Jennifer is up visiting again, which means we’re experimenting with desserts that all three of us can eat again. Last time, you got cinnamon rolls everyone can eat. This time, you get chocolate mousse. We’re calling this a “base recipe”–we’re already sitting around the kitchen brainstorming ways to dress it up, add other flavors, and make it uber-pretty.  But, to be clear, it was really good on it’s own, too, and everyone thinks so even though Jennifer is the only true chocolate-lover in the group.

If you’re curious, here are a few of the simplest flavor add-in ideas: add an extract of choice to make ___________-chocolate mousse. So, the obvious ones are mint, orange, or almond (all of which traditionally go with chocolate). Just put a few drops in with (or instead of) the vanilla. You can also top it with any number of fruits (more or less to your taste) to add other flavors. The front-runner ideas around here were banana slices, raspberries, and cherries (with a divide over whether said cherries should be fresh or maraschino–obviously, the sugar-free among us won’t be going the maraschino route!). We have several slightly more complex serving/dish fancy-fying ideas … which we refuse to share just yet, because we’re going to do them up and present them in all their glory (i.e. in their own posts, with their own lovely pictures). We’ll try to get to them soon…ish :-).

Oh, and the necessary disclaimer: THIS CONTAINS RAW EGG WHITES. YES, WE ARE BAD MONKEYS. But, you’re more likely to get hit by a car than you are to get salmonella from US eggs :-). Seriously, check the stats. However, if you’re worried, go ahead and buy pasteurized eggs or egg whites (you can get some whole eggs pasteurized, look for a red “P” stamped on top, or get a box of egg whites as any “out of the shell” eggs will always be pasteurized). They exist pretty much for this reason. Apparently you can also do it yourself at home, but <shrug> you’ll have to ask some other portion of the internet how to do it, since I never have.

Without further ado, here is our basic chocolate mousse for your delectation :D.

Natural Sugar (Agave Nectar) Chocolate Mousse (yields 3 pretty full servings or four with room in the glass for toppings)

Ingredients:

• 7/8 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp table salt
• 2 egg whites
• 3 T agave nectar
• 3 oz natural sugar dark chocolate (or milk chocolate, for a lighter flavor)

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate over low heat in a small sauce pan on the stove, stirring constantly. Once melted, set aside.

2. Put the whipping cream, agave nectar, vanilla and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer (using the whisk attachment) and beat until stiff peaks form.

3. Put the egg whites in a separate container and beat until stiff peaks form (you can either move the cream mix out of your mixer and into another bowl to do this, do this with another device like a hand mixer or immersion blender attachment, or do it by hand, your choice).

4. Add the still-liquid but not hot chocolate to the egg whites and mix gently until combined.

5. Add this mixture to the whipping cream mix and gently combine (use very low settings on the mixer, but still with the whisk attachment). Do some scraping to make sure everything is evenly incorporated from the bottom and sides.

6. Dish it up into your serving dishes (we like to use the wine glasses because they’re pretty), cover with plastic wrap (assuming it isn’t domed up in the dish–you don’t want the wrap touching. You can skip it if you want, but we like to make sure it stays clean) and put them in the fridge to chill down. You want to leave them for at least an hour, and you could probably leave them much longer, though we didn’t so I’m not sure. You do want it cool, though. Serve up with your choice of topping and enjoy!