This post is admittedly a rerun from 2010, but this dish continues to be a favorite in our household as the final act in a Valentine Day’s dinner. We simply lack the skills to reproduce our all-time favorite dessert from Fauchon, the amazing gourmet shop, tea house, and pastisserie on Place de Madeleine in Paris. That would be Mejêve cake—perfect thin layers of crisp meringue with chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse. But this dynamite, simple, foolproof version of chocolate mousse given to us by a French cook, Madame Picavet, fills in nicely. She could effortlessly serve a perfect blanquette de veau or tomatoes stuffed with homemade pâté de campagne, but she also knew a good simple dessert recipe when she saw on. Given that Monsieur Picavet was especially fond of Burgundy, the mousse made the perfect companion to the last glass in the bottle. Madame preferred Valrhona dark chocolate, but we’ve had good luck replicating with a great American chocolate like Guittard extra dark chocolate baking chips.

FRENCH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk

Directions

Place ingredients through vanilla extract in blender jar.

Heat milk until nearly boiling. Add to blender jar and blend two minutes. Pour into six cups and chill for at least three hours. Serve topped with sweetened whipped cream.