Raw egg free chocolate mousse

Hi, from an amateur

I'm looking for a chocolate mousse recipe for large groups that doesn't involve using raw egg. Is it possible to make a light mousse without raw egg whites or am I better off making a chocolate pot of some kind?

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Bart_64065

You could pasterize your eggs of buy it pasteurized. Eggwhite coagulates at 60 degrees celsius (140 F) and eggyolk at 66 degrees celsius (151 F). Salmonella dies at 55 degrees, so if you cook the eggs in either a waterbath or regular pot at 57 degrees, you should be fine.

Samuel_68313

I'd just go with the Herve This chocolate chantilly. Here is a video of Heston Blumenthal demonstrating the recipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g28-9NVUHj0

Davide_Tassinari_86770

The easiest way (albeit not the most traditional or economical) to make a chocolate mousse is to use only whole eggs, sugar, dark chocolate and cream.

The most practical solution would be to buy pasteurised egg products (depending on your recipe, any combination of yolks, whites or whole eggs). If you use them straight out the carton, you don't need to worry about anything. If you can't easily find those products, the next best thing is to pasteurise the eggs with the sugar.

If you mix eggs and sugar you can heat the mixture to 60 °C without scrambling the eggs (the sugar prevents that). If you have a sous-vide setup, put the eggs whisked with sugar in a water bath at 60 °C and keep them there for a few minutes. If you don't, slowly heat the mixture in a bowl over a water bath, stirring constantly, until it reaches 60 °C and hold it there for a minute or so. (I don't have the math to give you exact times, so it might not be complete pasteurisation, but it's definitely better than not heating the eggs.)

You then whisk the eggs until really fluffy (5-10 minutes, they must form very thick ribbons) and barely warm, then carefully incorporate melted chocolate with a spatula, wait for it to cool down to below 35 °C and fold in cream whipped to a medium stage.

One recipe for such a mousse is in Francisco Migoya's Elements of Dessert:

325 g whole eggs (about 6)
135 g sugar
430 g dark chocolate (he uses 66%, but anything between 60 and 75 would work, of course with a different final level of sweetness)
715 g heavy cream

Makes about 12 very generous servings if it's more of a family environment where people want to eat their fill or about 20 regular 80-gram servings if you plan on adding a more substantial garnish and/or intend to serve it on a more formal setting.

If you whisk the eggs properly and manage not to knock too much air out while folding in the chocolate, this mousse should hold its shape fairly well, so it should be possible to pipe it into a mould, freeze it into shape, pop it out of the mould and thaw it in a fridge a few hours in advance. Of course it's just as good when served in a cup, glass or other vessel.

The traditional (more complex) method would be to cook sugar to 121 °C and gradually pour it over the eggs.

ttpoker

Here is the Hervé This recipe:

3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

8 ounces chocolate (we used 70% bittersweet — choose a high quality chocolate you love)

ice cubes

1. pour water into a saucepan (which can be flavored with orange juice, or cassis puree). Then, over medium-low heat, whisk in the chocolate. The result is a homogenous sauce.

2. Pour into another bowl over the ice, then whisk the chocolate sauce, either manually with a whisk or with an electric mixer (if using an electric mixer, watch closely -- it will thicken faster). Whisking creates large air bubbles in the sauce, which steadily thickens. After a while strands of chocolate form inside the loops of the whisk. Pour or spoon immediately into ramekins, small bowls or jars and let set.

Note: Three things can go wrong. Here's how to fix them. If your chocolate doesn't contain enough fat, melt the mixture again, add some chocolate, and then whisk it again. If the mousse is not light enough, melt the mixture again, add some water, and whisk it once more. If you whisk it too much, so that it becomes grainy, this means that the foam has turned into an emulsion. In that case simply melt the mixture and whisk it again, adding nothing.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream if desired.

tshewman

An alternative to below that works well:

· 200g water

· 150 g chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)

· 2g gelatin

Boil water and pour over chocolate.

Using hand blender or whisk, mix it over ice.

ttpoker

Or use egg white powder, this pre-pasteurized alternative is a modernist miracle!