Of all the recipes that caught my eye in Nigella Lawson’s Italian inspired book, nigellissima, her instant chocolate-orange mousse was the one I had to make; firstly, because I love me some good chocolate mousse, but mostly, because it called for Aperol, a (very) bitter orange liqueur I bought thinking that splashing Prosecco over a bit in a glass and adding a strawberry ice cube would make for a pleasant sparkling cocktail.
It didn’t.
At least, not to me, or to my sister, who had also bough a bottle, based on my very successful Prosecco, limoncello, and strawberry ice cube sparkler.
And, lastly, because dark chocolate and orange; amiright?
Note: Nigella calls this instant because you can eat this immediately after making it, but it really is so much nicer after an overnight or two in the fridge.
INGREDIENTS
•6 oz bittersweet chocolate*
•1 cup heavy cream
•2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
•Pinch of salt
•2 tbsp Aperol
•2 tbsp orange juice
•Zest of 1/2 an orange
•Additional cream, whipped
*Nigella calls more minimum 62%; I had 60% and called it close enough.
Melt the chocolate in the ‘wave according to instructions on the package. When almost melted, scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir until smooth, then set aside to cool just a bit.
Pour one cup of the heavy cream into a bowl with the pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form.
Fold in the condensed milk until you have a thick mixture that will leave a trail of ribbons when you lift a spoonful.
Stir about one third of the cream and milk blend into the slightly cooled chocolate, then fold this back into the remaining cream and milk mixture.
Lightly stir in the Aperol and orange juice, then turn the mousse into six, six-ounce, glasses and chill for at least one hour or up to two days.
Note: I ended up with seven nicely filled serving glasses, and no one thought they were being short shrifted. This is a really good, really rich dessert, and sometimes, less really is more.
Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving with additional whipped cream and the orange zest.
I’m not really minding that bottle of Aperol in the liquor corner anymore…