Dark Chocolate Sabayon Mousse with Fleur de Sel
A restaurant-style 70% dark chocolate mousse built on a cooked yolk sabayon and soft whipped cream, finished with crunchy salt flakes and chocolate shavings.
Method
Chop the chocolate finely and put it in a heatproof bowl. Pour 3–4 cm of water into a 16 cm pot, bring to a gentle simmer on low heat, set the bowl on top (not touching the water) and stir now and then for until smooth. Lift it off and keep it at 45–50 °C, warm against your lip. Leave the pot of water on the heat.
Add in this stepDark chocolate (70% cocoa) 90 g
low heatWhip the cold cream only to soft peaks: they should form and then flop over straight away. Refrigerate it. Stiff cream makes a grainy, heavy mousse.
Add in this stepWhipping cream (35% fat or more, cold) 120 ml
In another heatproof bowl whisk the yolks, sugar and water together, then set it over the same pot on low heat and whisk constantly for to make a sabayon. It is done when it has puffed up, thickened enough to leave whisk trails and reads 75 °C on a thermometer; that temperature makes the yolks safe and the mousse stable.
Add in this stepEgg yolks 2Caster sugar 20 gWater 15 ml
low heatTake the bowl off the pot and whisk with an electric mixer for , until more than doubled in volume, pale and just lukewarm on the back of your hand.
Quickly stir a third of the whipped cream into the 45–50 °C chocolate to make a glossy ganache. Gently fold in the sabayon, then the rest of the cream in two additions, lifting from the bottom of the bowl. Work briskly: if the chocolate cools and sets, it leaves little grains.
Pipe or spoon into 2 × 150 ml glasses, cover and refrigerate for at least . Just before serving, add a few flakes of salt and shave thin curls of chocolate over the top with a vegetable peeler.
Add in this stepFlaky sea salt (fleur de sel) 1 pinchDark chocolate for shaving 10 g
Cook's tip
Temperature is everything: the chocolate at 45–50 °C, the sabayon and cream lukewarm or cold, and they will blend smoothly. If the chocolate turns grainy, dip the bowl in warm water for a few seconds and stir. Add the salt at the last moment so it stays crunchy.
Cooking it at camp
Make it at home in lidded jars and carry it in a well-iced cooler; add only the salt and shavings at the campsite. Keep it below 5 °C and eat it on the first day.