Marco Pierre White's chocolate mousse.



I remember vividly the first time I ever had chocolate mousse. I was just a boy, working at Le Gavroche in London. We used to make the mousse with meringue italienne back in those days, to ensure it had the right light texture that only a meringue can give it. And we used to serve it with an almond macaroon on top.

You know, I'm not sure I've had chocolate mousse more than a handful of times since, and I have never tasted a better one. It is one of those things, like Proust's madeleine, that I will always remember. Maybe you are about to create your own madeleine moment?

If you are, there are two key secrets to chocolate mousse that you need to bear in mind: texture and flavour.

Many people can make a chocolate mousse, but can they make a good one? That all depends on the two factors I mentioned. The key to the texture is, of course, to make the mousse light but not too light. Rather like a souffle, a mousse needs to be treated with extreme care, to avoid total collapse. I'm not suggesting you need to make a meringue italienne. It's all about the way you treat the eggs and cream. Heat the cream with caution and whisk the eggs until they peak.

When it comes to flavour, what you end up with on your spoon depends on the quality of chocolate you use. If you live near Jones the Grocer here in the capital then pop in and buy some of my friend Willie Harcourt-Cooze's 70 per cent chocolate. If not, I like Valrhona, which I think is available in most supermarkets. Whatever you go for, make sure it is no more than 70 per cent. Any higher and it will be too strong.

I like to compare chocolate mousse-making to writing. Lots of people can write an essay, a letter or even a short story (as we saw in M's recent short story competition; look for the winning stories in August), but how many can write a whole book?

It's time to put yourself to the test. Are you a mere essayist, or a full-blown author?

MAKE IT YOURSELF

Chocolate mousse

INGREDIENTS

110g pasteurised egg yolks

50g cream

1 gelatin sheet, bloomed in ice water

125g milk chocolate

125g dark chocolate, up to 70 per cent

35g sugar

Water as needed

100g egg whites

375g cream, whipped to soft peaks

Slivers of white, milk and dark chocolate for garnish

Note: the pastry chef uses only gram measurements for all ingredients here

METHOD

1. Whip the egg yolks with the whisk attachment in a mixer until they are pale yellow and reach ribbon stage.

2. Bring the 50g of cream to the boil, add the bloomed gelatin sheet and stir until dissolved. Pour the mixture over the milk and dark chocolates to make a ganache.

3. Put the sugar in a small pot and pour in just enough water to cover. Heat and bring to a temperature of 120°C.

4. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and in a steady stream pour in the hot sugar syrup to make an Italian meringue.

5. Assemble the mousse by folding the whipped yolks into the chocolate ganache, followed by the warm Italian meringue and lastly the whipped cream. Do not over-mix. Pour the mousse into four glasses and chill in the refrigerator at least one hour before serving. Garnish as desired.

SERVES 4

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now


Weekender

Get the highlights of our exciting Weekend edition every Saturday

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Weekender