What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Enjoy summer throughout the year by preserving a pinch of it in your salt.
Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse
The springs creak, the rug's pounded, the metronome sings, and the bike tire is pumped. All to a delicious symphony, one of my very favorite French memories from Caro + Jeunet's masterpiece Delicatessen. I turned it on tonight when musing about this chocolate mousse, because my first chocolate mousse was made after seeing another seminal French movie, albeit a very different one, Jean de Florette.
I was in high school, full of the romance of pastoral French society of old when my French Club met at our teacher's house for lessons in chocolate mousse and crepes. In fact, the recipe isn't unlike the one I used for this Earl Grey variation, because I can recall folding in both egg whites and whipped cream, as well as the raw egg component. But that's where the similarities end.
As I was first introduced to French culture via a pretty typical high school curriculum, with pastoral French movie nights serving as extra credit, likewise my first mousses were fairly true to their origins. Since then, I've fallen for the zaniness of films like Delicatessen, the intensity and action of Luc Besson, and the dry beauty of Alphaville. Like my taste in French movies, my mousse grew up too.
I had the idea for this Earl Grey chocolate mousse when visiting my friend Sue at the Perennial Tea Room. She delighted me with this extra-strong Bergamot flavored Earl Grey, and I knew it would be perfect with chocolate. Not exactly what my first French teacher would have expected, but then again, I don't think I turned out as she expected either.
Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse
6 oz chocolate (I used 100% Criollo from Kona, HI)
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
1 c heavy cream
2 T Earl Grey tea leaves
3 eggs, separated
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool.
- In a small saucepan, scald the cream and then add the tea, continuing to cook for at least another minute. Take it off the heat and set it aside to steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain the tea leaves from the cream and refrigerate it until cool.
- Returning to the chocolate mixture, add the yolks and stir well. Set aside.
- In yet another bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then gently add the sugar to the whites. Continue to whip until the whites have firmed up.
- Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Finally, combine the vanilla with the now-chilled flavored heavy cream. Use a stick blender or food processor to thicken without adding excessive volume, or use a hand blender to whip it to soft peaks.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and spoon into glasses. Chill until firm.
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Brilliant!
Brilliant combo! I can almost taste it. I've been experimenting with adding Earl Grey to various things--most recently peach jam.