3.10.16
A chocolate kick begins. The next few ideas I have involve chocolate, so buckle up now. But, like a lot of things I’ve made so far, I enjoy throwing a twist into it. Is this a condition, or a sickness? Maybe. So similar to previous recipes, this one couldn’t just be chocolate mousse. That wasn’t enough, so I played around and made chocolate mousse with a kick. I know spicy chocolate isn’t everyone’s game so simply omit the spices and you’ll have a rich and delicious basic chocolate mousse.
I enjoy a little kick to my chocolate, so once this mousse was sampled, I was perfectly content with the oomph that hits you after that first bite.
For the mousse
This recipe was adapted, but heavily adapted, in a way that I changed somethings up in a big way (besides just throwing in some spicy ingredients.) The original recipe doesn’t use eggs whites what so ever, but since I wanted a lighter more fluffy mousse I used egg whites as well as whipped cream. If you prefer a denser mousse, I recommend omitting the egg whites entirely.
I also felt it was unnecessary to melt the chocolate in a separate saucepan. After making ganache a bunch of times, allowing the custard to sit over chocolate to help melt it eliminates a step and saves you from cleaning yet another pot.
There was a lot of careful whisking and paying attention in the recipe, so forgive the lack of step by step pictures.
I couldn’t help but try it before I actually placed it into bowls, it had just the right amount of spicy without being overwhelming. 
There’s no shame in putting some whipped cream on top of these guys, I had chocolate chips laying around so I threw some on. Chocolate shavings, white chocolate shavings, even a pinch of cinnamon sprinkled on top would also do the trick.
Sans the Friday mug cake, prepare for some chocolatey-ness headed your way!
[Side note: my first recipe to Foodgawker was accepted! Which anyone in food blog world knows is a big deal. So search there for my Oatmeal Raisin Skillet Cookie and check it out!!!]
Mexican Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 4 egg yolks
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside
- Heat 3/4 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan until hot, place the remaining cream in the fridge to keep chilled until using
- While cream is heating, in a medium bowl or pot, whisk together yolks, sugar, and half of your salt until smooth
- Once cream is hot, slowly stream into yolk mixture, whisking constantly as to not scramble your eggs, then whisk in vanilla
- If in a bowl, return to saucepan then return to heat, if in a medium saucepan, simply return to heat, until temperature reaches 150-60 degrees, using candy or portable thermometer. Make sure to continue to whisk so your eggs don’t scramble
- Pour heated custard over chopped chocolate, then throw in spices, allow to stand for one minute before mixing with a spatula until smooth and uniform in dark chocolate color. Cool completely
- While chocolate cools, take the remaining whipped cream and in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip until stiff peaks form
- Once whipped, scoop into separate bowl and chill
- Clean out bowl and whisk, then whisk two egg whites until white and frothy, add the rest of your pinch of salt and whisk until firm peaks form and whites are glossy
- Gently fold whipped cream into egg whites until fully combined
- Once chocolate is cooled completely, gently fold in 1/3 of egg white/cream mixture into chocolate, until no white streaks are visible, then continue with another 1/3, then final 1/3, each time not adding the next amount until white has disappeared
- The mousse should be lighter in color and fluffy, cover and chill until ready to serve, or spoon into serving bowls and chill at least 1-2 hours before serving
- If serving in bowls later, allow to stand for 10 minutes at room temperature before attempted to divide into bowls
P.S.
*It’s always helpful to chill your mixing bowl and whisk attachment when making whipped cream or beating egg whites
Adapted from Epicurious
