Maman Blanc's chocolate mousse

By Birgitta

This recipe is best prepared 1 day in advance and left covered in the fridge

Ingredients

• 180 g dark chocolate, at least 66% cocoa solids, finely chopped (Raymond says, "Do use the best quality of chocolate. With 70% cocoa solids you can expect the best chocolate experience!")
• 240 g / 8 egg whites, free-range/organic
• 30 g / 2 tbsp fructose sugar

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from guardian.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

Place the chocolate in a large bowl set over a pan of hot water and leave to melt over a low heat. Turn the heat off when liquid.

In an electric mixer, (not on full power) whisk the egg whites and fructose until they form soft peaks. (By whisking egg whites, you can 'harvest' the air by trapping tiny air bubbles inside a network of protein. However, if you over whisk the egg whites, they will become thick and grainy, lose volume and separate into a dry froth and a runny liquid.)

Whisk in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the mixture and immediately fold in the remaining egg white with a large spatula. Do not over mix at this stage as you will knock all the tiny bubbles of air out and be left with a dense mousse.

Pour into a glass bowl or individual glasses and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours or until required.

Watch Raymond Blanc make his mousse: observer.co.uk/foodblog