right–“busy” at home somehow gets interpreted as “so then you’re ‘flexible’, right?”
Can’t wait to try the mousse!
How I can relate! There are many benefits to working at home, but also some serious obstacles. This chocolate mousse recipe had me drooling though! Such a wonderful summer dessert. Thank you for the helpful tips too…
I was really wondering when exactly you were going to come up with that recipe. Summer desert? Liars!!! this one is for EVERY day in the year. Thank you Cenk
Let me tell you, I made this Mousse and it was GoooooooOOOD!! I recommend to all…
Yum! I love chocolate mousse.
Really nicely presented, it looks like a work of art!
lovely!!
And they say brown foods don’t photograph well. Hmph! I about licked my screen. 🙂 Yum.
So yummy! I loved your photos!
Merhaba Cenk,
Bu tarifi Türkçe kısmına da koyabilirsen çok sevinicem,çok lezzetli görünüyor..
Ayşe – Türkçe tarif burada.
This looks absolutely delicious. Someone please make me some right this second. Thanks.
I would like 5 of these to to please, they look amazing 😉
Impressed my guests with this recipe, will be coming back for more 🙂 Aferin for the photo too!
Working from home is never as glamorous or fun as pictured in the media. Or in the mind’s eye of the average cubicle drone.
Distraction is the word of the day when you work from home, and you’re right — no one respects that you’re working & are busy. The two downsides I’ve discovered is that your workdays can get too long if you’re not careful, and that your social network will suffer if you don’t take the time and effort.
Where did you get the plate and the spoon?
Jordan – I got the plate from a shop (Paşabahçe) and the spoon from a street vendor, both in Istanbul.
Just discovered you thru StumbleUpon! I’m so glad I did. Love your writing style, photos and recipes! 🙂
I tried this recipe and loved it. Fantastic and delicious!
chocolate mousse- i love you. so do my sons.
From a total baking novis… could you replace the dark chocolate to white and still use the same recipe, still get the same (although opposite) feathery result and, you know, still want more when finished?
Alma – You can not expect the same result if you replace bittersweet chocolate (which has 70 percent cocoa solids) with white chocolate (which is all cocoa butter and sugar – no cocoa solids). You would have to make drastic changes to the recipe.
I tired this yesterday. Absolutely terrible, it was way too bitter and i couldnt get it down.
Mixed it with whipping cream and milk and sugar, and the taste eventually became bearable, but still a huge dissapointment.
What did i do wrong? Is it just that the chocolate was too bitter, or does anyone else have similar experiences?
John – I don’t think you did anything wrong. I’m not sure what you expected, but this is what you get with only bittersweet (%70 cocoa) chocolate, a bit of sugar and water.