Wow, is this mousse ever delicious and easy peasy – and I guess these are the two adjectives that I am always hoping I will be using when describing a recipe I just developed . . . don’t think that admission is going to win me any “wordsmith” awards, but I am just being honest and – as is my way – I digress. Back to the mousse: it literally takes no time at all to throw together (only as many minutes as it takes you to melt a cup of chocolate and to whip a cup of heavy cream) and because you enjoy it directly after assembling it, you’re literally eating an ethereally light, deeply chocolate-y and – yes – peppery, yet smooth (from the olive oil) treat in minutes of first deciding you’d like one. In other words, this is the perfect dessert when you realize you don’t have one, but everyone at the table is craving a sweet finish to the meal . . .
This is also yet another recipe that I created as part of my partnership with Colavita Olive Oil which means there is a video of me making it (in my kitchen, no less) and you can watch it here. Now, there are plenty of recipes on that thing we all love called: the “intra-web” – for chocolate mousse made with olive oil, but almost all of them require you to separate eggs and beat each separately, or at the very least, beat the whites til stiff peaks form. And then, you have to be okay with eating raw eggs, as the recipes don’t always have you cook them, and though I am okay with that, I know that that is not the case for everyone.
So when I stumbled upon a recipe calling for olive oil, but not for eggs, I jumped on it. Now, the only caveat, is that you really do need to eat the mousse at room temp right after making it. If you chill it in the fridge, which I tried – TWICE – the mousse has a slightly off-texture, as olive oil does not love being refrigerated. So keep that in mind and ENJOY!
Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
- 1/3 cup Colavita Olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pot of simmering water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each.
- Once melted add the olive oil and stir to combine. Let cool while you make the whipped cream.
- Whip the cream, vanilla cocoa powder and salt together in in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a mixing bowl and using a hand mixer, until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the slightly cooled chocolate into the whipped cream until combined and divide between four small ramekins. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.