Mousse au Chocolat

A no-cook dessert with two ingredients? Deep, dark chocolate turned into a fluffy mousse? All in a day’s work.

Tuesday was another not-so-great day. I had a few work-related disappointments, the weather was gloomy, and I was really just having a hard time dealing with the feast or famine nature of consulting work. It’s really hard at times to NOT take things personally when people just don’t respond. I know I will get better at it one day, but Tuesday was not that day.

I rarely turn to chocolate for comfort, but sitting on the couch, moping, I decided I needed to make a dessert. You know, there’s just something about puttering around in the kitchen that is soothing to a heavy heart.

After just a little bit of Googling, trying to find a chocolate mousse that didn’t require cream (because I was too lazy to walk a block to the store to buy it), I found that traditional chocolate mousse doesn’t even require cream!

I eventually decided on the simplest recipe ever, then change it up ever so slightly. Four eggs, separated, and a heaping cup of dark chocolate chips. The original recipe called for a few teaspoons of sugar, but I knew I wouldn’t need it.

I started by creating a makeshift double boiler, a metal bowl in a pot of water, and melting the chips until glossy.

Once the melted chocolate had cooled a bit, I stirred in the egg yolks quickly, making sure they didn’t scramble.

Next up, I whipped up the egg whites, waiting until they made stiff peaks.

I folded the whites into the chocolate and yolk mixture until everything was incorporated and looked chocolatey again. Then I popped the bowl of mousse into the fridge for two hours, and it was ready to go.

I served the mousse in my nana’s dessert dishes. I was disappointed at first in the yield of the recipe which was about four servings. That was until I realized how incredibly rich it is! I ate about half of this bowl and was full and had my chocolate craving satisfied. This is a keeper! Being in the kitchen and moving around also lifted my spirits a little and made me feel hopeful for a new day.

What do you go for when you are craving sweet? What about salty?