I saw this recipe some time ago, and thinking of baking a batch and of course my baking list is so long that I totally forgot all about it until 2 weeks ago, I had to bake some cookies for Malaika’s school. I decided to try out new recipes. So I picked this lemon rosemary sable.

It tasted just like shortbread cookies to me. Very crumbly, melt in your mouth type. I felt guilty every time I popped one in my mouth cause I knew how much butter I used. I decided to make one log with rosemary and another without. Instead of rolling the sable with rosemary, I chopped it into small pieces and mix it in the dough. The one with rosemary tasted pretty good.

Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 1/2 lemons
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted before measuring
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour.

For the decoration (optional):
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoons minced, fresh rosemary

Methods:
1. With a mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it is smooth and very creamy.

2. Mix the sugar and zest together in a bowl and rub them together with your fingers until you can smell the lemon and the sugar is moist.

3. Add the sugars and salt and beat until smooth and looking like velvet. You’re not going for fluffy and airy, so keep it to about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in 2 egg yolks, beating until well blended.

4. Pour in all the flour, and, at low speed, pulse the mixer about 5 times. Mix at low speed for about 30 seconds more. You only want to mix until the flour disappears into the dough. You don’t want the dough to come together into a ball. It should be clumpy and soft.

5. Pour the dough out on a work surface, bring it into a ball, and divide it in two. Shape each piece into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2″ wide. (When forming your logs, lay the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and use it to help form the log). Wrap the logs well and put them in the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or kept in the freezer for 1 month. (if frozen, let dough thaw a bit before slicing into cookies. If they crumble when you slice them, you can gently pinch them back together)

6. When it’s time to bake, center one baking rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.

7. To apply the rosemary, whisk the egg yolk and brush it onto one log of chilled dough. Sprinkle the rosemary on a work surface and roll the log in the rosemary until somewhat covered. Trim the ends of the log if they are uneven and slice it into 1/3-inch-thick cookies.

8. Place the rounds on the baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between each cookie, and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet at the halfway point.

Dorie says: “When properly baked, the cookies will be light brown on the bottom, lightly golden around the edges and pale on top”. Let the cookies rest a couple of minutes before carefully moving them to a cooling rack.

I bought two madeleines moulds years ago because I wanted to make madeleines. But then, I kept it in the pantry drawers for so long until I forgot all about them. Last weekend, I had 2 egg whites in the fridge. Rather than trying my luck again at macarons, I decided to try my luck at madeleines. Then, I found out that baking madeleines required 2 whole eggs rather than egg whites. Since I had already done all the pre works for madeleines, I might as well go ahead with baking madeleines. And at the same time, I tried my luck on macarons again. This shall be in another post.

This little plump fat tea cakes were packed with chocolate flavour. I was surprised with the taste. Well, since I never tasted any madeleines before, I didn’t know what texture should be expected. Anyway, it was moist and very easy to eat too. My family loves it. The only downside of this little plump cake, the batter is needed to be chilled in the fridge for overnight, for a better result. Some recipes do called for chilling for a min an hour. Original recipe is from here.

Ingredients make about 12-14 madeleines
70g all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp double-acting baking powder
90g sugar
Pinch of salt
Grated zest of ¼ lemon (optional)
2 large eggs, room temperature
100g unsalted butter, room temperature

Methods:
1. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside. If using the lemon zest, combine the sugar, salt and lemon zest in another bowl and rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist, grainy and aromatic.

2. Using a whisk, beat the eggs with the lemon-sugar mixture until blended. Squish the butter through your fingers and add to the bowl. You will be left with little clumps of butter in the mixture–this is okay. Beat in the butter with the whisk until it is evenly distributed. Whisk in the sifted flour mixture just until the flour is incorporated and mixture is smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and chill overnight. If you can’t wait overnight, chill the batter for at least an hour before baking.

3. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 220C. Butter a 12-mold madeleine pan then dust it with flour (even if you are using a nonstick pan) and tap out the excess.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the madeleine molds–you don’t have to worry about spreading the batter on the molds, the heat will do that for you. Place the pan in the oven and use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar. Immediately turn down the oven temperature to 170C and bake the cookies for 13 – 15 minutes, or until the cookies are domed and spring back when pressed lightly. Unmold the cookies and transfer them to a rack to cool to room temperature.

2nd tier – meringue ghosts

I decided to make meringue ghosts this year after seeing the video. I left the tray of meringue in the oven overnight, after turning off the oven. It was crispy and melt in your mouth kind of dessert.  I just used black food writer to draw the eyes and mouth.  Hence the appearance of the ghosts  were  not that convicing.

Methods:
2 large egg whites (60 grams)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
80g superfine or caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 105 degrees C and place the rack in the center of the oven.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

3.Before placing the meringue ghosts on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding. Transfer the meringue to the pastry bag and, holding the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet, pipe, with even pressure, about 2 inch (5 cm) high mounds of meringue. Carefully press two candy eyes, edible silver dragees, or two miniature chocolate chips into each meringue ghost.

4. Bake the meringues for approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until they are dry and crisp to the touch. Turn off the oven, open the door, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours, or even overnight.

The Meringue Ghosts will keep several days at room temperature.

Normally, I won’t buy lamb from the supermarket because I don’t know how to cook lamb. So happened I came across this recipe that used lavender. I was interested to find out the taste. So, one day, I was doing marketing and decided to buy some lamb cutlets to try out the recipe. I also remembered that we had some lavender plant in the backyard. So one fine day, I decided to give this recipe a trial. And you know what, I found out that the lavender in our garden has all dried up. I only managed to pluck 3 miserable stalks. With the recipe called for 3 tablespoons of chopped lavender, I knew that if I didn’t somehow get more lavender, this recipe would sure fail. I also remembered while walking Malaika back from the bus station, we saw some lavender by the street. So, with cold drizzly rain, I braced myself, opened an umbrella and walked out to find some lavender. I managed to ‘steal’ some lavender from neighbours. I thought lavender grows wildly, actually, they are all grown by somebody. Ooooppss!

the main ingredient – lavender

Anyway, we had a very satisfying meal. The lavender smells was not overpowering, just a hint of the lavender smell. My boss gave a thumb up too. So was my little girl. I am so glad that I have found a good way to cook lamb.  A definitely keeper. Original recipe from here.

Ingredients
6 cutlets
3 tbsp chopped Lavender flowers

Balsamic marinade
1 shallot, peeled and halved
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper

Method:
1. Place the racks of lamb in a large bowl or wide dish and sprinkle the lavender all over it and rub it into the meat.
2. Place all the marinade ingredients in the TM bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5.
3. Pour the marinade over the lamb racks, making sure it is coated all over. Set aside and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I marinated it in the morning and cooked it for dinner.
4. Preheat the oven at 200C (fan ovens) or 220C (non fan)
5. Preheat a cast-iron griddle pan and brown the racks (leave the marinade in the bowl and reserve) 2 minutes each side or until they are charred.
6. Place the racks of lamb in a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes, turning once.
7. When the lamb is cooked, place it inside a big sheet of foil and seal.
8. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
9. Heat the marinade in a small saucepan, add the juices of the lamb.
10. Plate up and serve at once.

praline soufflé

I have a list of food that I want to bake/cook, all bookmarked, and never really get into it. Soufflé is in the list. I even bought all those remekins, but never used them to make soufflé. I saw this recipe and immediately thought that it might be the calling for me to finally make soufflé. So, I gathered all the ingredients and started making my very first soufflé.

I made a batch on Christmas Eve. Everybody raved about it. Even my big boss likes it. Actually, when I saw this recipe, I immediately thought that he might like it. He always likes nutty dessert. I like it too. Too bad, the kids didn’t like it. The soufflé was light and nutty and just the right sweetness. It was really delish. The portion in the recipe was a bit out. It stated there using 12 egg whites and for 6 servings. Totally wrong. I had so much egg whites, I resorted to make waffles on the following day. I knew I could not eat so much and hated to throw away the egg white. So, the recipe below is alternate to suit my little family.

Tips: It is a pretty time consuming recipe. I did the pastry cream and the praline paste in advanced and sealed them in air-tight containers.

roasted nuts with sugar in brittle form

Ingredients: Serves 4-6
For the praline paste:
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup blanched hazelnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1 tbsp oil

For the pastry cream:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup sugar
1/6 cup cornstarch
3 egg yolks, keep the egg whites for later use
1 tsp butter
1 tablespoon Armagnac (optional)

For the praline soufflé:
1 cup pastry cream (see above)
4 eggs, yolk & white separated, I used 3 eggs and yield 4 soufflés
1/2 cup praline paste (see above)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
powdered sugar
butter + sugar for ramequins

Methods:
For the praline paste:
1. Preheat the oven to 150C.
2. Place the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking sheet and place in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool.
3. Combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan, add the vanilla seeds to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook until it turns into a light caramel. Add the toasted nuts and continue cooking until the mixture turns to a deep amber color while stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the caramelized nuts mixture onto a baking tray lined with a baking paper. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
4. Break the nut brittle into pieces and place in a food processor. Process until you obtain a powder. Add the oil and process until the mixture turns into a paste.

For the pastry cream:
1. Put the milk in a medium saucepan and place the vanilla bean and seeds in it. Bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth. Add a little bit of hot milk to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Scrap the mixture back into the milk saucepan and place over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and boils for a few seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and Armagnac until fully incorporated and smooth. Remove the vanilla bean. Cool.a

For the praline soufflé:
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Brush the inside of 4 ramequins with soft butter and coat with sugar. Tap out the excess and chill the ramequins.
2. Place 1 cup of pastry cream in a large bowl and whisk in the egg yolks. Whisk in the praline until smooth. Set aside.
3. Place 3 whites (unused from making pastry cream) in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and keep beating until the whites form soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar until the whites form stiff peaks.
4. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the praline custard and then gently fold in the remaining whites.
5. Fill the ramequins almost full with the mixture. Remove the excess sugar from the rim of the ramequins and place them on a baking tray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

The first time I baked macaron, I failed miserably, but I didn’t know about it.  I know that my end product was different than the one I saw in the food blog.  But I didn’t dwell further.  Then, as I read more food blog and came across many bloggers baking macarons, then only I realised that the batch of macarons I baked years ago, was a big flop. There are so many macaron fans out there. The last time I was in Strasbourg, I bought a box of macaron from a bakery shop, wanting to try the real deal. Well, it was way too sweet for me.  I am not a big fan. But since it is so difficult to make it, I was determined to get it right.  Since then, every now and then, whenever I had some egg whites, I would attempt to bake macarons, and still a flop.  Then, a few nights ago, I looked around the web, trying to find tips and troubleshooting on how to make macarons,

For the first time ever, I took out my food processor to grind the ground almond to even finer.  I even took out my stone mortar to grind the last few coarse sand like ground almond to powder.  I was determined, this time, I must get it right.

For the first batch, after piping, I air-dried the macaron for 20 mins or so and then popped the baking sheet in to a preheated oven of 200C for a few mins ( the oven was turned off)  They dried out perfectly.  Then I preheated the oven to 150C and baked these baby for like 15 mins.  I was so happy to see those little feet, finally, after all these years and quite a few of wasted egg whites. There were prefect, with feet and not collapse.  Even though some were cracked.  But considering that I have tried so many times, I am very happy that at least some of the macarons look like what macaron should look like.

finally, my macarons have feet!

Then, I thought, well, now I made this, I hope it was not a one hit wonder.  For the 2nd batch, I used the same method, popped the macarons in to the oven to dry.  Well, this time, it didn’t work. After a few minutes, I took out the macarons, all were wrinkles (perhaps the heat difference was too great and cause the macaron to collapse) and didn’t look like those feet would appear.  Sure enough, the 2nd batch of macarons looked like chocolate cookies.  Lesson learned – air dried them outside, don’t just pop them  in the oven to speed up the process.

a batch of failed macarons

An incident: I gave Terry a macaron to test.  Actually, after I baked them, I put the plain macarons on a plate and he had been snacking.  I forbad that, and told him I wanted to make chocolate filling. Anyway, he was quite full after the dinner.  When Malaika saw me offering chocalate macaron, she wanted some too.  Then, Terry told her, he would share with her his.  After taking a bite, he told her, eh.. you take a piece for yourself, he didnt want to share his anymore. Ha ha…

Original recipe from David Lebovitz:

Ingredients:
Macaron Batter
80g powdered sugar (original called for 100g)
50g ground almonds
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1.5 tablespoons granulated sugar (original called for 3 tbsp)

Chocolate Filling
60 ml heavy cream
1 teaspoons light corn syrup
60 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5g butter, cut into small pieces

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
2. Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.
3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).
5. Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
6. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, and air dry the macaron for 30 mins and then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Assembly/Storage
1. Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together.
2. Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors.
3. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze. If you freeze them, defrost them in the unopened container, to avoid condensation which will make the macarons soggy.

I have not been cooking/baking with Malaika cooking/baking  for quite some time. She had been begging me to try some of the recipes on the children cookbook. I am just too lazy. Since it is summer time, she spends more time outdoor,  hence less time to do anything indoor, except for practising her piano, Chinese words, and watching TV. She can watch a DVD again and again and again. At times, when I am busy in the kitchen or FB-ing, I just let her.

After weeks of procrastination, I finally agreed to let her be the chef. So dinner was chicken burger. She knew the drill, since she had done it before. This time, she used a pang to flip the chicken breasts, which was much easier than using a frying ladle. She tried to cut the burger bun into 2, but unsuccessful. Need more skills and practice. She even wanted to try to peel the cucumber, I didn’t let her do it, but then she told me she had done it in the kindergarten. So, I will let her peel cucumber or carrot the next time. I let her assemble the burger. She was a happy camper, munching on her burger.

try her hand to slice the bun, but failed

spread some mayo and butter on the bun

pan fried some chicken breasts

trying to slice some cucumber, also failed…

yum yum! Delicious!

On the side, Malaika was upset because she felt that nobody takes her seriously. She always has to ask for permission to do this and that. When she accidentally dropped a cherry on the floor, papa asked her to pick it up and washed it. She burst out, ‘ warum bist du immer the boss? Ich soll machen what du willst. Ich will auch ein boss sein.’ ‘Why are you always the boss? I have to do what you ask me to. I want to be a boss too.’ She is one bossy girl.

a big bowl of cherry

Last week, our neighbour gave us a big bowl of cherry, freshly plucked from their cherry tree. They have so many cherries that they have to give them away. So far, the weather has been good this year. Last year, it was raining and raining and more raining, it seemed like there was no summer at all. So I am expecting lots of harvest like apples and nuts in our garden towards autumn. Anyway, back to the cherry. So, I got the bowl from the neighbour and Terry saw them, so he returned the bowl to the neighbour, thanking them. Then, he came back with another bowl of cherries. And I was told that this type of cherries are not suitable for jamming. Then, I remember seeing many food blogger made cherry clafoutis from time to time. So, I googled and picked a recipe. I was surprised that clafoutis is actually a children friendly recipe. So, I summoned Malaika to the kitchen and let her make cherry clafoutis. I first measured all the ingredients and removed the pit from the cherry.  I read that the authentic recipe called for unpitted cherry, but our free from harmful chemicals cherry might have some worms and maggot inside, so I’d better remove the pit to have a peace of mind when I consume the dessert.

Julia Child’s Cherry Clafouti
Ingredients: about 6 ramekins
1 1/4 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups cherries, pitted
powdered sugar, for garnish

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease the ramekins with butter.
2. Combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and well mix using a hand mixer.

getting more pro in using the hand mixer

3. Pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. And place the ramekins into the oven for about 10 mins or until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet). Set remaining batter aside.
4. Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the ramekins, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.

putting cherries in the ramekins

sprinkle some sugar on the cherry

finally, pour the remaining batter in the ramekins

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Malaika and Kelsey enjoyed a pot of freshly baked cherry clafoutis

Note: Essentially, the batter for clafoutis is just french crepe recipe, not the american baking powder kind of pancake. One can substitute any fruits in the clafoutis.

When I saw this recipe, the pic showed was so tempting that I got to try it out. Somemore, it was stated there easy and not time consuming. Then, I bought 4 pieces of pork cutlet in the morning and cooked it for dinner, to make sure the meat was super fresh. The recipe didn’t call for marination of meat, I thought marinate the meat should add to the tastiness of the meat. So I just sprinkle some salt and pepper and some Chinese rice wine and left it in the fridge for a few hours.

Ingredients:
4 pork cutlets, French-trimmed, about 250 gm each
1½ tbsp vegetable oil
30 g butter (I used 15 gm)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
150 ml dry white wine
150 ml homemade or good quality chicken stock
100 ml pure cream
50 g Dijon mustard
30 g wholegrain mustard ( I used only 15g)
1 tsp thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to serve (optional)
salt and pepper , to taste

Method:
1. Season pork culets with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan on medium, until butter is foaming. Cook pork, continuously spooning butter mixture over top, for 4-5 mins each side, until brown. Holding pork with tongs, cook pork, fat side down for 5 mins, until fat is melted and golden. Transfer cutlets to a wire rack placed over a baking tray. Cover loosely with foil and rest in a warm place for 5 mins.
2. Meanwhile, drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pan. Reheat on low. Cook garlic and eschalots for 2-3 mins, until just soft. Add wine, increase heat to medium and simmer for 3-4 mins, until reduced by half. Add stock and cream and simmer for 8 mins, until reduced by half again. Whisk in mustards and any juices from resting pork. Stir in thyme leaves.
3. Place pork cutlets on serving plates and spoon over mustard sauce. Scatter with extra thyme sprigs, if using, and serve.

Actually making chocolate mousse never come to my mind.  Somehow when I was thinking of what to make for the Christmas dinner, chocolate mousse as a dessert sounded great.  So, I asked HN to get a real French recipe from a real French.  I failed in making my very first chocolate mousse because I forgot to add melt butter together with the chocolate. Only after I added all the whipped egg whites, I realised I missed the step.  I am not sure whether it was an important step or not.  So, I added the melted butter to the finished product, and it turned out badly – hard like a chocolate and no mousse like property.  Then, I set to make another batch of chocolate mousse a few weeks later.  This time, I used a different recipe and since I didn’t forget the steps, it turned out great. I omitted the alcohol.  And I added the strong coffee as indicated in the recipe.  Terry doesn’t like the coffee taste.  Even though he likes the texture of the chocolate mousse, he didn’t eat any because of the coffee taste.  And he also wanted it to be milk chocolate, he likes those in the restaurant which has a milky flovour.  So I am to make another batch of chocolate mousse for him.  In the mean time, I am enjoy this chocolate mousse.  And I have to reduce sugar the next time I make this, it is a bit too sweet  for my liking, perhaps reduce the sugar from 170g to 120g.

Recipe is largely adepted from David Lebovitz. Make 6-8 servings.

Ingredients:
170g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
170g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
60ml dark-brewed coffee (optional)
4 large eggs, separated
170g plus 1 tablespoon sugar (reduced to 120g next time)
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Methods:
1. Heat a saucepan one-third full with hot water, and in a bowl set on top, melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee, stirring over the barely simmering water, until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
3. In a bowl large enough to nest securely on the saucepan of simmering water, whisk the yolks of the eggs with the 2/3 cup of sugar, rum, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick, like runny mayonnaise.
3. Remove from heat and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks within the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick, as shown in the photo above. Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff, then the vanilla.
5. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume.
6. Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.

Storage: The mousse au chocolat can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.