Easy Peasy Chocolate Mousse

Last summer, the first with me working from home and Maya being here all day for most of the summer, I thought one fun way of keeping her from getting TOO bored would be to cook lunch together every day.  We would learn how to make new things, she would get some mad skilz in the kitchen, and it would be fun.  We cooked two, maybe three things (one of which was mac and cheese from the box).  The problem was that she is indeed my child, and also Ted’s child, and she LOVES to sleep in.  Also, being my child, breakfast when she first wakes up doesn’t really appeal to her.  So by the time she’s ready for breakfast, after sleeping until 9, sometimes even 10, it’s brunch.  But she’ll just eat a bowl of cereal or some oatmeal, leaving my cooking plans at at the wayside.

Fast forward to this summer, and it’s not any different, except she’s spending a lot more time on the computer/X-Box than she did last year.   Not really a lot of lunchtime cooking going on.  Which is fine, since my expectations are now so much lower.  On Sunday, I was perusing Maya’s cookbooks, looking for pancake or french toast recipes (my Joy of Cooking cookbook was destroyed in the flood), and I happened upon a recipe for Chocolate Mousse that looked REALLY easy.  A few weeks ago, Maya and I were watching Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network, and she made this version, which involved alcohol and whipping egg whites and on and on, and I’m not convinced the egg yolks ever got cooked…and really, it just looked way too hard for me.  I’m not one of those cooks who sees something like that and says, “Yay, a challenge!”  Nope, I’m more like, “Why would you do all of that when you can open a box and make it so much faster?”  So when I saw the recipe in Maya’s Williams Sonoma Kid’s Cookbook, I said, I’m game, let’s try.  You know what?  It was yummy.  It’s more like chocolate whipped cream than a ‘proper’ mousse, but it’s still pretty darned rich.  So, if you feel like making Easy Peasy Chocolate Mousse (my name for it, not theirs), here’s the recipe for you. 

Easy Peasy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, or 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped.
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled.

Equipment:
Measuring cups
Small saucepan and small heatproof bowl
Wooden spoon
Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Rubber spatula
Plastic wrap

Instructions:
Fill the small saucepan half full with water. Choose a small, deep heatproof bowl that fits snugly on the saucepan. Be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Add the chocolate to the small bowl and set the whole thing (water-filled pan and bowl) over medium heat.

Heat the chocolate, stirring often with the wooden spoon, until it is melted, about 5 minutes. During that time, the water should simmer, not boil. Adjust the heat up or down as necessary.

Turn off the heat. Ask an adult to remove the bowl from the saucepan of water. Set the bowl aside to cool slightly.

Pour the cream into the large mixing bowl. Using the electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the cream until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Add the warm chocolate to the cream. Continue beating on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula, until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. To test, turn off the mixer and lift the beaters. If the cream makes soft little peaks that flop over slightly, it is ready.

Spoon the mousse into serving cups or glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings