By now it should be obvious that David Lebovitz is one of my favorite chefs. I cook from his website and books frequently, and it’s always charming when he cooks by the light of one of his idols. To that end, I made his chocolate mousse, which is really Julia Child’s chocolate mousse. I’ve prepared it countless times, often as a filling for layer cakes on momentous birthdays, but this time I made it as a component in a larger dessert. It sat atop ramekins of peanut butter cakes, alongside small glasses of banana pudding. Chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas, I slept quite well that night.
The recipe is, in my opinion, very easily made dairy free by using hearty coconut oil in place of the butter. Mousse is a magnificence of eggs, the two parts kept separate until necessary and then combining to become something greater than the original. Use high quality chocolate for all that is holy. Sugary, cheap, grainy chocolate is a waste of time. Invest in some dark, bitter, smooth bars. And I believe I once said Milk chocolate is for imbeciles. So, now you know how I feel about that.
Make smart chocolate decisions. Make mousse.