This recipe will make enough for 12 shot glasses or 6 larger ramekins.
For the mousse you will need:
- 200g Dark Chocolate (I’d use 75% + cocoa solids…)
- 3 Large Eggs separated (you will need the yolks and the whites)
- 40g caster sugar
- A little milk
For the headstone biscuits you will need:
- 100g Dark Chocolate (or enough to dip your biscuits in)
- White chocolate (you don’t need a lot, just enough to pipe your RIP’s)
- Biscuits – you can use any oval biscuits, or make your own.
For the mousse.
Break up the chocolate, putting it into a large-ish heatproof bowl, you need to melt the chocolate over a saucepan of barely simmering water, just make sure that the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water, it should take about 5 or 6 minutes until the chocolate is liquid, just be careful to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn, give it a stir to make sure there are no lumps and the chocolate is glossy. Put the chocolate aside to cool down.
Separate the eggs putting the yolks to one side, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks – this will take hours with a balloon whisk, so it’s far easier to use an electric hand whisk, you will need to make sure that the bowl is clean and there is no shell or yolk in with the whites as it will prevent them from stiffening. Once the whites form soft peaks, begin to add the sugar, a third at a time whilst continuing to whisk the whites until they are thick and glossy.
Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, along with a little milk and mix it all together, the chocolate will look as though it’s curdling at this point, but just give it a good mix and it will be fine!
Next (using a metal spoon) add one spoon full of your egg whites into the chocolate mixture and gently fold it in until it is all mixed together. Once the first spoonful is all mixed in add all of the remaining egg whites, gently folding the mixture together until it is all combined; this is the bit that will either make your mousse light and fluffy or denser. Mixing the egg whites in quickly will beat all of the air out of it, making you a much denser mousse (it will still taste good, but will be heavier and slightly runnier…if you fold the egg whites in slowly and gently you will have a light fluffy mousse.)
Divide your mixture into the glasses or ramekins, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (they will be fine overnight).
For the biscuits.
Asda sell the perfect headstone shaped rich tea biscuit.
Break up the dark chocolate, putting it into a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate over a saucepan of barely simmering water as in the mousse until it is a glossy liquid. Dip your biscuits into the chocolate – it may be easier to spoon the chocolate over the biscuits to get them completely covered. Once covered put the coated biscuits onto a wire rack to let the chocolate set. (You will need to make as many chocolate covered biscuits as you have mousses)
Once the chocolate has set you are ready to pipe you’re RIP’s onto the biscuits using the white chocolate – you will need a piping bag
Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and pipe your RIP’s onto your biscuits.
For serving,
We had a little left over chocolate sponge cake, which was blitzed up in a food processor. But you could do the same thing with a chocolate muffin. Or alternatively whip a little whipping cream with some green food colouring to make some cream grass. Put your chocolate sponge earth, or green grass cream on top of your chilled mousse, add your headstone and you have the perfect Halloween chocolate gravestone mousse!
NB*The mousse is delicious at any time of year and does not have to be reserved exclusively for Halloween!!
This recipe was kindly sent to us by the lovely Cat and Kat at atCatharines.
More information about them can be found by clicking their logo below.