Chocolate custard mousse

Name: Chocolate custard mousse
Yield: 6 small
Ingredients: 200 g Dark chocolate, we used 72 per cent Ghana (Main); 2 Tbsp Cocoa powder; 1 Tbsp Butter; 1 cup Cream, and an extra dash to melt with the chocolate; 1 cup Custard, cooled, see recipe below (Main); 1 ½ cups Whole milk; ⅓ Caster sugar; ½ Vanilla beans, split; 1 Lemon, zested, or use zest of half an orange; 4 Free-range egg yolks (Main); 2 Tbsp Cornflour; ⅓ cup Cream

Makes: 6 small

Tamara West

Warren Elwin

Food writer

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For a change, you can replace the chocolate in these custard-based desserts with enough caramel to taste, and chill to set as butterscotch mousse. For a butterscotch recipe, click here. You won't need all the custard in the recipe given for this mousse. Save the rest for another dessert.

Mousse

200 g	Dark chocolate, we used 72 per cent Ghana (Main)
2 Tbsp	Cocoa powder
1 Tbsp	Butter
1 cup	Cream, and an extra dash to melt with the chocolate
1 cup	Custard, cooled, see recipe below (Main)

Custard (makes 3 cups)

1 ½ cups	Whole milk
⅓	Caster sugar
½	Vanilla beans, split
1	Lemon, zested, or use zest of half an orange
4	Free-range egg yolks (Main)
2 Tbsp	Cornflour
⅓ cup	Cream

Directions

First make the custard. In a saucepan, heat full cream milk, caster sugar, vanilla bean pod and the zest of 1 lemon (or ½ orange) until just about boiling.
Beat egg yolks, cornflour and ⅓ cup cream until smooth. Whisk the scalded milk on to the egg mix and return to the saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens. Strain through a fine sieve. Cool.
To make the mousse, melt chocolate, cocoa powder, butter and a dash of cream, stirring until smooth. Gently fold chocolate into 1 cup of cooled custard then gently fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Spoon into small dishes or espresso cups and refrigerate until set. They will set firm. For a softer mousse add more custard to the mix.