This week I’m still exploring romantic desserts. I don’t even know why. I keep this list by my writing table and I run to it when I think of another dessert that reminds me of Valentine’s Day. The list is getting weird now. Cherry cake is inexplicably on it. Also on the list is chocolate mousse - my favorite dessert of all time.
I have a huge problem with mousse - the uncooked egg. For my entire life, I’ve had a thing (putting it gently) about getting sick to my stomach. It’s not just unpleasant, the mere idea gives me actual panic attacks. In my rational moments I understand that getting sick to your stomach isn’t (probably) going to kill you, but I’m still not taking any chances. For years I didn’t eat meat. I wouldn’t eat with my hands. Definitely no seafood, and for sure no sushi. Sadly, it also meant no desserts with uncooked eggs, like meringues, mousses, and tiramisu (HEARTBREAK).
Over the years I learned that none of it will kill me, but it’s made me a germaphobe and a control freak. When I cook chicken, I check the temperature from a million angles at a million depths until I’m satisfied. Then I’ll sit down to eat and only have the small, unproblematic bits.
It’s the same with egg. I’ll eat an over easy egg, but sunny side up still gives me the heebie jeebies (might also be a texture thing, it’s like snot). Mousse has both components of egg, usually raw, in it. There’s yolk in the chocolate mixture and the whites are beaten and folded in for aeration. You can bain marie the yolks and do another for the whites, but at the end of the day it’s all the whisks and thermometers and bowls you own piled in the sink.
THAT is why I’m especially thrilled for the no-egg mousses. There are a lot of methods, now that we’re in the height of vegan and dairy-free experimentation. Most will replace the egg white with heavy cream whipped to soft peaks and folded into the chocolate mixture. I’ve seen vegan mousses that use aquafaba or avocado (just don’t). Alton Brown has one that uses unflavored gelatin.
This one, though, I found a few years ago in Epicurious. It hits all the high notes for me - chocolate mousse, seasonal chestnut, and liquor. No bain maries, no raw eggs, no Xanax needed.
I made this recipe a few years ago, in the run-up to Christmas. The first time I made it was perfection. Every SINGLE time since then has been a bit grainy. Maybe I’m not simmering the chestnuts for long enough (requisite patience not my strong suit) or maybe I’m not blending them thoroughly enough. The truth is, it doesn’t really matter. If you use the right dark chocolate, the flavor is warm and homey. I think the recipe calls for brandy, but I’ve used bourbon, dark rum, and single malt scotch. A nice, peaty scotch gives all the right earthy flavor to the chestnuts and dark chocolate.
And, yeah. It’s a big grainy. But for that flavor, the peace of mind, and a relatively empty sink in the prep, it’s definitely the right option for me.