CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - FESTIVE FOOD FAIR

~ Closing date 30th of November 2006 ~

The Canadian foodie blogger Burekaboy of the great "Is That My Buréka?" invited me to participate to the "Festive Food Fair" event hosted and created by Anna of "Morsels And Musings" from Australia...

Anna wants us all to share our special occasion recipes that we prepare during the winter time festivities whether it be Hannukah, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Mahayana, Eid Ul-Adha or any other feast that you might celebrate during that period of the year (for more infos click here).

I decided to blog about a family treat that has always been eaten on various occasions such as Xmas, New Year, birthdays, family gatherings, etc... It is not really a dish that is made on one unique date, but rather many times during the year. Mostly, this dessert is prepared for birthdays. As mine falls exactly on Xmas day (25th of December), it also always ended up being a speciality with a double use!!!

At the origin, this recipe comes from my Swiss (canton Vaud) grandmother and is traditionally called "Délice Au Chocolat" or "Chocolate Delight" in English. It was always a big hit in my family and still is very popular amongst certain of it's members...

In my opinion, this "Chocolate Delight" is the best mousse I have ever eaten, because it is a real sin of gourmandise in itself and it carries it's name perfectly well! It is truffle-like in taste and texture, decadently rich with butter, deliciously chocolatty, voluptuously light and unctuously deadly. This mousse is troubleless to make, yet it's scrumptuous and delicate to please; a real treat for the senses!!!

For 4-6 people.

Ingredients:
500g Bittersweet chocolate
3/4-1 Cup Water
6 Eggs (~50g), at room temperature
4 Tbs Castor sugar
300g Unsalted butter, at room temperature
A pinch salt

Method:
1. Seperate the eggs and put the whites in a medium bowl.
2. Melt the chocolate with the water in big bowl, over a bain-marie/double boiler (see info).
3. Once the chocolate has melted and is well blended with the water, remove from the bain-marie.
4. Add the butter, the egg yolks, the sugar and stir continously for about 20 minutes.
5. Beat the egg whites (see method) with a pinch of salt until solid peaks form.
6. Very gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until well blended.
7. Pour the chocolate mousse into a clean bowl.
8. Place the bowl in the refrigerator, overnight.

Remarks:
You can very well divide the quantities.
Melt the chocolate over low heat and continuously stir the mixture in order to obtain a liquid, yet thick and creamy mass.
For a more exotic touch, you can also add 100g chopped candied ginger or candied orange peel to the mix or add the spices/flavors (coffee, coriander, curry, cinnamon, etc....) of your choice.
The "Chocolate Mousse" should stay in the fridge for about 10 hours before it is served.

~ The castle in Champvent, my grandparents' village. ~

Serving suggestions:
Serve with whipped cream, thick cream or Kirsch (see info).
I recommend you to eat this mousse when it just comes out of the fridge, but if you like it less "hard" and truffly in texture, then get it out about 1/2 hour before serving (the cold butter hardens the mousse)...
Keep for no longer than two days.

(Hershey's Chocolate -Pic by www.duanekeiser.com)
(The Champvent Castle -Pic by Carlos Martos www.trekearth.com)