Dark chocolate mousse with Baileys & mascarpone cream

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By Yotam Ottolenghi

  • 6

Ingredients

  • For the Baileys cream:
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 300 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 500 ml whipping cream
  • Cocoa powder, to finish (optional)
  • 200 g mascarpone cheese
  • 75 ml Baileys
  • 30 g caster sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until light and airy - the longer you whisk, the better, so give it at least eight to 10 minutes. (You could do it by hand, but that would be a big effort.)

While the eggs are whisking, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon until they melt completely.

With the mixer running on medium speed, add the chocolate mix to the egg mix in a steady stream - it is important to combine the two gradually but continuously, with the chocolate going into the eggs and not the other way around.

Whisk the cream until it firms up just a little - it needs to reach a loose ribbon stage (when you lift the whisk, the cream dribbling off should create clear lines in the surface before disappearing). Gently fold the semi-whipped cream into the egg and chocolate mix, and pour into a serving bowl. Chill for at least an hour to set.

Make the Baileys cream in advance, or just before serving. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk. The cheese will go loose and runny, but it should firm up again. Stop when it reaches a very soft peak consistency.

Serve the mousse directly from the bowl with a huge dollop of Baileys cream on top. Dust with cocoa powder, if you like.