With Genius Recipes correspondent Kristen off for a few months trying to raise a genius newborn, we're revisiting the column's Greatest Hits with brand-new videos—and hearing from a few special surprise guests. Wish her luck! (And keep sending those tips.)
This week, a completely forgiving, undemanding, and lovable chocolate mousse.
He also invented the study of (and the very phrase) molecular gastronomy. But his book of the same namedoesn't read like a science manual and, as far as I know, nothing gets spherified.
The book instead is about simple, scientific surprises and improvements in home cooking. He explains everything from getting crisp skin on a roast chicken (don't baste with the juices) to whether gnocchi are truly done when they bob to the surface (not necessarily).
... And how to make a flawless, creamy chocolate mousse out of just chocolate and water. Oh yes he did.
It's just like whipping cream: Heavy cream (itself an emulsion of milk fats and water) froths up readily when whisked in a chilled bowl, right? So all you have to do is aim for a ratio of water to fat (cocoa butter here) that mimics that of whipping cream. (And what of emulsifiers, you ask? The lethicin in chocolate does the trick.)
Melt the chocolate and water together, cool it over an ice bath, and whisk till you have mousse. Still baffled? Watch Heston Blumenthal pull it off in the video below, which was sent to me by two different, equally excited Food52ers, Cade and drbabs.
Like other emulsions (vinaigrette, aioli), it works as if by magic. As you whisk, microscopic bits of water get suspended in the fat, thickening it and making it seem creamier. Then still more air is whipped into it and the cooling chocolate crystallizes around the air bubbles to make a remarkably stable foam, aka mousse.
The best thing about it—aside from its dumb-founding magicalness—is that it tastes like pure, unobstructed chocolate. There's no cream or egg to confuse the issue, like in normal mousses. (It also happens to be vegan, if you use dark chocolate without any added milk.)
You can get all kinds of different textures, by stopping at different points as you whisk:
1) For a mod, flat-topped look, like sexy pot de creme: Pour it into ramekins while it's thickened, but still a bit warm.
2) When it gets to the texture of thick pudding, you can spoon it into a glass parfait-style, like little chocolate snowdrifts (as in our photos). At this stage, you could even use it to frost a cake.
3) Whip it just a bit further for something fluffy you can ball up in an ice cream scoop, if that's what you're going for. Beyond this, and it gets crumbly and dry (though still tasty).
This all happens fast as the mixture cools, so chances are you'll go too far on your first try. But if this happens, Mr. This is unfazed—just return it to the pan, melt it, and start over. (It's even easier than saving overwhipped cream, which he's also figured out.)
Once you have the rhythm down, you can flavor it as you wish with liqueurs or coffee or spices, sweeten it to your liking, or just keep it dark and intense. In all of these scenarios, a little whipped cream up top is never a bad idea.
8 ounces chocolate (we used 70% bittersweet—choose a high quality chocolate you love) 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water ice cubes freshly whipped cream for topping (optional)
Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Perhaps something for beginners? Please send it Kristen's way (and tell her what's so smart about it) at genius@food52.com.
Photos by James Ransom
From our new podcast network, The Genius Recipe Tapes is lifelong Genius hunter Kristen Miglore’s 10-year-strong column in audio form, featuring all the uncut gems from the weekly column and video series. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss out.
I'm an ex-economist, lifelong-Californian who moved to New York to work in food media in 2007, before returning to the land of Dutch Crunch bread and tri-tip barbecues in 2020. Dodgy career choices aside, I can't help but apply the rational tendencies of my former life to things like: recipe tweaking, digging up obscure facts about pizza, and deciding how many pastries to put in my purse for "later."
My daughter (Pasty Sous Chef) was amazed by this, as was I. Our texture was about same as video, and we ate some immediately with some whipped cream - delicious - but in refrigerator, it became very hard/dense. Still good, but not "moussey"
Thank you seeet Kristen for your awesome recipes🙏 My version of simple sweet n savoury cabbage :
Sauté one thinly sliced medium red onion in 2Tbsp canola oil/2Tbspn of butter till cooked light brown, add a green Serrano pepper cut finely, stir and add a small green cabbage thinly sliced (discard the tough parts) and sauté on medium high, stirring the cabbage to coat the oil/butter, add 1/2 tsp salt to taste and 1/2 tsp sugar, 2Tbsp lemon juice - Mix well and serve while cabbage has a slight crunch. Or mix in 1/2 cup coconut and serve
Great idea! It will depend a bit on what state it's in when you stop whisking, but generally speaking, this is very stable at room temp. It firms up as it sits, so you might want to do a trial cookie before committing.
That's great news! I will whisk it just a little bit firmer than the mousse texture we prefer, and stop having to worry about the cream in traditional ganache at room temperature. Thanks for the Valentine-quick response!
Amazing this was last night but it made me think - essentially is this hydrogenated chocolate? In the negative sense as 'hydrogenated vegetable oil'? What would be the difference health-wise? There are millions of variations to try on this and I plan to experiment fully.
I'm not very well versed in the health implications, but I believe that hydrogenated fats are altered on a molecular level (by adding hydrogen) whereas this is a simple emulsification, like aioli or vinaigrette. More here: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hydrogenated-fat.htm
just made this and i must say it was very yummy, also recipe was very easy to follow turned out great. cant wait to play around with different types of chocolates and flavours...
Sorry to hear that -- I'm not sure what might have happened. Luckily, the mixture is pretty forgiving, and can be remelted and whipped up again. You might want to try that, and stop whisking just a little bit earlier this time (since it will continue to set up as it finishes cooling). And you can eat it straight away too, if you like. Good luck -- let us know how it turns out!
I tried this for Valentine's Day, but my husband and I do not eat sugar. I got a bar of Organic 100% Cacao UNsweetened, and used that. After I beat it smooth, I added Stevia until it was sweet enough, and it was still smooth. I used this for Chocolate Dip for the strawberries (organic, of course) and it was Wonderful!!! I put the leftovers in the fridge, and it firmed up to the consistency of fudge....Now I am thinking of all kinds of ideas to try with flavorings.
I am in the middle of an epic fail with this recipe -- I used 7 oz 62% (French Nestlé baking choc) and 1 of TJ's Pound Plus 72% -- a tiny speck of salt and a dribble of vanilla...beat it over ice, ice with salt added, and ice with salt and water for 25 mins (!) total, part with a hand mixer. It's no thicker than barely-whipped heavy cream. What the hey? And it's to be V-day dessert...
Buttertart, so sorry you're having trouble. If you click through to the recipe, Herve This has some tips for fixing various issues in step 3. It sounds like you need to re-melt with more chocolate and start again. Good luck! http://www.food52.com/recipes/16044_herv_this_chocolate_mousse
I just looked in my pantry after reading this and found 4 oz of semi-sweet baking chocolate, so I jsut HAD to try this recipe now, but could only make a half recipe. I used 3 oz of strong coffee and it worked out beautifully. I heated the coffee in the micro so it was really hot, and added it to the pan with the 4 Bakers chocolate squares and started to whisk right way. The chocolate melted really fast that way. I had the smaller stainless steel bowl waiting in the ice filled bowl before I started, so I could pour the mixture in as soon as it was was melted. Be sure to have a rubber spatula sitting out to get all the chocolate mixture out of the pan quickly.
Loved it! Now I need to buy some good chocolate for next time!
. http://www.gourmandia.com - Gourmandia is a culinary website offering videos of world-class Michelin rated chefs exhibiting their techniques. Also features documentaries on fine dining restaurant locations and cities, recipes, forum, and more.
http://www.gourmetrecipe.com - Gourmet Recipe is the place to find the tastiest, healthiest gourmet recipes. Watch videos of great chefs preparing meals, find easy beginner dishes, and more.
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