2- Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

This recipe is inspired by All About Home Economics by Deirdre Madden, which has been my faithful companion since my first year in secondary school, so that would make it erm (counts on fingers)....25 years old...oh that's a shock....I need to sit down.... no wonder my copy is in tatters!
When my mother went to buy a copy of this text book, she couldn't buy it second-hand (yes we had hand-me-down school books, very pre-boom times). Everyone kept their copies, it was such a brilliant comprehensive text book packed with recipes, sewing basics, how iron a shirt, basic nutrition and everything in between. As it happens this text book has been reprinted in the last few years and is available to buy again, nothing like a little nostalgia and a good cause.

This rich mousse has only two ingredients, eggs and chocolate, nothing else! I've been making this dessert for years now and it is just divine, smooth and velvety, it also had the added benefit of being suitable for the chocolate of your choice, I prefer dark (55% minimum cocoa solids) but it's ideal with milk chocolate too.

Serves 4 (4 x 130ml glass pots or espresso cups)

Ingredient
3 Large or 4 Medium very fresh eggs
100g Chocolate, broken into pieces (I used 55% minimum cocoa solids)

Method
A sure fire way to separate an egg is to crack it onto a saucer, place a shot glass over the yolk and tip the egg white into a spotlessly clean medium sized bowl for whisking.

Place chocolate into a small heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water, don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the simmering water and allow to melt slowly. Alternatively melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stir after each interval.

Carefully separate eggs. Stir egg yolks into the melted chocolate, until smooth and slightly thickened. Set aside.

Whisk the egg whites using an electric hand whisk (or by hand) until they hold their own peak.

Add a small amount of the whisked egg whites to the chocolate and egg mixture first, stir in to loosen the chocolate slightly before adding all the chocolate mixture into the egg whites.

Fold in the chocolate into the egg whites with a spatula, stir in a way that limits knocking out those precious air bubbles but still combines the two ingredients. 

Spoon the mousse into your pots of espresso cups and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Recipe inspired by All About Home Economics by Deirdre Madden