When I was younger and my grandparents would take me out for dinner, I felt so adult when I ordered chocolate mousse at a nice restaurant. At the time I thought it was something really elegant and well, adult. But what I didn't like is when I take that first silky bite and find it reeked of alcohol. To me, alcohol doesn't belong in desserts - it distracts rather than enhances the flavor.

So I set about finding the perfect chocolate mousse recipe. I did this recipe on AM Northwest this morning and it met with ooohs and ahhhs. The secret is using egg whites - that's what really gives the mousse that incredible texture. I've posted the recipe below so you too can oooh and ahhh over chocolate!

Classic Chocolate Mousse

Serves 6

6 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoons pieces
4 large eggs, separated and whites at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cold whipping cream

Place chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir once or twice until chocolate has melted. Remove bowl from water and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until each piece has melted before adding the next. Whisk in egg yolks one at a time and finally add sugar.

In a medium bowl whip egg whites to soft peaks. Fold in 1/3rd of whites into chocolate until well incorporated. Add remaining whites and fold gently until only a few white streaks remain.

In a small bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Fold in 1/3rd of cream into chocolate until well incorporated. Add remaining cream and fold gently until no white streaks remain. Divide among dessert glasses, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours. Serve with additional whipped cream, fresh berries and chocolate shavings if desired.

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