Dark chocolate mousse {with hazelnuts and brandy}

Dark chocolate mousse with brandy and hazelnuts (and without cream) is one of the most delicious desserts. It's homemade, yet very easy to prepare. It’s rich and creamy, but still fluffy. So if you're looking for a special, flavorful sweet dessert for your next dinner party or Holiday dinner. This recipe is going to be a great choice.

Who doesn't love dark chocolate mousse? A great dessert with a WOW factor. Full of extra flavor because of the nutty bite of the hazelnuts and the warm touch from the brandy.

When I served this chocolate hazelnut mousse, it was gone in a wink. Not a smear was found in the bowls. Luckily I had made this picture before I called everyone 😉

The history of chocolate mousse

The first chocolate mousse is described around 1750 by Menon, a French culinary writer. He described it as a foam of chocolate. But in later centuries you can also find references to chocolate mousse. For example with Louis XVI where it was served at the French court. And today it is still a popular dessert in France.

🥘 You'll need these ingredients

A full list with ingredients can be found at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.

• Hazelnuts. Hazelnuts and chocolate are a great combination. Think about Nutella paste! Use hazelnuts without skin for the best results (or remove the skin).
• Dark chocolate. Because the mousse got an intense chocolate flavor, use the best chocolate you can get. Use chocolate with a cocoa percentage of 70 % or higher. I personally like Valrhona chocolate which gives a great result.
• Sugar. Gives sweetness to the mousse. But not too much. If you do love dark chocolate a lot, as some people do, you can half the amount of sugar (or even omit it.)
• Butter and egg yolks. Both ingredients take care of the creaminess of this dark chocolate mousse.
• Egg whites: Beat the egg whites and they become airy. That's what gives the mousse its fluffy structure.
• Bourbon. Chocolate and bourbon are a terrific food combo. You’ll love this combination.
  

How to prepare dark chocolate mousse?

The full recipe in easy steps can be found down below in the recipe card.

• Step 1 roasting your hazelnuts. Chop the hazelnuts coarsely and put them on a baking plate that’s lined with parchment paper. Put that into a preheated oven of 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes. Take it out of the oven. Let it cool down slightly and grind the hazelnuts in a blender.

• Step 2: beat the egg whites. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Make sure there is no trace of egg yolk in the egg whites bowl. Otherwise, you can’t stiffen them. Take a fat-free clean bowl (and mixer hooks) and add your egg whites to the bowl. Take your mixer and mix at high speed until your egg whites become airy. Then add the sugar and mix further at high speed until the egg whites are just stiff. You can check that by taking the hooks out of the beaten egg whites. If the peek that's formed remains upright, you've mixed enough (don't mix anymore because you will "overmix" the egg whites and your mousse will become liquid instead of airy).

• Step 3 Melt the chocolate carefully. Take a pan with about 1 inch (2 cm) of boiling water and hang a heatproof bowl above the water. Add the chocolate cubes and the butter. Warm until the chocolate and butter melts. Mix it well with a spatula and let it cool down for 15 minutes at room temperature. Then add the egg yolks, hazelnut crunch, and Bourbon and mix well.

• Step 4: Prepare the dark chocolate mousse. Take about ⅓ of the egg whites and swirl them gently through the chocolate mix. When combined add the remaining egg whites and carefully swirl them through the chocolate. Make sure you do everything very gently as you want to keep as much air in the mousse as possible.
  
• Step 5 Put the dark chocolate mousse into the glasses or bowls. Spoon the dark chocolate mousse into the glasses and put them into the refrigerator. Let them stiffen for at least 2 hours.

💭 Top tips

• Brandy: The brandy gives a wonderful flavor accent to this dark chocolate mousse with hazelnuts. But if children or pregnant women are joining for dessert don't add the liqueur. You can easily leave it behind. Make sure to add the bourbon when the chocolate mixture is cooled down a bit, otherwise, you can get lumps.
• Melting chocolate: Use a technique called au bain-marie. It is a very good method to heat something gradually or melt chocolate. Hang a heatproof bowl above boiling water. Put the ingredients you need to warm and/or melt (here: butter and chocolate) into the bowl. You can also use an au bain-marie pan.
• Fat-free materials: Make sure that the bowl in which the egg whites are stiffened and the hooks of the electric mixer are fat-free. Therefore wash it with hot water and detergent before use and dry-clean it. If your bowl isn't fat-free the egg whites won't stiffen.
• Separate eggs: Egg yolks and egg whites are best separated when the eggs are cold (refrigerator temperature). But if you want to stiffen your egg whites, room temperature is better. Therefore, start this recipe by separating the eggs (which are refrigerator temperature), and let the bowl with the egg whites stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before beating them.
• Whisking egg whites: Mix the egg whites so they will become stiff. They're done when you turn off your mixer and take the hooks out of the egg whites. The peek that is formed must remain upright. Then stop mixing. Don't mix any further. Otherwise, your egg whites are too stiff and the dark chocolate mousse will become liquid.

How to take care of raw eggs?

In this recipe, you use raw eggs. When using raw eggs you have (a small) risk of infection with Salmonella. It's mostly a problem in the United States and Canada but can also occur in other countries.

Raw eggs are used in many (classic) recipes, like Tiramisu and homemade mayonnaise. When an egg is 'contaminated' the Salmonella sits on the outside of the egg. Therefore there are a few ways to reduce the risk of infection:

• Use an egg separator to separate egg whites and egg yolks.
• If you get some shell in your bowl, don't use another part of the shell to take it out.
• You can buy pasteurized eggs or pasteurize them yourself. Like with the method described here.
• Don't eat (recipes with) raw eggs when you're pregnant. Also, babies and people with weak health shouldn't be eating (recipes with) raw eggs.

⏲️  Preparation and storage

• You can store this dessert covered for up to three days in the refrigerator.
• You can store this dark chocolate mousse covered in the freezer for up to a month. Defrost the mousse the night before in the refrigerator. Make sure to eat your mousse within 24 hours. TIP: When it's hot outside, eat the mousse still (a bit) frozen. That way you've made your own chocolate mousse ice cream.

🥘  Other delicious recipes

Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I love it when you make one of my recipes and I’m looking forward to looking it up.  Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. Don't forget to save my recipes on Pinterest so you can find them easily next time. See you soon!