alexist

Useless husband. "The queue in Clintons was too long!" Hmph. Not that I'm a big Valentines person but that's pathetic. :-)

Mousse came out fine texture-wise, but was a bit bitter. I was using the Valrhona Manjari (64%) because they had it in blocks in Waitrose. Normally I prefer the 56% or 61% for cooking. I upped the sugar slightly (from 1 Tb to 2) because of this, but forgot that the Manjari has this bitter kick to it. It's not necessarily a bad thing--the Manjari with candied orange peel is gorgeous--but I forgot to allow for it. This was accentuated by using coffee as the flavoring instead of a liqueur. I guessed at the amount of coffee, too--used 1/2 tsp instant espresso (terrible for drinking, but useful for flavoring!) to 1 Tb water.

That said, if I hadn't topped it with whipped cream, it wouldn't have been too evil diet-wise--each serving contained 1 egg, 1.5 oz chocolate, 1 Tb sugar and 2 Tb double cream. I do love the way double cream whips up though... mmm rich ;) (The thickest cream you can get in the US is usually 36% fat; double cream is 48%.)

Off tonight to the cinema. Ooh, alone with a pair of Glaswegians! ;)