Chocolate and Nut Oil Mousse
I promised a great dessert to go with my local, sustainable, non-agri-business, healthy Passover meal, and here it is. You can make this for many people very quickly, and it uses no margarine or that sludge they call non-dairy creamer. God did not free us from slavery so we could poison ourselves with Mocha Mix and margarine…The first recipe I adapted from Joan Nathan, which she adapted from “Dulce lo Vivas,” by Ana Bensadón (Ediciones Martínez Roca). Joan’s recipe uses olive oil. I substitute the freshest nut oil I can find, usually walnut or hazelnut at the local farmers market.
Ingredients
- 11 ounces bittersweet (60 percent cacao) chocolate
- 8 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh walnut or hazelnut oil
- 2 tbsp kosher for Passover brandy, marc or grappa
Instructions
- In a double boiler, melt chocolate over low heat. Cool slightly. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until light. Whisk in olive oil, brandy and melted chocolate.
- Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, whisking until stiff but not dry.
- Fold whites into chocolate mixture so that no white streaks remain. Spoon into an 8- or 10-cup serving bowl or divide among 8 or 10 dessert cups or glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
Notes
Here’s the recipe I use, adapted from Cocolat cook book. I’ve made this for 15 years, and it is very hard to screw up. You can link to the recipe here, but note my changes: I do not use orange in the flavoring (yech) and I substitute one-quarter cup olive oil or nut oil for the butter. If you are serving a non-meat meal or don’t care about such things, stick with the butter.
