Chocolate Mousse using Olive Oil!

[Chopstix]

Thought I'd share this recipe from “What Einstein Told His Cook”. It's by Chef Teresa Barrenechea who offers this silky mousse at her Manhattan resto, Marichu. According to her, the chocolate flavor is intense, but inspite of the generous amount of EVOO, its flavor is subtle.

She's right. I've made this and friends loved it. And like me, they loved that it was made with EVOO. (Told them afterwards). If you didn't know about the EVOO, you couldn't tell except maybe if you're a gourmand and even then you might just wonder about that hint of a familiar flavor you can't put your finger on...

(And no, the mousse will not collapse under the raspberries. And no, it does not taste oily.) :)


Chocolate Velvet Mousse

Ingredients:

6 ounces Very good semi-sweet dark chocolate (Lindt, etc)
3 eggs Large, separated
2/3 cups Confectioner’s sugar, sifted after measuring
¼ cup double strength coffee at room temperature
OR 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 Tbsp Chambord or Cointreau
¾ cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Raspberries

Process:

1. Melt chocolate in small bowl in double boiler. Let cool.
2. In medium bowl in double boiler, beat egg yolks to sterilize but not scald. Remove from heat, beat sugar until smooth with electric mixer. Beat in coffee and Chambord just to combine. Stir in cooled melted chocolate. Add olive oil and mix well.
3. Wash beaters thoroughly to be completely free of oil. In another medium bowl, beat egg-whites until almost stiff. With a whisk, gently fold 1/3 of the eggwhites into chocolate mixture until all patches of white disappear. Fold in remaining eggwhites. 1/3 at a time, until all patches of white are gone. Do not overmix.
4. Transfer mousse into individual dessert dishes, cover and refrigerate until well-chilled. Serve cold with raspberries.

Makes six servings

[marmalady]

Wow! I'd heard of this somewhere, but never seen a recipe for it! Did you use a mild flavored oil?

[Chopstix]

Hi Marmalady! I just used regular EVOO that was on hand. But I guess the milder the flavor of your oil, the better the taste of the chocolate will be. This is one dessert I have without feeling guilt :)

[Audeo]

Wow! This recipe is certainly an eye-opener!

A big thanks, chopstix! I'm going to try this!!!

The things I continue to learn on this site astoud me sometimes!!!