French Fridays with Dorie: Top Secret chocolate mousse

I’d been eager to try this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (“Top Secret” chocolate mousse, p 421) for a while now. I mean, any recipe that has Dorie Greenspan wondering has gotta be good, right? Chocolate mousse is a favourite dessert around here and I have many recipe for it (including Julia Child and Jacques Pépin‘s recipes) so I had been waiting to try this one since I have had the book.  It did not disappoint and – shhh! – so so easy!

The story in the book goes that Dorie believed for years that all French hostesses had a “top secret” recipe for chocolate mousse that they followed that she was not privy to. Well that or else everyone was buying this mousse from the same place and not revealing their secret.  Turns out that the answer to her dilemma was simple – the recipe came from the back of the Nestlé Dessert Chocolate package. Who would have thought? 😉 Actually, for years the chocolate chip cookie recipe that my mum used was from the back of the Nestlé chocolate chip package (though we called them “choc bit biscuits” as in Australia we call cookies “biscuits” and I could swear that we called chocolate chips “choc bits”) and they were consistently good so I am not surprised that this “top secret”  mousse recipe comes from such an everyday source.

With just chocolate, egg yolks and whites and a tiny bit of sugar (1.5 teaspoons sugar for 3 eggs and 3.5 oz chocolate) it couldn’t be simpler – beat the whites and sugar to stiff peaks, melt the chocolate and add in the egg yolks whilst still warm and then add in the whipped egg whites.  It’s not an unsubstantial mousse and because of this, I loved that it wasn’t overly sweet – I used a 70% semi-sweet chocolate and it was perfect with just a little 62% chocolate grated over the top. I served it in individual ramekins as honestly, a few spoonsful is more than enough. It tastes so rich despite its few ingredients.

This was a hit with dinner guests and Mr Neil so I think I will probably be making this again. A handful of ingredients, quick to prepare and decadently delicious? It’s a no-brainer dessert!

French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs (though this week you are lucky, you can find the recipe online here) rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself then join us here!

45 thoughts on “French Fridays with Dorie: Top Secret chocolate mousse”

  1. Can´t beat this chocolate mousse! It looks wonderful and am not suprised it was a hit. Have a great weekend Mardi!

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  2. I love the secret source for this recipe. Like you, my top secret chocolate chip cookie formula comes from a packet — the Nestlé Tollhouse chocolate chip bag. Actually, now that I think about it, Nestlé has quite a crack team of recipe developers!

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  3. I didn’t get to make the mousse this week, but I’ve made it many times before, and love love love it. Yours looks great in their little ramekins.

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  4. I also love that its an easy one to prepare for last-minute dinner guests! 🙂 How did you like this one compared to the Julia Childs and Pepin recipes you made?

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  5. And, French housewives procure their delicious roasted chicken from their local bûcheries – and, why not? The chick, chick, chicks roast in the best of all fashions, turning slowly in special chicken ovens strategically placed outside many shops. There are all kinds of French secrets, including the “mousse top-secret” that French women are really not wanting to share. I’d kill to REALLY know how they stay so slender. Dorie did well by us to let the “chips out of the bag”, so to speak.

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  6. I love those square dishes, perfect for this dessert. Your mousse turned out well. We enjoyed
    it and I will definitely make it again.

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  7. I’m looking forward to it. Tried to make it last weekend but didn’t realize that I had bought the wrong chocolate until I got home. Grr. But will be trying it again this weekend. I love chocolate mousse and it is one of my favorite dishes to serve for company because it can be made ahead of time and requires absolutely no last minute effort.

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  8. I agree that this was so rich and delicious that only a few spoonfuls were required. Mine didn’t turn out as hoped, but oh well, it was tasty and my guests loved it. Loved that it wasn’t too sweet too! Happy weekend!

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  9. Mardi, I have just found the original recipe from the packet of Nestle’s Choc-Bits. It must be over 40 years old. The recipe is just how I still bake them today. The leaflet calls them Toll House Cookies,but refers to them as “Choc-Bits. Also included is the “Story of the Famous Toll House Cookies” Finishing up with. “You’ll love Toll House Cookies made with Nestle’s Choc-Bits.

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