Name: Dark chocolate mousse with blood orange gel and hazelnut crumb
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 6-8
Ingredients: 200g dark chocolate, chopped; 100g milk chocolate, chopped; 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 2 large egg yolks; 40g caster sugar; 4 large egg whites; ¼ tsp lemon juice; Pinch salt flakes, plus extra to sprinkle; Finely grated zest 1 orange; 400ml blood orange juice, ideally freshly squeezed (but juice from a carton works too); 20g caster sugar; 4g agar agar (see Know How); 20g hazelnuts, toasted; 2 Hobnob biscuits; ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp cocoa powder; Small squeezy bottle; Piping bag

Dark chocolate mousse with blood orange gel and hazelnut crumb

This is a proper French chocolate mousse with no cream, relying instead on egg yolks for richness and whipped egg whites for airy volume. A quenelle of this chocolate ambrosia is a delight on top of a toasted hazelnut crumb, all brought to life by dots of vibrantly sweet and sharp blood orange gel. Discover more festive make-ahead magic

Vegetarian

Serves6-8

Hands-on30 min

DifficultyMedium

Method

Melt the dark and milk chocolate and the butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until they form stiff peaks (they shouldn’t flop over when the whisk is removed).
Stir the melted chocolate and a pinch of salt flakes into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in the egg whites using a large metal spoon, adding roughly a quarter of the mixture at a time and using a chopping and folding method to keep as much of the air in the egg whites as possible. Cover the bowl and transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours.
To make the gel, put the orange juice and sugar in a small pan, then bring to the boil. Whisk in the agar agar, simmer for 5 minutes, then put in a container and chill for 1 hour. Once set, whizz the jelly in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small squeezy bottle or piping bag and keep in the fridge until needed.
For the crumb, put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse to a rubbly crumb (some texture is good; it doesn’t need to be super fine).
To serve, spread a spoonful of the crumb into a rough circle on the centre of each plate. Prepare a tall glass or jug of hot water and dip a large dessert spoon into it. Dry the warmed spoon, then scoop a neat, smooth rocher (an oval shape) from the bowl of mousse and place it on top of the crumbs. Sprinkle with a few more salt flakes, then pipe different size dots of the blood orange gel around the plate. Finish with a sprinkling of orange zest.