"Basque" Chocolate Mousse

Yield: 6 servings

• 200 g dark chocolate; 60% min
• 75 mls black coffee
• 15 g unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs; separated
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon rum

Break the chocolate into squares and put it with the coffee in a small saucepan. Warm very gently - this is most easily done by putting the saucepan inside another saucepan with hot water from the tap put on lowest possible heat on the hob. Cover and leave while getting everything else ready.

Separate the eggs, reserving the yolks in their shells, and putting the white in a large bowl. Add a pinch each of cream of tarter and salt to the whites.

Get the ramekin dishes (this mousse is best done in individual portions) out. Measure out the butter, clear space in the freezer.

By this time, the chocolate should be well softened. Stir with a small wooden spoon until creamy and lump free. Remove from heat. Thorougly stir in the butter, and then, one by one, the egg yolks. Finally, add the rum, and put aside until the whites are beaten, the cream shouldn't be allowed to get completed cold and set.

In the large bowl, beat the egg whites with a large balloon whisk to the soft peak. Scoop out a dollop of white with the whisk, and stir it well into the chocolate. We sacrifice the air in this to make the chocolate mix faster and better with the rest. Now pour the chocolate over the egg white and quickly and briefly cut and fold them together. Don't overdo it, it's better to leave some white unincorporated than to cut all the air out.

Tip into individual ramekins or serving glasses, clean up and immediately put in the freezer for half an hour to get the mousse to set as quickly as possible without separating. If being made well in advance, cover first and leave in the freezer till 12 hours before required. Otherwise, remove from the freezer after the half an hour, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge a minimum of 6 hours, or overnight. This mousse keeps up to a week in the fridge when covered with cling film. Serve 'as is' or with a spoonful of rum or cream over.

Recipe IMH

Mousse Au Chocolat "Basque"

Pour: 6 convives

• 150 g chocolat
• 2 c.à.s. café noir, fort
• 15 g beurre doux
• 3 gros oeufs
• 1 pincée sel
• 1 pincée crème de tartre
• 1 c.à.s. rhum

Mettre le café dans une petite casserole sur feu très doux. Casser le chocolat en carrés, et les ajouter au café. Ne pas trop remuer mais laisser le tout fondre ensemble.

Pendant ce temps, séparer les oeufs, garder les jaunes dans leur coquille, et mettre les blancs dans un très grand saladier avec le sel et la crème de tartre (acide tartrique). Une fois le chocolat fondu (NE PAS TROP CHAUFFER), remuer assez pour le lisser, ajouter le beurre, l'incorporer, ajouter les jaunes un par un, en les incorporant avec une cuillère en bois. Ajouter le rhum.

Avec un grand fouet ballon, battre les blancs doucement au début, plus énergiquement quand ils commencent à monter en neige, sans les laisser devenir granuleux. La neige doit rester juste souple quand on sort le fouet. Ajouter le mélange de chocolat et l'incorporer TRES délicatement avec une grande cuillère métallique.

Mettre dans de petits ramequins, et les mettre au congélateur 30 minutes afin de solidifier la mousse aussi rapidement que possible. Enlever, couvrir et laisser au moins 3 heures au frigo avant de servir.

C'est encore meilleur si c'est fait 24 heures à l'avance ; elle se conserve assez bien au frigo ou au congélateur.

Recette IMH