I just realised the other day that I hadn’t eaten chocolate mousse in a long time. Certainly not chocolate mousse in the sense of eating it straight from a bowl, served with nothing more than a spoon. B hadn’t either, but only because most mousses contain cream, which he, being lactose intolerant, can’t have. When I saw Alice Medrich’s recipe for Albert’s Mousse, a chocolate mousse she devised for her brother who couldn’t eat dairy, I knew I had to make this for him.

These days, people would probably laugh and call it quaint and homely, if you served them an unadorned bowl of chocolate mousse. It needs to be tricked up, in layers, or presented with height, with frills like spun sugar, glazed nuts or gold leaf, before we would even look twice. I love the frills, but when faced with a mousse stripped bare, I’m reminded again, of just how good some basics are. Chocolate mousse that is smooth and rich, yet incredibly light and airy, with the delight of trapped bubbles bursting against the roof of your mouth with each spoonful. Things can only get more MA 15+ from then on!

Of course, if you want to complicate life, you could serve it as a chocolate cigar. Pipe the mousse into cigar shaped chocolate tuilles, and seal the ends by dipping into melted chocolate, if you wish. Place the cigars alongside a dish of “coffee and donuts”. I baked some spiced hazelnut financiers at work many weeks ago that someone said tasted like donuts. It got me thinking about a coffee and donut dessert, a la Keller. At home, I baked the financiers (stuffed in the middle with a few squares of chocolate) in a larger mould, and served them with coffee flavoured chocolate sauce, chocolate coated coffee crumble and a cinnamon foam. A coffee ice-cream, incorporated into this dessert somehow, would have been great too. But don’t forget, it all starts with that amazing chocolate mousse.

Albert’s Mousse :
(makes about 4 cups; from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

170g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (50% – 62%), finely chopped
70g water, coffee, or milk, or 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy, rum or liquor of choice
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar

Place the chocolate and the water (or liquid of your choice) in a medium heatproof bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until chocolate is nearly melted. Remove the bowl and stir until completely melted and smooth. Stir in the liquor, if using, and set aside.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs with the 3 tablespoons of water and the sugar until well blended. Set the bowl in a skillet of not-even-simmering water and, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling, cook until they register 71’C on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bowl and beat with an electric mixer at high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until the eggs have a texture like softly whipped cream. Fold about one-quarter of the eggs into the chocolate. Scrape the chocolate mixture onto the remaining beaten eggs and fold just until evenly incorporated. Divide the mousse into ramekins. Chill for at least 1 hour, or until set, before serving.

Serve topped with whipped cream, if desired.

Tired. Weary. Slump-shouldered.

Is it really almost October?

Where did another year go? All work and little play. Sometimes I wish time would stand still so that I could

Stop.

Breathe out.

Share a piece of chocolate cake with someone I love.

Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake :
(serves 10; from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

1/4 cup blanched almonds
3 tablespoons plain flour
85g bittersweet (preferably 70%) chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 tablespoon brandy
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
scant 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 190’C. Place a round of baking paper in the bottom of an 8 x 3 inch springform pan and spray the sides with vegetable oil spray.

In a food processor or blender, grind the almonds with the flour until very fine. Set aside.

Combine the chocolate, cocoa and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the boiling water and whisk until mixture is smooth and the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in the egg yolks and brandy; set aside.

Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry.

Whisk the flour and almond mixture into the chocolate. Fold about a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and level the top if necessary.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. The torte will sink like a souffle.

Taking care not to crack the edges of the torte, run a knife between the torte and the sides of the pan to release the cake. Remove the sides of the pan and invert the cake onto a plate. Remove the pan bottom and paper liner. Turn right side up on a platter. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift a little powdered sugar over the top. Serve with a little whipped cream, if you like.

[Note: Amazingly, this cake has no butter. It has a pure chocolate taste, that calls for the use of the best chocolate possible. I served mine with a dollop of double cream]

I am experiencing an Oprah moment. No, not one of those moments when she makes you realise you can solve all of life’s problems by reducing the number of wire hangers in your closet. Rather, I’ve bitten into a chocolate eclair and silence overwhelms me for a split second, before I moan, Oh, honey, hush! The audience roars in approval and in an instant, women are up from their seats, crying in joy when told they’re all getting free eclairs as well.

I recall at Tafe, when we were told that eclairs and profiteroles were good items to have on any menu because they were cheap to produce. Unfortunately a surfeit of cheap ingredients does not necessarily a good dessert make, which is what put me off eclairs to begin with. I’d tasted too many eclairs filled with imitation cream and compound chocolate, to ever consider the fact that they were worth making at home.

It wasn’t until a chance encounter with a slim finger of an eclair at Sadaharu Aoki’s patisserie in Tokyo, that I discovered how good these pastries can be, and how Oprah might approve of them too. Toothsome, silky, creamy and flavoursome; one bite alone reminded me of those TV ads featuring ladies who seem to do nothing all day but walk around langurously in expensive evening gowns, bathe in milk and eat Magnum ice-creams. Or Cadbury’s Milk Tray (“All because the lady loves…”)

So I was incredibly happy to have managed to find some time to complete this month’s DB Challenge (and all because I now love….) : Pierre Herme’s Chocolate Eclairs! Usually I like to put my own spin on a recipe but this time I decided to stick to what was given. Partly, because I don’t recall ever having made chocolate pastry cream before and was keen to give it a go. Otherwise it would have been too tempting to have a range of different fillings, such as green tea, raspberry or banana caramel!

These eclairs are indeed Oprah-worthy. It is the sum of their parts that makes the whole, well worth the effort. Choux pastry if eaten plain is a bit boring; chocolate pastry cream, licked from the spoon is a bit meh, although the chocolate glaze is lovely and bittersweet. Combine all three components together, and you have fireworks.. or a standing ovation.

Thank you to Tony and Meeta who picked this month’s challenge. Check out their blogs for the recipe and don’t forget to look at what other fellow Daring Bakers came up with!