Chocaholic

Two recent choccotastic desserts. Heavenly.

Nigella's Chocolate Mousse Cake (How to be a Domestic Goddess)
I slightly over baked this so it lost a bit of the gooey mousse texture inside - next time I'd cut down the bake time to 40 mins..

300g best dark chocolate (bittersweet is best here)
50g best milk chocolate
175g unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
100g light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

25cm springform tin
tin foil

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and put the kettle on to boil. Line the inside of the springform with foil, making sure you press the foil well into the sides and bottom of the tin to make a smooth surface.

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler or microwave, let it cool.

In another bowl beat the egg yolks and sugars until pale and really thick, like mayonnaise.

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form then fold gently into the chocolate mixture. Pour the cake batter into the foil-lined springform which you have placed in a large roasting tin.

Add the hot water from the kettle to come about half way up the sides of the tin and put into the oven.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The inside of the cake will be damp and mousse-like but the top should look cooked and dry.

Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before releasing from the tin. Now peel the foil gently away from the sides.

I like to sift some powdered sugar over it.

Lorriane Pascale's White Chocolate, Stem Ginger & Creme Fraiche Mousse

I adore white chocolate and these did not dissapoint... and oh so simple...


150g Creme fraiche

300ml double cream

400g white chocolate melted

3 x 1cm pieces of stem ginger

Put the creme fraiche in one bowl and the cream in another. Mix the creme fraiche so it becomes a little thinner. Whip the double cream to the same consistency as the Creme Fraiche then combine the two.

Put a dollop of creme fraiche mixture into the melted chocolate and stir, keep adding and stirring until all combined and the mixture looks silky smooth then fold in the stem ginger. Pour into glasses/ cups and leave to set for at least 1 hour, for a little more ginger zing add some ginger syrup over the top before serving. Yum.