Chocolate Mousse Pie

So many romantic dinners end, as they should, with chocolate. The reasons are obvious: chocolate is good for your health, it may or may not be an aphrodisiac and it’s pretty friggin’ delicious.

Unfortunately, most chocolate desserts are dense and heavy. Think chocolate tortes that are basically a 9-inch truffle, molten lava cakes with thick rivers of chocolate syrup, ganache that requires a shovel rather than a spoon. Don’t get me wrong — I love all of those things dearly. But sometimes a meal calls for a lighter finale, a cloud-like dessert instead of a prescription for a food coma.

Enter this chocolate mousse pie. It is all of the gloriousness of chocolate pudding, sandwiched between a crunchy chocolate crust and swaths of airy whipped cream. Rather than the richness of an egg yolk- or even cornstarch-based pudding, the filling is made by whipping air egg whites until they stiffen up into glossy, frothy peaks. Gently folding the whites into whipped cream and a simple chocolate ganache creates a chocolate mousse that practically dissolves on your tongue.

While the original recipe called for semisweet chocolate, I used a blend of 83% and 55% chocolate, which made the pie even more “chocolate”-y and less sweet. (Those percentages indicate the amount of ingredients from the cocoa bean, ie. the cocoa butter and chocolate liquor, in that bar. A higher percentage means there’s a higher concentration of pure chocolate [and less sugar] in that bar — hence why 80-90% chocolate bars are so bitter. [Though a higher percentage doesn’t necessarily indicate better chocolate, since there are many factors that go into creating the perfect chocolate bar.] Semisweet chocolate is usually between 45-50% cocoa, while bittersweet is usually around 60-65%. And that’s more than you ever wanted to know about chocolate … )

The end result is a barely sweet, light-as-air pie that will prove your devotion to your Valentine’s date. After all, isn’t the mark of true love that you’re willing to share? 

Chocolate Mousse Pie
Recipe from Chow

The ideal cookies for the crust are Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers, but if you can’t find those, scrape out the creme filling and use Oreos.

– 6 ounces chocolate cookie wafers (about 25 wafers)

– 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

– 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped + 1 ounce semisweet chocolate

– 2-1/2 cups cold heavy cream, divided

– 3 large egg whites (no traces of yolk), at room temperature

– 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crust:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.

2) Either in a food processor or with a rolling pin, crush the chocolate wafer cookies until the pieces are pea-sized. Add the melted butter and continue crushing the cookies until they resemble coarse coffee grounds.

3) Transfer the cookie crumbs to the pie plate and using the heel of your hand, press the crumbs firmly onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate in an even layer. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is fragrant. Cool completely before making the filling, at least 1 hour.

For the filling and topping:

1) Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water. Place the 5 ounces of chocolate and 1/4 cup of the cream in a large heatproof bowl. (Refrigerate the rest of the cream until ready to use.) Nest the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water — congrats, you’ve just made a double-boiler! Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until it’s smooth and combined with the cream. Remove the bowl from the saucepan, wipe any moisture from the bottom of it, and set aside to cool completely.

2) Using an electric mixer and a large clean bowl, whip the egg whites until they are glossy and stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.

3) Clean and dry the electric beaters. Freeze the beaters and a large metal bowl for 10 minutes. Once the beaters and bowl are cold, add 3/4 cup of cream. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.

4) Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture, then gently stir in the rest, trying not to deflate the whipped cream. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate-cream mixture, just until there are no longer large blobs of whipped cream or egg white — do not overmix. Spoon the mousse into the cooled pie crust and smooth it into an even layer. Refrigerate uncovered until set, at least 2 hours.

5) Make the whipped cream: just before serving, again freeze clean beaters and a large metal bowl for 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1-1/2 cups of cream, the sugar and the vanilla, and whip on high speed until stiff-ish peaks form. Use a spatula to spread the whipped cream over the pie in an even layer.

6) Grate the remaining 1 ounce of semisweet chocolate over the pie. Serve chilled.