Happy new year! I used to be opposed to hiding offal in anything. I wanted to respect and honor it and I wanted offal to be front and center, named and acknowledged. But now it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll serve it anyway, anytime. I am not ashamed of it, I am not exactly hiding it, but if no one asks, I don’t need to assert it anymore. A Hunter’s Pie can just be served. And the same goes for Chocolate Mousse.
A swap
The Chocolate Mousse recipe I followed called for four eggs, one and a half sticks of butter, 6oz chocolate… why not substitute some of that fat with brains? Butter is 99% fat. Egg yolks are 75% fat. Brains are 63% fat. Close enough!
Truthfully, I wasn’t exactly sure how. And I studied several recipes before I decided on one that I would follow and break. I wanted something I was sure would work on it’s own and also, I was out of heavy cream. Two constraints. In the end, I loosely based my work off of Julia Child’s Mousseline Au Chocolat aka Mayonnaise Au Chocolat aka Fondant Au Chocolat recipe.
I acknowledge that while I considered this a type of custard after cooking the egg yolks over a double boiler, I want to clarify that the error is my own. She is clear that this type of dish should not be confused with true custards. (Insert shrug here.)Â As I used to qualify my work in research papers of my past life, despite the acknowledgements of others, any errors belong to the authors alone.
Chocolate Mousse
In any case, this dish was an unqualified success. Friends asked for seconds, including their children. Typically, when I use only a fraction of the sugar (one third in this case), my kids will be thrilled while friends tend to be disappointed. However, I think that the coffee brings out the best in chocolate dishes and the rich flavor (like a flourless chocolate cake) was divine.
The only caveat is that the way that I chose to prepare this dish (compared to simpler options) used lots of kitchen equipment and had plenty of steps. Sometimes I like this kind of work, but if this tends to tire you out and if you don’t have a friendly dish-washer nearby, this may not be the right recipe for you!
First, I prepared the brains by cleaning, soaking, poaching and chilling in an ice bath. I was able to reserve the ice bath and repurpose it for the ‘brain-custard,’ chilling it after the double boiler. My double boiler set up was put to good use though because after the brain custard, I used it to melt the butter and chocolate.  In the meantime, I also used a food processor to blend the brains. And a mixer for the egg whites. So that was a lot of dishes!
Yet, each step seemed to guarantee the results I was after. And the end product came together well! A rare, yet celebratory dish for a special occasion. Happy New Year!
Chocolate Mousse with Hidden Brains
Ingredients
- 3-4oz brains
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 T (decaf) coffee
- 2 2.8 oz bars of 92% dark chocolate
- 8 T butter (at room temp)
- 3 egg whites
- pinch salt
- 1 T sugar
- 1/2 c heavy cream, whipped with
- 1 t vanilla
- raspberries
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
- To prepare the brains, trim any outer membranes or veins. Soak for 30 minutes in cold water. Add to boiling water, reduce heat to medium-high for 2.5 minutes. Then chill in an ice bath.
- Chop brains into large pieces and add to blender. Blend for a minute until broken down. Add egg yolks and sugar and blend until well-combined.
- Pour this mixture into the top of a double broilder and whisk until foamy and hot (about 4 minutes). Place broiler bowl into an ice bath and continue mixing to chill (about 4 minutes).
- Remove brain-custard mixture into a bowl.
- Next, add coffee, chocolate and butter to double broiler and mix until melted and well-combined. When combined, add chocolate to the brain-custard and mix well.
- Meanwhile, in a mixer (or by hand) add egg white and salt. Mix until soft peaks form. Add remaining tablespoon of sugar and mix until stiff peak form. Mix half of these egg whites into the chocolate-brain-custard. Gently fold remainder of egg whites into custard.
- Place custard into a serving dish or individual ramekins. Chill for two hours. Garnish with grated chocolate and/or whipped cream and berries. Serve cold.
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