Julia Child's Take On Chocolate Mousse Is A Light, Heavenly Bite

Few desserts are more evocative in French cuisine than a decadently creamy chocolate mousse. And if anyone embodies the spirit of simple French cuisine that folks can make at home, it's Julia Child. When you put the two together, well, you're guaranteed a sure hit. In Julia's world, however, you don't just make a chocolate mousse — you make mousseline au chocolat, a lighter, heavenly version of the popular dessert. But how is that different from a normal chocolate mousse?

Julia Child's mousseline recipe relies on French meringue instead of the heavy whipping cream generally used in mousse, which gives the dessert a fluffier texture. This substitution makes the finished mousseline much lighter because it contains less fat. The recipe incorporates both egg yolks and whites, but they are processed separately, and added at specific times. The egg whites are beaten with a little sugar (that's the French meringue part) and folded into the mixture instead of cream at the end. Child's recipe also incorporates orange liquor and strong brewed coffee for a deep and layered flavor.

On its website, the Julia Child Foundation refers to the mousseline as "queen among chocolate mousses." If you follow her recipe tips to the letter you too can do this at home, perhaps with a bit of practice. The recipe is very like her chocolate mousse made with eggs, which doesn't have any liquor.

To succeed at making Julia's chocolate mousseline, you'll need a crucial piece of equipment — a double boiler, or bain marie. Luckily, all this means is setting a mixing bowl snugly into a pan of simmering water, so that it rests just above the water. You will use it to slowly melt the chocolate into the brewed coffee. Child also uses the method to whip the egg yolks and sugar over the gentle heat of the warm water, before adding the rest of the ingredients. This step is important as it just cooks the yolks while dissolving the sugar, creating an emulsion that will bind the ingredients and lighten the mousse. 

Next comes the French meringue, which is made by whipping the egg whites with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until they turn light and frothy and the meringue reaches your desired consistency. An important tip when making chocolate mousse it to gently fold the meringue into the chocolate and egg yolk mixture so it maintains a fluffy texture, and this is key to give the mousseline its ethereal lightness. The result is an airy, light as a cloud dessert with a lovely mouthfeel. Be sure to chill it for several hours or the day before serving for best results. You can even freeze it for an incredibly special treat.