Three days, three posts! In my series of collaborative articles with Jamie, from Cooking in Red Socks, it is now time to share the dessert course of our romantic meal for two. But, before I do that, let me urge you to visit her site and check out her choice for the last course of her V-day extravaganza! She pulled all the stops and made some seriously gorgeous Strawberry Napoleons, heart shaped and all. I am in complete awe! Wish I was one of the guests in her party… 😉
Now, to the finale of my dinner for two. It was hard for me not to think about chocolate when choosing a dessert for Valentine’s Day. Having settled on that, I needed something red and sexy to pair it with. Red and sexy like raspberries. All lightly dusted with a very light sprinkle of powdered sugar. For good measure.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH RASPBERRIES
(from Good Food Magazine, May 2010)
85g dark chocolate, 70% (I used Trader Joe’s)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp espresso powder (I used Spice House)
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
boiling water (enough to use 2 tablespoons)
1 tbsp sugar
50g full-fat Greek yogurt
raspberries, to decorate
powdered sugar
Chop the chocolate very finely and put it into a large bowl that will fit over a pan of simmering water. Mix the cocoa, coffee and vanilla with 2 tbsp cold water, and pour over the chocolate. Place the bowl over simmering water, give it all a stir, then remove from the heat. Leave the bowl still over the hot water, stirring occasionally until fully melted. If necessary, place the water back on the stove for a minute or so.
Stir the melted chocolate, it will be quite thick. Stir in 2 tbsp boiling water and the chocolate will immediately thin down and become silky smooth. Leave to cool slightly.
Beat the egg whites to fairly soft peaks, then whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy. Beat the yogurt into the cooled chocolate. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mix using a large metal spoon, then very gently fold in the rest of the whites until they are evenly mixed in.
Spoon into 4 small cups or ramekins and chill for a couple of hours, or overnight. Top with a few raspberries, then dust with a little powdered sugar.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Comments: As far as chocolate mousse goes, this is one of the lightest options you will find. Because our cups were a bit large, the recipe made only two portions, each one perfect to be shared. As a result, we enjoyed this dessert two days in a row. Naughty naughty naughty…
The yogurt gives the mousse a little bit of a tang, cutting the richness of the chocolate. If you are fond of that super rich feeling of a regular mousse, this could be too light for you. But, if you rather play conservative with your sweets, this is a perfect way to end a romantic dinner.
Make sure to stop by Jamie’s site to see what she is sharing with her friends.
Jamie, it was great to collaborate with you on this joint virtual project!
Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day celebration!
ONE YEAR AGO: Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
TWO YEARS AGO: Dan Dan Noodles
THREE YEARS AGO: Sophie Grigson’s Parmesan Cake
FOUR YEARS AGO: Antibiotics and Food
Bewitching Kitchen 
I am intrigued by the addition of yogurt to counteract the richness of the chocolate. I recently made a no bake pot du creme which was mousse-like and very rich and would be interested tasting your version to compare.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/167977.html
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Loved your use of pink peppercorns… hummm… quite a twist!
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Oh that looks so yummy and romantic. I love the tea cups. What a great idea!
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I never thought of using tea cups, it was my first time, we loved it..
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This is just lovely.. Chocolate and raspberries.. You couldn’t get more romantic than that!!
I’m so behind in all of the blogs I follow… I’m working my way backwards, so I can’t wait to see what goes with this beautiful dessert!!
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Hope you enjoy the full meal idea…. I also think chocolate and raspberries, or chocolate and strawberries are perfect together…
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a lighter version of chocolate mousse?! That would go over so well here. And those raspberries do add a nice sexy sultry touch!
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I am always trying to find ways to lighten up dessert – some classics are hard to mess with but I think the choc mousse can be approached from the lighter point of view…
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Like the fact that you used yogurt. Will be making this for sure. Chocolate and raspberries. Yum! Thanks.
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We go through an amazing amount of yogurt here… and I am always searching for ways to incorporate it in recipes, sweet and savory.. love that slight acidity
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A lovely finale Sally! I love the presentation and your cups. So pretty. The little raspberries are the perfect touch too. Are those your wine bottle candles? Love that idea!!!! It’s so romantic. I hope you and Phil have a beautiful Valentine’s Day. 🙂 Much love to you both.
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Full disclosure = even thought they do a great job in the romantic aura, that particular evening we were going through a loss of power for 5 hours. The house was getting very very cold. We had bottles ready in the recycling bin, quickly grabbed a few to use as improvised candle holders… nice, don’t you think? And cheap! 😉
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I don’t know, I might be looking for a different finale Sally (heeheeh 😉 ) beautiful dessert and I’m loving the candle shot! Très romantique — xx
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Oh, you naughty woman! 🙂 I do my best to keep the blog G-rated, you know… Not always easy to do, but hey, I like a challenge!
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Great idea for a wonderful dessert on Valentine’s. I have been searching for something “different” to make and this one really interests me! Thank you for posting and I’ll go check out Cooking in Red Socks! Happy “V” Day!
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You will love her blog! happy V-day for you too!
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Oooh yes! Now yer talkin!
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isn’t that so? 😉
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That is SO dreamy. I think with this gorgeous Valentine’s Day dessert, you could probably lose the CFM shoes and go barefoot. (if this makes no sense, I’m too old.) 🙂
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It’s good to not make sense every once in a while… keeps the immune system going… Am I making sense? I don’t think so…..
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WOW, I wish you were my Valentine, this looks SO good!
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🙂 It was delicious indeed!
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I agree…chocolate is a must for Valentine’s Day. 🙂 This mousse looks delicious and I love how you presented them in pretty coffee cups!
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I normally don’t go out of my way for presentation, but this turned out better than I expected…
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I like the candlestick holders! (And the recipe too.)
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Happy V-day, Greg! Looking forward to your post today… Having blogged three days in a row left me exhausted, I honestly don’t know how you and Katherine manage to pull one new post each day!
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I’ve had a chocolate mousse recipe for years and only make it on special occasions because it has cream, butter and six eggs. I think I will adopt yours. Lovely.
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You and my niece back in Brazil – she has a recipe with quite a bit of cream, butter, and eggs, which she absolutely loves, so her approach is to save it for super special occasions… I actually told her to try this one – and another I have on the blog maybe from last year, if I remember correctly. Both are light and do a good job in those chocolate craving moments…
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I couldn’t wait to get to the dessert, you know me;) I find some chocolate mousse’s too filling and rich, so I love that this one is made much lighter and would welcome that tang! xx
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