Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

• ½ cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2 teaspoons cognac

Method

1. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sugar and combine the rest of the sugar with the egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl. Place the bowl in a skillet of hot tap water (or use a double boiler) and whisk the mixture for 3 minutes, or until it is fluffy, smooth, and at least doubled in volume.
2. Beat the reserved sugar with the cream in a large chilled bowl for a few minutes, or until soft peaks form; do not overwhip. Transfer about ¾ cup of the whipped cream to another bowl to use as a decoration and refrigerate.
3. Using a rubber spatula, combine the melted chocolate and cognac with the yolk mixture. If the mixture starts to seize or break down, immediately stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream to smooth out the mixture. Gently fold in the (remaining) whipped cream until incorporated. Transfer the mousse to a decorative bowl, cover, and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
4. At serving time, whip the reserved ¾ cup whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Spoon the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and decorate the top of the mousse with the cream, or spoon dollops of the cream onto the top of the mousse. Serve.

MELTING CHOCOLATE

1. Chocolate should be cut into small pieces of about equal size before melting it; the smaller the pieces, the faster they will melt.
2. To melt chocolate in a microwave oven, put it in a bowl, cover it and microwave it for
3. 1-minute periods, leaving 2- to 3-minute intervals between the microwaving periods, so it does not scorch.
4. To melt chocolate conventionally, put the chocolate pieces in a stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of hot water and stir occasionally until the chocolate melts.