Who doesn’t love chocolate mousse? This recipe is fluffy and delicious with just the right amount of kick from the dark rum and the perfect amount of sweetness. This is a Julia Child recipe posted online by David Lebovitz. What a perfect way to help us ring in the new year!

Ingredients

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate - chips or chopped
• 6 oz unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup espresso
• 4 large egg yolks
• 4 egg whites – pre-pasturized
• 2/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp dark rum
• 1 Tbsp water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Add butter, chocolate and espresso to a heavy bottomed pot.

Whisking continuously melt over low heat until just incorporated. Prepare a large bowl with an ice bath.

Add egg yolks, water, rum and sugar to a heavy bottomed pot.

Cook over extremely low heat whisking continuously until the mixture has the consistency of a loose mayonnaise.

Transfer bowl to the ice bath and whisk until cool and thickened.

Add chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Notice I have transferred the egg yolks to a bowl.

Fold chocolate into the egg yolks until combined.

Add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Whisk until frothy.

Add sugar.

Whisk until combined and shiny.

Add vanilla extract.

Whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Be careful not to overbeat otherwise the egg whites will become dry and eventually deflate.

Add 1/3 of the egg whites to our chocolate mixture.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Add the rest of the egg whites into the bowl.

Fold until just incorporated. Do not over mix otherwise you risk loosing volume.

Spoon out into your serving glasses, bowls or dishes. My mother gave us these depression error glasses that we rarely use and they gave us a nice piece for presentation. You can use martini glasses, ramekins or just put into a large serving bowl and dish out into individual bowls at the table. Cover with plastic wrap and let set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Serve.I find it was rich and delicious enough it did not need anything to go along with it though you certainly can put a dollop of whipped cream if you wish.

Notes: The egg yolks should be cooked through. Since there is always a minor concern about Salmonella I purchased pre-packaged pasteurized egg whites as they were not getting cooked. You can certainly just use the egg whites that separate out from the egg yolks but you are taking a chance.

The original recipe called for cooking both the egg yolks and melting the chocolate using a double boiler. I eliminated this process. I just used an extremely low heat and made sure to whisk the mixtures constantly . If you are uncomfortable doing that use a double boiler. It becomes much more difficult to scramble the eggs or burn the chocolate using a double boiler.