- 400 grams 85% dark chocolate (we love Valrhona)
- 1 cup excellent, fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 10 cold eggs, separated into two large bowls
- 50 grams honey for yolks; 90 grams honey for whites
- Olive oil and sea salt for garnish
- Tangy yogurt for garnish (optional)
Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Mousse
Makes about 15 ½-cup servings, or enough for 1 tart shell
True story: This mousse once made a woman cry. She’d avoided the delicacy for years due to a dairy allergy (mousse is typically made with heavy cream). Ours was the first bite she’d tasted in who knows how long. Talk about a victory! We always knew this was a special recipe — rich with olive oil, and almost closer to a ganache than a mousse — but we felt extra-glorious serving it that day.
Chocolate mousse is always a showstopper, and one of the easiest party tricks in the book. It works individually portioned in glasses; dolloped on saucers; or served in tart-form atop a nut, date and coconut crust. We suggest making a vat for yourself and scooping it at leisure. Just don’t be alarmed if you burst into tears mid-bite.
You’ll want to whip out the scale for this one, if possible (the measurements are in grams). As usual, use happy eggs, as you’ll be eating them raw.
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Instructions
Gently melt the chocolate in a small saucepan, bain-marie or microwave. Whisk in the olive oil.
Beat the egg yolks and 50 grams of honey until pale yellow, frothy and increased in volume. Clean your beaters well, then beat the egg whites until frothy. Pause and pour the 90 grams of honey into a small saucepan set over medium heat. Continue beating the whites. When the honey starts to bubble, slowly stream it into the egg whites, beating all the while, until you see soft peaks (feel free to test with a fingertip; it should resemble one of the seven dwarves’ hats — droopy). If you over-beat the whites, your mousse will be firmer, but still delicious — we’ve done this too many times to count. It always comes out differently, so don’t stress it.
Give the yolks a little stir to make sure they haven’t separated, then gently fold them into the chocolate-olive oil mixture until few yellow traces remain. Then carefully fold in the whites, bit by bit, until all you see is chocolate. Pour (or scoop, if you went crazy with the beaters) the mousse into ramekins/cups/giant serving bowl and let it set in the fridge overnight. Lick the bowl, beaters, spatula and spoon.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt and a dollop of something creamy or fruity. It happens to be crazy good with leftover syrup from roasting berries.
