Serves four to six
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
GET READY: Fill a large bowl about halfway with ice and water. Have ready a small metal bowl that fits inside the large bowl. Set aside. (You’ll use this to rapidly chill the mousse while whipping.)
Place chopped chocolate, water, and sugar in a microwave-safe glass bowl (Pyrex is good). Microwave until chocolate is melted. Add vanilla extract.
Pour melted chocolate mixture into prepared small metal bowl. Place the metal bowl in the prepared ice bath. (Make sure not to let any stray ice water get into the bowl!) Whisk chocolate mixture by hand until mousse reaches desired thickness, about two minutes.
Spoon into serving dishes and enjoy!
Notes from Hayden
The success of this mousse is all about the quality of the chocolate you use, so choose a good one! Any brand that’s around 70% cocoa solids should be delicious.
This recipe might seem complicated, but it’s really not! It’s basically whipping melted chocolate while swiftly cooling it, which makes it fluffy and delicious. The mousse reaches the desired consistency as if by magic, with only a little whisking.
It seems counterintuitive in a world filled with creamy desserts, but dairy products actually dull the flavor of chocolate. Without milk fat getting in the way, this mousse is super chocolaty. Try it!
About the Book
Hayden Mundy Moore is an expert on everything chocolate, helping clients develop new products and revamp recipes until they’re irresistible. But sometimes, a dash of murder finds its way into the mix. . .
Hayden Mundy Moore has bushwhacked through African jungles and haggled in exotic markets to find the finest cacao beans and the most flavorful blends. It’s thrilling work but rarely dangerous–until a colleague turns up dead at the exclusive chocolate-themed Lemaître resort spa in San Francisco.
Adrienne Dowling’s heart attack is blamed on an accidental overdose of the secret ingredient used in Lemaître Chocolates’ new line. Hayden can’t believe that conscientious Adrienne would make that mistake. And between chocolate body scrubs, cocoa mud baths, and a non-stop frenzy of chocolate-based treats, Hayden starts to suspect that she, not Adrienne, was the intended target. Finding a killer among the rival chocolatiers and potential suspects won’t just be satisfying–it might save her life. . .
About the Author
Colette London is the pseudonym of a best-selling novelist who’s published more than three dozen books worldwide. Her Chocolate Whisperer series kicked off with Criminal Confections and Dangerously Dark and continues with The Semisweet Hereafter in October 2016, all from Kensington Books.
Visit Colette on the web at www.colettelondon.com
Friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/colette.london.books
And follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Colette__London.