Chocolate Mousse on a Dulce de Leche Base
A proper Argentine chocolate mousse, which means no cream and no gelatine. The lift comes entirely from ten eggs, and the whole thing sits on a layer of dulce de leche spooned into the bottom of the serving bowl so every scoop drags some up with it.
It is four steps and one folding technique. Melt, whip the yolks, whip the whites, fold. The folding is the only part that matters, and the rule there is simple: no electric mixer, or you knock out all the air you just spent ten minutes building.
We have the recipe
This recipe calls for dulce de leche, and we have our own recipe for it.
How to Make Chocolate Mousse on a Dulce de Leche Base
Four stages, and only the last one needs a careful hand. Line the bowl with dulce de leche, melt the chocolate, whip the yolks and the whites separately, then fold the two together without knocking the air out.
1. The base and the chocolate
- 1
Spoon the dulce de leche into the bottom of your serving bowl and spread it level.
- 2
Melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat, stirring, and pull the pan off the heat the moment it is smooth.
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2. Yolks, sugar and chocolate
- 1
Beat the yolks with the sugar until doubled in volume, pale and glossy. Give it the full few minutes, this is where the structure comes from.
- 2
Pour in the melted chocolate and butter and mix until evenly combined.
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3. Whites, folding and chilling
- 1
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks in a clean bowl.
- 2
Fold the chocolate mixture into the whites in three additions using a spatula. No electric mixer here. Pour over the dulce de leche base and chill until set.
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The Recipe
Prep25 min
Cook10 min
Total4h 35m
Serves10
DifficultyMedium
Ingredients
for 10 serves
Instructions
Spoon the dulce de leche into the bottom of the bowl you plan to serve in and spread it into an even layer. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, and take it off the heat the moment it is smooth. Do not let it catch or overheat. Set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the yolks and sugar until the mixture has doubled in volume, turned pale and looks glossy. This takes several minutes and is where most of the structure comes from, so do not cut it short.
Pour the melted chocolate and butter into the yolks and mix until evenly combined.
In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks.
Add the chocolate and yolk mixture to the whites in three additions, folding gently with a spatula each time. No electric mixer at this step. Stop as soon as no large streaks remain.
Pour the mousse over the dulce de leche base and smooth the top.
Chill until set and at the temperature you want: about 4 hours in the fridge for a soft, classic mousse, or 1 to 2 hours in the freezer for something denser and colder.
Serve straight from the bowl, digging down so each spoonful picks up dulce de leche. If you would rather plate it, scoop mousse and base together into individual bowls once it is cold.
Tips & Notes
This mousse contains raw egg
The eggs are never cooked, so use the freshest ones you can and keep the mousse refrigerated. If you are serving someone pregnant, very young, elderly or immunocompromised, use pasteurised eggs, which most supermarkets carry in the chilled aisle.
No electric mixer for the folding
Use a spatula and a light hand. Cut down through the middle, sweep along the bottom of the bowl, lift and turn. A few streaks of unmixed white are far better than a smooth mousse you have beaten flat.
Fold into the whites, not the other way around
Adding the heavy chocolate mixture to the light whites keeps more air than tipping the whites into the chocolate. Do it in three additions, and treat the first one as a sacrifice to loosen the mixture.
Do not let the chocolate get too hot
Low heat, and off the heat the second it is melted. Chocolate that is too hot will start to cook the yolks when the two meet, and you will get little scrambled specks through the mousse.
Classic dulce de leche, not repostero
The base wants to be spreadable so it gives way under a spoon. Repostero is built to hold its shape and sets too firm here, which makes it hard to get a bit of base with each scoop.
Fridge or freezer
Four hours in the fridge gives a classic soft mousse. An hour or two in the freezer gives something closer to a semifreddo, denser and colder, which is very good in summer. Both work, so it depends what you are after.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 455 kcal
- Protein
- 10.3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 52.2 g
- Total Fat
- 23.1 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 1.6 g
- Sugars
- 48 g
- Sodium
- 144 mg
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list using USDA reference data. Estimates only, and they will shift with brands, portion size and how much of any sauce or oil you actually eat.
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