Every time I see “the chair” I am instantly drawn to it.
Regardless of how intently I am listening to what United States Speaker of the House, is saying…once I see the enormous chair they sit in while conducting House business, my mind turns into a cavernous cavern, focusing only on “the chair”.
Personally, there is something so appealing about having a chair 2-3 times larger than my body. What does that say about me?
Maybe I’m power tripping at the moment but when I see “the chair” I am able to successfully block out all the depressing political chatter relating to budget, the decrepit economy and rising unemployment. I have no problem just pining away for the chair. Shallow but true.
So what does “the chair” have to do with this dessert? Nothing, other than this is the biggest and BEST Chocolate Mousse ever. If I can’t have her chair, I’ll take the mousse. It makes me feel closer to the chair for whatever reason.
What I like is the simplicity and elegance this dessert offers during a time when back to basics cooking has become very “en vogue”. Chocolate mousse is one of those great recipes that hits the spot after a large meal. It’s light but very satisfying.
This recipe is great, I love it. And remember to serve it in cute little dishes…presentation is EVERYTHING!
Let’s make it…
Here’s what you will need: Dark chocolate, unsalted butter, egg whites (pasteurized or fresh), granulated sugar and heavy cream.
Place 12 ounces of good quality dark chocolate in a medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Stir in 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter until melted. Set aside.
In another large bowl, with the mixer on high speed, beat 8 large egg whites and 4 Tablespoons sugar until soft peaks form.
Gently fold whites into chocolate mixture.
Next, fold whipped cream into whites-chocolate mixture until fully incorporated.
Spoon into 8 dessert cups. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar to give texture to the smooth mousse.
If you feel the mousse is still too plain, add vibrancy to the serving platter with pieces of brightly colored glass.
Trust me on this one, it was GOOD.
The BEST Chocolate Mousse
12 oz. good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
8 large egg whites (preferably pasteurized)
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
Coarse sugar, optional
Place chocolate in a medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Stir in butter until melted. Set aside.
In another large bowl, with the mixer on high speed, beat egg whites and sugar until soft peaks form.
Gently fold whites into chocolate mixture. Next, fold whipped cream into whites-chocolate mixture until fully incorporated. Spoon into 8 dessert cups. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar to give texture to the smooth mousse.
I’m going to eat my mousse while I dream about the chair.
What I Was Blogging About One Year Ago Today: I Hope Your Kid Doesn’t Have Our Kidney Stones
Hilary says
Hi Cathy .. lovely chair & I see what you mean .. chocolate mousse is such a wonderful simple dessert to offer after a meal & most of us love chocolate .. & the other advantage is we don’t need too much & can sample & stretch the enjoyment ..
Thanks for reminding us ..
Hilary: Be Positive Be Happy
KathyB. says
The mousse looks pretty rich and the chair looks pretty big….probably would need a lot of dusting too. But it would be fun to lounge about in the chair while eating the chocolate mousse. And you know, the chair would probably look great in the tasting room of your winery…
Laura says
It’s 6 in the morning and I would like to eat that for breakfast… I don’t care where I sit if I can eat that.
Kate says
Looks divine. Well, both the recipe AND the chair. I need that chair at our school.
And I remember that kidney stone post from last year!!
Donna-FFW says
MMMM, chocolate mousse would go so well with my coffee about now. And that chair, well, I am not telling you what enters my mind when I see that chair.
Marlene says
Yes…that chair is the best chair ever! And that chocolate mousse…I am thinking this might be needed in vast quantities today.
Thank you Madame Chairperson, from the great state of California, Cathy of Noble Pig!!! You totally rock.
Philly says
This looks great ! Your presentation always looks lovely. I want to be you BF so I can come over and you can feed me.
#1
Scary Mommy says
Nah, she can keep the chair. But I’ll take the mousse!!!
Barbie with a T says
Well, I cannot comment much on the chocolate mousse because I am allergic to chocolate, but I wanted to make one other comment. I wish you were sitting in that chair instead of Nancy Pelosi.
Cheryl says
Think there is definitely a bit of a throne fetish revealed here…which I similarly possess! 😉
Who wouldn’t feel a bit “queeny” with that mousse? 😉 Mmmm.
gfe-gluten free easily says
I think you’re too nice to ever officially sit in that chair! However, I like the mousse recipe (just from reading and seeing your fab photos), a lot. Chocolate mousse has always been one of my absolute favorites. In college, my roommates and I used to go to a French restaurant in town several times a week just to eat the mousse. Mousse, ambiance, a good-looking waiter … it was all wonderful. If I make this, I wonder if I can get my husband to dress up in a tux and serve it to me. LOL
Thanks,
Shirley
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
Cool, egg-whites only! What a great recipe for chocolate mousse!
Katrina says
Sure looks good. I haven’t had “real” mousse much in my life, so I’m sure I don’t appreciate its deliciousness. I need to try this!
tami lyn says
I love chocolate mousse, and this looks incredeblely easy-or at least you made it look that way. I love the sprinkles of the coarse sugar on top. Yummy in the the tummy. I’m with Donna-I wish I had some to go with my mug o joe sitting here.
HoneyB says
Looks delish and that IS a cool chair!
Mental P Mama says
If I eat that, I’ll need that chair.
MammaDucky says
MMmmmmmmmm. Chocolate mousse has ALWAYS been one of my favorite treats! Thanks for the new recipe to try.
Biz says
Um, you had me at Godiva!
Have a great weekend!
Kiki says
MMMMmmmm I’m so hungry I could eat a mousse!
May I please have a little chambord with my whipped cream?
kayola says
That chair IS gorgeous isn’t it? What would it be like? The mousse sounds and looks very yummy…hhmmmmm godiva chocolate……
Pam says
She looks so small in that huge chair. I am loving this recipe. My husband is a huge fan of mousse and I’ve never made it for him. It’s time.
Jennifer says
I like oversized chairs as well, but I prefer big, over stuffed chairs that look like you could sink into them and sleep for 12 hours straight.
That mousse looks unreal…maybe that would be good to in while sinking into a big oversized chair!
dawn says
The mousse does sound good, but the photography is amazing.
Sheila says
Okay, you don’t have to tell me anything other than it has chocolate {which its name already states}; I am sold.
But, I really need to get some presentation lessons from you. Those glass beads are gorgeous and I would never think of adding something like that to the serving platter. Beautiful!
Louise says
You always select THE BEST chocolate when cooking!
Liz C. says
Every time I sit in a big, over-sized chair I feel Lily Tomlyn’s character Edith Ann.
I adore Chocolate Mousse although I can’t stand Nancy Pelosi. So I won’t tell Mr. Snooty it’s her recipe when I make it.
I love to collect old champagne glasses for serving desserts in. I usually add a little plate underneath and add a delicate little cookie. Yum!
Debbie in CA : ) says
If I call this Noble Pig’s Chocolate Mousse we’re in business. If not . . .
12 ounces of expensive chocolate? Whoa!
Sounds delicious, but please change a step and call it NP’s Mousse.
imom says
It’s usually very easy for me to say no to dairy, unless it’s cheesecake or chocolate mousse. That looks really yummy and easy to make!
dawn says
now that’s a chair! that would last a few hundred years!
have you seen the price of those aeron chairs? holy moly
Daily Spud says
The mousse looks great, the glass beads look funky and the chair just looks plain big!
Alisa says
Yum. I too, love that chair. Although, it would completely dwarf me and I’d look like a little kid. My feet would come nowhere near reaching the ground!
I still love you even if you’re on a mission to fatten me up. There must be some Italian grandmother in you somewhere?
Helene says
What a beautiful chair. I’d love to get one. Mousse is one of these dessert that you eat with a really small spoon and savor every bite.
Elyse says
I love the chair, too! Perhaps it would be nice to eat this mousse while in the chair. I must admit to being quite impressed with Ms. Pelosi’s culinary skills. This mousse looks quite amazing!!
tipper says
I’d like to see you sitting in that chair-I dare say you could do a better job in it! The dessert looks YUM as always!
clumbsycookie says
Can I have the mousse and eat it in the chair?
sharon says
oh, heavenly!
Elaine at Lipstickdaily says
I’m gonna make this mousse . . . then serve it to my dad . . . THEN tell him it’s Nancy Pelosi’s recipe! Heh heh
Scott says
Yes, that is a beautiful chair, but Cathy, we are eaters! The dark chocolate mousse wins this contest every single day!
Suzette says
I’m glad I’m not the only one fascinated with that chair! I can’t concentrate on the business at hand, without wondering how comfortable it is. Or isn’t. I also think of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. I think this is Papa Bear’s chair!
Melynda says
I must say, love your presentation of food; it is spectacular. As for chairs, I think it would be interesting to have a sitting room with only chairs. None would match, each would be different styles and sizes. Everyone could find a comfortable spot and the room would be like no other.
wkf says
The Mousse looks devine, The Chair is lovely, that woman makes me twitch and yell at the TV….. Please don’t make a Clyburn Stew or “W” Barbque….
I can’t take it anymore!!!!!!!!!
Bob says
That looks mad good. I’ve been dying to make mousse lately, my mom has the best recipe ever. I guess I’ll just have to make a batch of this and a batch of my moms and do a taste test. It’s the scientific thing to do, future generations would thank me for being so altruistic. 😉
Paula says
I, too, am facinated by the large chair. I call it the Edith Ann Syndrome, from the old Laugh In show where Lily Tomlin sat in the giant rocking chair! Love the mousse … those pictures are divine! I want to scoop up that sprinkled sugar, and then dig into the chocolately goodness! YUM! (PS: Thanks for the heads up about the allowed comments on my blog. All is well, now!)
Laura says
Maybe you need more back support? 😉
This looks fabulous–I love mousse in all guises (cake, bowl, dark, milk, you name it). I’ve never made an egg one. I need to rectify that.
Mary says
Re the chair: I think you harbor a secret desire to rule more than a kitchen. Just a thought. The mousse, by the way, looks luscious.
pigpigscorner says
Love the mousse! I really have to try making some.
grace says
yeah, that’s a pretty awesome chair. regal, even. i’ll take the mousse though, and hope that i don’t eat so much that i would no longer fit in said chair. 🙂
Sarah S. says
I almost passed out when I saw the Godiva……. Gonna try THIS one 🙂
thepinkpeppercorn says
That mousse looks FANTASTIC!!! YUM!
gail says
I wish you were in that chair instead of her. At least she can cook!
MaryBeth says
This mousse is absolutely perfect, thick, creamy and very chocolaty. YUM-O
Woman in a window says
If someone could put that chair on a large enough chain I bet dollars to donuts you could be hypnotized. Just saying.
Very tempting dessert.
lynne says
egg whites in a box??? Who knew?
Actually, probably most of Northern America, but for me, its all new! And very, very strange.
And what about the fact that you have no excuse to make lemon curd or lemon merangue with all the left over yolks? Now that’s deprivation!
Lori says
That Godiva is calling my name!!
phillygirl64 says
I sat in that chair once…when it was Tip O’Neill’s
and since this is Speaker Pelosi’s recipe, shouldn’t you be using Ghiradelli or Scharffen Berger 😉
Mrs. L says
A much better chair than the techno Aeron chair I had to buy for work and home 🙁 Of course with a chair like that you’d need a matching desk!
Love the mouse recipe and like you, I love to try all these winning/contest recipes!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
Who knew Nancy Pelosi had a hidden talent for desserts? I think she’s a force, and I’m so glad she’s in that chair now.
Danielle says
That is a big chair! I hate when my feet don’t touch the floor though…I would have it all the way down and then it would just look fat and squat, um, kinda like me! The mousse looks fab though!
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
This is my all time favorite dessert one that I admit that I have not tried to make at home. That is until now… I am ready to step outside the box and try this one!!
Christine says
I must try this mousse recipe. I love the vibrancy of the glass pieces on the serving tray though I think the mousse is fancy enough as it is.