Nigella Lawson's chocolate mousse: how to improve it?

[MisterLove]

A great classic from Nigella:




The wonderful chocolate mousse.

I tried it and it was very good BUT too sweet for me.

I added salted butter and a bit of schnapps to tone down all that sweetness but the final result was still very sweet. Maybe I need to add more schnapps... Any other tips?

[LONDONER]

I tried it and it was very good BUT too sweet for me.

I added salted butter and a bit of schnapps to tone down all that sweetness but the final result was still very sweet. Maybe I need to add more schnapps... Any other tips?

Use less sugar. I like Nigella but I can never repeat her recipes becasuse like so many TV chefs, she uses far too much sugar.

[LJay]

In this case the sugar comes from the marshmallows and maybe to an extent from the chocolate. I'd use the darkest chocolate I could find, and maybe use a little more cream to stretch it into another serving or two. You could cut back on the marshmallows but that might play havoc with the setting time. Cognac or very dark rum could do interesting things to the taste. Or you could drizzle with a VERY SMALL amount of Grand Marnier. There is no getting around mousse being sweet and rich so if that is what bothers you , you could just do another dessert.

[Rareboy]

Do you use bittersweet chocolate? Perhaps use dark unsweetened chocolate.

[ck86]

[MENTION=18428]MisterLove[/MENTION] I think the excessive sweetness comes from the marshmallows. Even though the whole point of using the marshmallows is so that you don't have to deal with eggs my suggestion kind of defeats this. I think if you use dark chocolate (70-85%) and also fold in some whisked up eggs whites (firm peak) into the mixture at the end that will help cut the sweetness as well as making it richer in taste but also lighter in texture.

I personally prefer to use unsalted butter then add salt that way I can control the amount of salt that goes in to balance the flavour as each brand of butter will have a different amount of salt in.

Enjoy!

[LJay]

Rereading this, it occurs to me that one way to tone it down is smaller servings. It is rich enough that a little bit should go a long way. I can also see it used as a filling for sponge cake yaers and sprinkled with cocoa.

[Bhp91126]

I make my chocolate mousse without marshmallows, but with eggs and brandy. The brandy and the dark chocolate help to tone down the sweetness significantly. Separating the eggs is a little tricky and the recipe contains raw eggs, just as a warning (though I've never had any problems)

200gr dark chocolate
6 eggs, separated
200 ml brandy
Sugar to taste
500 ml whipping cream

Melt chocolate over low heat (don't boil it), then wisk in yolks and brandy, mixing thoroughly, add sugar to taste.
Beat whipping cream until stiff
Fold 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture, mixing well
Beat egg-whites stiff and fold into chocolate-cream-mix
Fold remaining whipped cream into mix gently, to much mixing will decrease volume.
Put mousse into fridge for several hours to set.

[Rareboy]

Just a thought......

[kittenkinz]

Rereading this, it occurs to me that one way to tone it down is smaller servings. It is rich enough that a little bit should go a long way. I can also see it used as a filling for sponge cake yaers and sprinkled with cocoa.

I too agree with this.