Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse

It’s been about 1 1/2 years since I last ate chocolate mousse. Micki made it for me and it left a lasting impression. Mousse, unlike custard and pudding, requires no cook time and has a very silky, spongy texture. Depending on the type of chocolate you use, it can taste pretty rich. I used half semisweet and half bittersweet. Wowee.

I remember all of that, yet I’ve never bothered to make it myself. Forget about the simplicity of brownies, mousse is the easiest dessert of all time. As an added bonus, it requires no bake time and ingredients you most likely have on hand. Eggs, chocolate, extract, hot coffee. Got all of those?

Here’s how to do it. In a blender (or a bowl with a whisk, like I used), pour hot coffee over the chips, blending (or whisking) until melted. All that blending cools the mixture down for the next step.

Whisk in the yolks and liqueur or extract into the chocolate mixture until thick.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Pour the chocolate over the whites and fold until blended.

Pour into serving dishes for a fancy presentation, or into one big serving bowl. Although you don’t have to bake mousse, you do need to chill it for at least an hour prior to digging in. Good things come to those who wait.

To keep busy, I made orange-flavored pizzelles to dip into the mousse. Wow, that little maker gets hot; you’d have thought the oven was on!

And that, folks, is how you make mousse. If you’re a guy, this should be your go-to dessert to impress family, friends, and dates. For everyone else, you’ll still impress everyone with this dessert. I mean, I impressed myself.

Disclaimer: If you’re young, pregnant, or elderly, you might want to steer clear of this dessert unless you use pasteurized eggs.