Gordon Ramsay?s Chocolate Mousse

In early October a good fried of mine from college and her fiance were in town, and we had the pleasure of hosting them for dinner. While I was delighted to cook for them, I did have to spend a bit of time figuring out what to make that wouldn’t upset her gluten intolerance. I ultimately settled on a fish dish, a potato dish, and some good old chocolate mousse.

This is a mousse recipe from scarily famous (and famously scary) Michelin-starred celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. I actually got the recipe from Simply Her magazine. It’s different from some of the other Ramsay Chocolate Mousse recipes you will find online (which involve eggs and no crème fraîche), and very different from the Basic Dark Chocolate Mousse recipe I posted back in May. Compared to my previous recipe, this one gives you a mousse that is:

Less rich because you use less dark chocolate
Creamier because of the crème fraîche used in addition to heavy cream, and
Ever so slightly bitter because of the liquer.

My guests really liked it, but I personally prefer my chocolate mousse just a tiny bit more intense. I would make this again I think, though I would increase the quantity of dark chocolate by a little bit, and stick to the original recipe by folding in crushed chocolate-covered honeycomb (i.e. Violet Crumble / Crunchie) right at the end. I think the extra sweetness and the crunch would give this mousse a whole lot of pizzazz =)

The version below is what I would use next time. Give it a try and let me know what you think?

P.S. Here’s a fun video of Gordon Ramsay whipping up some cream for his chocolate mousse.

P.P.S. I just started watching Masterchef US and I LOVE it! I think it’s so inspiring. And Mr Ramsay is actually quite likable in it too =)

Gordon Ramsay’s Chocolate Mousse

(adapted slightly from Gordon Ramsay’s Chocolate Mousse in Simply Her)

Click here for printable recipe.

Ingredients (serves 5):

130g good quality dark chocolate for the mousse (I used 55% dark, but you can use something darker if you like)
250ml crème fraîche
300ml heavy cream
25g icing sugar, sifted
1tbsp Kahlua or Tia Maria (I always have Kahlua around the house for making Tiramisu so I used that)
30g dark chocolate for garnishing
1 chocolate-covered honeycomb bar (frozen for 10 minutes)

Directions:

1. Melt the 130g of good quality dark chocolate in a bain marie (i.e. a heatproof bowl perched over a pot of boiling water). Remove from heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

*Make sure the bowl is large enough to hold both the chocolate and creme fraiche, which you will add in the next step.

2. Add the crème fraîche to the chocolate, and use a hand whisk to beat together till they are well blended.

3. Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix the heavy cream and icing sugar till it forms soft peaks. Use a spatula to fold the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture, then stir in the Kahlua.

4. Remove the chocolate-covered honeycomb bar from the freezer. Seal the bar in a ziplop bag, then crush the honeycomb by taking a rolling pin in both hands and smashing the bar a few times (do take care not to split the bag). Gently fold the crushed honeycomb into the mousse with your spatula.

5. Spoon the mousse into cocktail glasses or small ramekins. Refrigerate for about half an hour. When you are ready to serve, grate the remaining 30g of dark chocolate over the mousse.

*If you use a grater like the one I used to make Carrot Cake, you will get slightly bigger chocolate flakes, like what you see in my pictures here.