two ingredient chocolate mousse.

people, what i’m about to share with you is kind of crazy.

i just made the richest, most luscious chocolate mousse i’ve ever had in my entire life. the depth of flavor is out of control. the flavor is as intense as a chocolate truffle, but with the thick, supple consistency of chocolate mousse.

the kicker? there’s only two ingredients: chocolate and water.

when i first stumbled across this recipe, i thought it was a total hoax. a sham. “there’s absolutely no way in hell this could ever work!” my brain screamed. all the mousse recipes i’d ever made always included eggs and cream.

i was skeptical. but i was completely proven wrong.

dearhearts, this is the most delicious and without a doubt the simplest mousse i’ve ever made. if you do one thing this week in the kitchen, please make this! it will change your effing life.

this recipe is the brainchild of heston blumenthal, the world-renowned three michelin star chef. he’s big into molecular gastronomy, so many of his recipes are quite complex. this mousse is the polar opposite of complex.

the key to ensuring perfection when making this chocolate mousse is accuracy. now’s the time to break out the kitchen scale, and if you don’t have one, i highly suggest you purchase one. it will make your life so much easier. i’ve been doing much of my baking by weight since i began culinary school, and i much prefer baking this way. it just seems to make more sense.

since the only two ingredients in this recipe are water and a high-quality chocolate (at least 70% dark chocolate, the higher percentage, the more complex and nuanced your end result will be), i decided to play around with this a bit. rather than use plain tap water, i used espresso as my liquid.

to date, this is probably the best decision i’ve ever made.

two of my favorite combinations are chocolate and coffee, so the resulting mousse was damn near perfect in my book. next time i make this, i may substitute some coffee liqueur for a portion of the espresso, which will only result in an even more dynamic dessert.

basically what i’m saying is that you have quite a bit of freedom when it comes to making this mousse your own. for instance, you could steep mint leaves or culinary lavender in the water for an hour, strain it, and then make your mousse. talk about delicious!

i will warn you that this mousse isn’t particularly sweet. the second time i made it, i added some sugar and it was a bit less dramatic, but serving it with sweetened whipped cream will also help take the edge off the intensity of the chocolate.

the original recipe also recommends serving this mousse immediately, which i have to disagree with. let it sit a day or two or three in the fridge to firm up and let the flavors meld even more.

there’s not much more i can say about this recipe. it’s perfection, simple as that.

two ingredient chocolate mousse

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

the recipe below yields four servings, but i easily halved it (4.68 ounces of chocolate, 1/2 cup water, and an optional 2 tablespoons of sugar).

Ingredients:

9.35 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into pieces (at least 70%, the higher the percentage the better!)
1 cup water (you can use coffee, or a mix of flavored liqueur with the water, just be sure to subtract the amount of liqueur you use from the total amount of liquid)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional, but recommended)

Directions:

combine the chocolate, water and sugar in a small saucepan. set aside.

place a large mixing bowl on top of a smaller one filled with ice and water (a water bath). set aside.

over medium heat, whisk the ingredients until melted and uniform.

pour melted chocolate mixture into the large mixing bowl set atop the ice bath, and begin whisking continuously using a large whisk. if you have a balloon whisk, now is the time to use it!

whisk the mousse until thickened, taking care not to over-mix. if you overmix, the mousse will take on a grainy consistency.

if your mousse gets grainy, transfer back to the saucepan and reheat the mousse until it is partially melted. transfer mousse back to mixing bowl and whisk again until thickened.

when the mousse is thick, divide into small serving dishes or ramekins.

cover the tops with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. if you can leave it for a day or two, it will be even more delicious!

serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, and a dusting of cocoa powder if you like.

the mousse will keep, stored in the fridge with plastic wrap over top for five days.

adapted from cafe fernando

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