Rosemary Chocolate Mousse Flutes
There are few desserts that will make me as happy as a good chocolate mousse, so you can imagine my delight when I figured out I could make it myself. This recipe has been my rock for over ten years - and it’s so good I’ve felt little need to tweak it over time. It’s a slightly surprising, egg free chocolate mousse, inspired by an Allerhande (the Netherlands’ largest grocer’s free recipe magazine) from way back when in 2006. The rosemary, the tingle of salt - it’s a hit every time.
Ingredients (makes 4):
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
150 mL milk
200g dark chocolate, in small pieces
250 mL whipped cream
100g white castor sugar
1 teaspoon coarse grains of sea salt
pinch of regular table salt
NB: If you're cooking for 2, don't halve the quantities. Just make it all. I promise, you’ll be happy you did.
Instructions:
1. Remove the needles from the rosemary. Place in a pot with milk and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to sit for a while. In the meantime, heat the chocolate au bain marie.
2. When the chocolate is melted, remove it from heat. Remove the rosemary from the milk and re-heat the milk until it is lukewarm. Mix the chocolate into the milk little by little, stirring constantly. Allow the mixture to cool until it starts to thicken. This generally takes some 15 minutes or so. (You can speed this up by placing the bowl in a large basin with icy cold water. If you do this, keep stirring.)
3. Beat the whipped cream with the sugar and a pinch of salt (regular table salt, not course-grained) until it is almost stiff. Note I say almost - you don't want it fully stiff, or it's much harder to mix evenly.
4. In small portions, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture (don't stop - keep adding, and keep the mixture moving until you're done). Spread over four (or more, for smaller portions) champagne flutes. Place in the fridge for an hour to stiffen, covered in foil.
5. When you're ready to eat, remove them from the fridge, take off the foil, sprinkle some coarse sea salt or fleur de sel and serve.
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
150 mL milk
200g dark chocolate, in small pieces
250 mL whipped cream
100g white castor sugar
1 teaspoon coarse grains of sea salt
pinch of regular table salt
NB: If you're cooking for 2, don't halve the quantities. Just make it all. I promise, you’ll be happy you did.
Instructions:
1. Remove the needles from the rosemary. Place in a pot with milk and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to sit for a while. In the meantime, heat the chocolate au bain marie.
2. When the chocolate is melted, remove it from heat. Remove the rosemary from the milk and re-heat the milk until it is lukewarm. Mix the chocolate into the milk little by little, stirring constantly. Allow the mixture to cool until it starts to thicken. This generally takes some 15 minutes or so. (You can speed this up by placing the bowl in a large basin with icy cold water. If you do this, keep stirring.)
3. Beat the whipped cream with the sugar and a pinch of salt (regular table salt, not course-grained) until it is almost stiff. Note I say almost - you don't want it fully stiff, or it's much harder to mix evenly.
4. In small portions, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture (don't stop - keep adding, and keep the mixture moving until you're done). Spread over four (or more, for smaller portions) champagne flutes. Place in the fridge for an hour to stiffen, covered in foil.
5. When you're ready to eat, remove them from the fridge, take off the foil, sprinkle some coarse sea salt or fleur de sel and serve.
