Rosemary infused French Chocolate Mousse

There are lots of Chocolate Mousse recipes out there. But have you ever tried light, airy, fluffy, creamy, Rosemary infused French Chocolate Mousse before? Soft, Silky smooth, bittersweet chocolate mousse with undertones of earthy, floral flavours, this will soon become one of your absolute favourites!

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Nothing’s ever guaranteed, but a chocolate overload might be possible on the blog over the next couple of weeks. While I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’m all for any occasion that celebrates chocolate. I mean, chocolate is only my favourite ingredient after all. And also the central ingredient of my FREE e-cookbook (you can get your very own copy by clicking here).

Rosemary “tea”

Whatever the occasion though, I welcome chocolate desserts with an open heart (and an open mouth), and the recipe that I’m sharing today comes straight from my e-cookbook, and it’s one of my favourite chocolate mousse recipes ever! The reason is simple and it’s pictured above. The earthy flavour of rosemary that’s infused into the chocolate base and balances the sweetness of chocolate, elevates this from just another chocolate mousse to a truly divine one.

Chocolate being mixed with the egg yolk

There are lots of chocolate mousse recipes out there and they run the gamut from light and airy to thick and dense (!) and vary a lot in the ingredients and the number of ingredients used. The classic chocolate mousse is just whipped egg whites flavoured with a little bit of chocolate. But recipes are open to interpretation and innovation and chocolate mousse is one of those things that people have experimented with a lot over the last several decades.

This Rosemary infused French Chocolate Mousse recipe was adapted from Julia Child’s chocolate mousse recipe in her book – Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (Those two volumes are a cook’s dream by the way!). If you’re looking for a chocolate mousse that’s light, airy, fluffy and creamy all at the same time, isn’t heavily sweet and dense, then this is the recipe for you.

Just before going into the fridge

In this French Chocolate Mousse recipe, the egg yolks are whisked into a light frothy foam over simmering water and that probably makes this recipe as close to French as possible while still being decidedly its own. Because if you think about French buttercream – the egg yolks are whisked over simmering water with sugar. And with French meringue buttercream – the egg whites are warmed while being whisked over simmering water with sugar and then whipped (as opposed to Italian meringue buttercream where hot sugar syrup is poured into egg whites while being whipped).

The egg whites however remain raw in this recipe. So make sure to get the FRESHEST eggs you can get your hands on, or use pasteurized egg whites (that can be whipped).

But if you still have concerns about raw egg whites, you can actually “cook” those too. You do this by whisking (not whipping) the egg whites and sugar over simmering water (in a clean dry metal bowl), for about 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Then whip the egg whites until it’s glossy and JUST starting to form stiff peaks (you don’t want to over beat it). This ensures a beautiful silky smooth chocolate mousse as you can see below.

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Silky smooth perfection

The addition of rosemary is my twist on this classic. Rosemary is a beautiful Mediterranean herb that has long been used in cooking, but not nearly as frequently as I think it ought to be used. So I do challenge you to try it! 🙂 That earthy flavour and the warm, spicy scent of rosemary work like a charm in this French chocolate mousse, and it balances the sweetness and complements the chocolate perfectly. Rosemary does have a very hardy, robust flavour, so you only want to use it judiciously, making sure it doesn’t overwhelm. This recipe strikes that perfect balance!

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Rosemary infused French Chocolate Mousse

Servings: 8 3 oz servings

Author: Dini from The Flavor Bender adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

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Ingredients

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate for a more intense chocolate flavour
• 3 oz unsalted butter
• ¾ cup water
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 4 oz sugar remove 2 tbsp from this and set aside
• 4 eggs separated (use the freshest eggs possible since the egg whites are raw in this recipe)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp instant granulated coffee optional

Instructions

1. Place the water and the rosemary sprig in a small saucepan. Cover and bring the water to a boil over medium-heat, then remove from the heat. Let the rosemary steep in the water (while still covered) for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig and set aside.
2. Combine chocolate, butter, coffee granules and ¼ cup of the rosemary steeped water in a heat-proof bowl. Over a double boiler (with simmering water), melt the chocolate until you have a smooth chocolate mix. Remove from the double boiler and set aside to cool down to room temperature (you can keep it in the fridge to cool it down faster).
3. In another heat-proof bowl (or metal bowl), place the 4 egg yolks, sugar (sans 2 tbsp) and 3 tbsp of rosemary infused water. Keep this over the double boiler and whisk for about 3 minutes with a hand mixer (5-6 minutes with a whisk), until the eggs are thick and frothy and pale in colour.
4. Prepare an ice bath and transfer this egg yolk bowl to the ice bath. Whisk for a few minutes over the ice bath until the egg yolk mix has cooled down and is thick. Leave it in the ice bath.
5. In a clean metal bowl, whisk the egg whites with a clean hand mixer, until frothy. Add the salt and sugar and whisk until the egg whites are glossy and thick, and are just starting to form stiff peaks.
6. Fold in the cooled chocolate mix into the thickened egg yolk mix, until fairly well combined. Add ¼ of the egg whites to this chocolate-yolk mix and fold it in to loosen the mix. Fold in the rest in 2 batches, being careful not to over mix and deflate the chocolate mousse. I used a metal whisk or a big metal spoon to fold.
7. Spoon the mousse into 8 small ramekins (sets faster), and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Sprinkle some cocoa powder or chocolate shavings on top and serve.

This Rosemary infused French Chocolate Mousse has great balance of flavours, just the right amount of sweetness, a slight bitterness, and earthy and floral flavours all at the same time. Chocolate and rosemary are an interesting flavour combo, but one that works well, even surprisingly so. So go ahead and try it, I’m sure you guys will fall in love with this recipe too! 🙂

And don’t forget to grab your own FREE copy of my e-cookbook featuring 10 awesome sweet and savoury chocolate recipes with big, bold flavours, just like this one.

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