Welcome to my epic cullinary journey to becoming a pastry chef. I’ve always had a thing for desserts and try to follow the rule of “life is short so eat dessert first”. I like to adapt that a little and instead follow “life is short so eat dessert all the time”.

This is one of the desserts I made when it was still summer in the Southern Hemisphere and strawberries were in season. It’s a rich and creamy chocolate mousse which is set in a chocolate teardrop (dead easy to make, tutorial post to follow) and garnished with fresh strawberries and a strawberry lemon sorbet.

Lindt Chocolate Mousse (serves 8 – 10)

• 300g 70% Lindt dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate (for a less intense mousse), chopped
• 15g butter
• 30ml hot water
• 475ml heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 50g sugar

Method

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double bath while stirring constantly.
2. Add the hot water and stir to form a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. An a separate bowl, whip the cream until just barely firm. Set it aside in the refigerator.
4. In a separate bowl whip the egg jolks and sugar until light and foamy.
5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and stir until combined.
6. Caregully fold in the whipped cream taking care to use the least amount of stirs as possible and protecting the air bubbles of the cream.
7. Pour into a bowl (chcolate tear drop) or individual serving cups, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.