After using just egg whites in the Italian meringue buttercream experiment, I had many yolks left over and didn’t want them to go to waste. In looking up desserts that utilize only egg yolks, I found one of my favorite decadent treats – chocolate mousse!

There are many different ways to make chocolate mousse and each way provides a different flavor and consistency. For my first go at chocolate mousse from scratch, I used a recipe from Betty Crocker. This is a very easy recipe to use and resulted in a very tasty dessert. After making the straight mousse, I mixed macadamia nuts and coconut into one serving and paired a second serving with a dark chocolate cake. Both combinations were delicious.

For the chocolate, you can use any type you prefer. I had a random assortment of semi-sweet, dark, and milk baking chocolate and chocolate morsels left over from other experiments, so I used them all and ended up with a mostly semi-sweet flavored mousse. Both the baking chocolate and morsels melted and mixed just fine. This recipe seems like it will take flavors and various mix-ins quite well, so have fun with it and top it off with some whipped cream!

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Chocolate Mousse

4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped (or broken into pieces)

Beat egg yolks in a small bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for about 3 mins or until thick and lemon colored.

Gradually beat in the sugar.

Heat 1 cup of the whipping cream in a 2 qt saucepan over medium heat until hot (mine went from somewhat cool to nearly boiling very quickly, so keep an eye on the cream). Gradually stir at least half of the hot whipping cream into the egg yolk mixture. Then stir the mixture back into the rest of the hot whipping cream in the saucepan. Cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (do not boil). Stir in chocolate until melted (I recommend having your chocolate ready in a medium bowl and pouring the heated mixture over the chocolate. Let this sit for a couple of minutes so that the chocolate has a chance to melt. This makes stirring a lot easier.)

Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until just chilled (mine was closer to an hour and a half than two hours), stirring occasionally. You’ll notice the mixture taking on more of a mousse texture each time you go to stir. Even though it’s firming up, it still stirs very easily. Don’t be afraid to mix it up. When you place the mixture in the fridge, cover and place an empty medium mixing bowl in the fridge with it.

Once the mixture is cooled, take both bowls out of the fridge. Beat 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream in the empty chilled bowl with an electric mixer on high until stiff. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Folding mixtures together does take some time. Be sure to work the mixtures from different areas of the bowl so that any pockets of chocolate or whipped cream that form are broken up and combined.

Pipe or spoon the mixture into serving bowls (or on cake or into prepared dessert cups, etc.). Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.