My Mum came over for dinner on the weekend, and as we don’t get to see her very often, I thought I’d make a decadent and rich dark chocolate mousse with Cointreau for dessert. Her favourite chocolate is a Terry’s Orange, so an orange flavoured chocolate dessert was perfect.

This recipe comes from the very first cookbook I ever bought a long, long time ago (think decades not years); The Chocolate Lovers Cookbook, which is now unfortunately out of print.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 tblsp Cointreau
• 1 tblsp unsalted butter
• 3 tblsp strong black coffee
• 200g 70% dark chocolate (if you don’t like the intensity of 70% chocolate, use a chocolate type you prefer)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler on low heat on the stove or in the microwave. Once melted, add in the butter, coffee and Cointreau and stir thoroughly. You could use Grand Marnier instead, or orange essence if you want a non alcoholic version.

While the chocolate is cooling, separate the eggs. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff peaks are formed. Stir the egg yolks through the chocolate mix, which will thicken to form a paste.

Gently fold through the egg whites and chocolate. If you want light and fluffy mousse this part is crucial. I usually mix a quarter of the egg whites with the chocolate mousse and beat it through, then fold through the rest of the egg whites gently.

Pour into small bowls or glasses and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. This recipe serves four. It looks like a small amount, but it is so rich that you couldn’t possibly eat a lot of it. I finished it off with a square of Lindt orange dark chocolate (I couldn’t find a Terry’s Orange). I also like to serve my mousses with savoiardi biscuits to use as edible spoons…too naughty? You bet…do I care? Not a bit 😋

As Miss Four was also wanting chocolate mousse, I had to make a non Cointreau and coffee version, which resulted in a chocolate frog in a chocolate swamp.