So far, I've decided to lean toward "mousse," in part because a mousse is a mousse worldwide, while "pudding" has a different meaning depending on which part of the world you're in.
Everyone I've served this delightful dessert to so far has declared it to be wonderful, perhaps the most wonderful dessert in existence, and most have begged for the recipe. I fear that once they find out how easy it is to prepare, they may not appreciate it as much! If you can, get someone else to make this for you, so you can believe it took hours of hard work.
Extra Stout Chocolate MousseDelightfully, this uses very little of a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout, leaving the rest of the bottle to enjoy while the mousse sets!Ingredients:
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dark beer (I use Guinness Extra Stout)Preparation:
Put the chocolate chips, egg, salt, and sugar in a blender.In small saucepan, bring the milk and stout to just-before-boiling, then remove from heat.
Quickly pour the liquid into the blender and blend one minute or so, until the chocolate chips are completely melted.
Pour into four ramekins or small bowls and chill for several hours, until firm.
The first time I experienced this dessert, I imagined it must be difficult to make. Then I tried it out and found that it takes less than five minutes of work (plus a few hours to chill). It's hard to believe that so much taste comes from so little effort.
One teenage boy I served this to was unable to finish a serving of this dessert; that's how rich it is. Most people, however, don't have a problem.
Article comments
1 - Lary Trop
Phillip:
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe so much but just by looking at the ingredients I believe that it could be better. Mousse means foam in French so basically the difference between a pudding and a mousse is that the mousse is lighter and foamy. Just like mousse (foam) for hair, although the chocolate version tastes better. Mousses and puddings can be made with or without eggs although generally a pudding is thickened with some kind of starch while the thickness of a mousse comes from whipped egg whites and whipped cream usually stabilized with chocolate that is melted and then hardens when it cools. Your recipe looks excellent although I would substitute a really good chocolate such as Callebaut and I would whip the cream and eggs-separately-then melt the chocolate gently and fold all together. You would get a lighter and smoother dessert. Just my thoughts.
2 - Phillip Winn
I'm not sure that "lighter and smoother" would actually be an improvement for this recipe, Lary! Actually, it's really smooth already, so the question is more "lighter and fluffier." It's the heaviness of the dessert as-is that caused me to initially question its status as a "mousse," but it's also a bit of what separates the grownups from the kids. :-)
If I wanted to spend much more time preparing it, then yes, I would use the Kitchen-Aid and whip things separately. I would probably also use Scharffen Berger chocolate, my personal favorite.
I may experiment with that sometimes, but for now the emphasis is on a very quick and easy dessert that will knock one's socks off.
Thanks for reading! Give it a try as-is once and then see if you think it would be improved if lighter. :-)
3 - Mark Schannon
Scharffen Berger is an amazing chocolate from San Francisco that's giving the big boys a real run for their money.
The recipe looks great, but let me suggest one thing: find heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasturized to last 5-6 years in your cupboard. The difference in taste is amazing.
4 - Phillip Winn
Lary, after trying the Mousse with quite a bit more blending, to make it lighter and fluffier than I'd had it before, I take back what I said. Lighter and fluffier *is* better! You were right, and I'll try your other suggestions for improvement when I have a bit longer to spend making it.
Proper chilling time in our refrigerator seems to be about 2.5 hours if you want it to be soft by the time you finish eating it, or 3+ hours for firmer consistency.
5 - Nickolas Lawson
I would call it a pudding, it doesn't get the right foamy texture to be considered a mousse - quick nonetheless