Oh chocolate mousse, how I love thee.

Actually, let me amend that statement. Oh chocolate, how I love thee.

Here’s one truth about me: I love chocolate. It doesn’t matter what it’s in, I love it.

My latest craving is craving chocolate mousse.

I’m always hunting for the best and tastiest chocolate recipe and both Alice and I were happy with the way this one. For this version, I tweaked a Tyler Florence recipe to make a double serving (because if I’d made the full batch, I would have eaten three servings, and I didn’t need that post-eating guilt).

Check out the recipe!

Chocolate Mousse:

• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or chips)
• 1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1.5 large eggs, separated (it’s a little tricky, but not impossible)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/8 cup plus a pinch of sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Whipped cream for garnish

First, melt the chocolate and the butter together — I used the microwave. If you want to be proper and use a double boiler, it’s easy; I just usually don’t have the patience to wait for that. The main advice for all of your microwave users is to make sure not to burn the chocolate. I’ve heard this is easy to do, so just watch closely.

Once the chocolate has cooled some, mix in the egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Be careful not to mix in the yolks too quickly or you’ll get scrambled eggs in chocolate. I tempered my yolks (adding a bit of the chocolate to the yolks to bring them up to temp before adding them to all of the chocolate), but if the chocolate/butter mix is cool enough, you should be fine. As for the salt, it brings out more of the flavor (don’t worry, salt in desserts make the flavors more pronounced and yummy!).

Next, whip together the egg whites and the cream of tarter (cream of tarter will help stabilize the egg whites). This is where you add in the 1/8 cup of sugar. Go to taste with this one. I added less than 1/8 cup, because I thought the recipe would be too sweet with the full amount, but if you like a little sweeter, go with the full 1/8 cup.

It’s now time to whip the heavy cream. This is where you add a pinch of sugar and vanilla. I used a very small pinch of sugar, but like with the egg whites, if you like your mousse a little sweeter, add more. Those black flecks in the picture are from the vanilla — I use vanilla bean paste that has seeds in it (I like the extra flavor they bring to the party).

Finally, it’s time to bring them all together. First, fold in the egg whites and then the whipped cream. Be gentle! Don’t think that you need to get one huge homogenous mix — if you have streaks of white in there, that’s perfectly ok. You don’t want to lose all of the lightness that you beat into the egg whites and cream.

Finally, chill and serve garnished with a little whipped cream!