Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts

Several people have asked for my chocolate mousse recipe. It is from Alice Medrich's book, Chocolate And the Art Of Low-Fat Desserts. It's a great book and if you don't have any dietary issues except wanting low fat dessert recipes there are other great desserts in the book. The chocolate souffles are to die for and very easy, but they call for some flour.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MERINGUE MOUSSE

This can be eaten with a spoon, or used in another dessert.
For Weight Watchers, it is 3 points for a 1/2 cup serving or 127 calories.
Makes about 5 cups, or enough for 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
1 tsp instant espresso
1 once unsweetened chocolate. ( I use Callebaut brand, but use the best you can find)
4 onces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. (I use at least 70% chocolate.)Chopped fine.
scant 3/8 tsp cream of tartar
5 egg whites
10 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment
Instant read thermometer

Work time: 20 minutes
Chill time at least 4 hours

1. In a small heatproof bowl dissolve the espresso powder in 5 tablespoons of water. Add all the chocolate and vanilla. Set the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water and stir frequently until smooth.

2. Make the safe meringue.
Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a large skillet.
Combine the cream of tartar and 5 teaspoons of water in a 6-8 cup stainless steel bowl. I use one of the bowls from my mixer. Whisk in the egg whites and the sugar. Place a thermometer near the stove in a mug of very hot tap water. Set bowl in skillet. Stir mixture briskly and constantly with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to keep from scrambling the whites. After 2 minutes remove bowl from skillet. Quickly insert the thermometer in at least 2inches. If less than 160 degrees F. rinse thermometer in skillet and return it to the mug.
Replace bowl in in skillet. Stir as before until temperature reache 160F. when bowl is removed.
Beat on high speed until cool and stiff.

3. Fold about a quarter of the meringue into the chocolate mixture. Fold the remaining meringue into the chocolate mixture ( I actually add the chocolate mixture, after the first amount of meringue because of the bowl size) use immediately in another dessert or scrape into individual serving dishes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hour, or until set. Mousse may be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 day.

For company I will sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.

Enjoy. It really does only take about 20 minutes to make. Good chocolate makes a really big difference here. My favorite is Valrona for this one, but use your favorite. Whole Foods carries unsweetened Callebaut chocolate which is far superior to Bakers. They also break up the big 5 kilo bars of 70 % Callebaut to sell and this where I get the Valrona. When I was doing a lot of baking many years ago, a restaurateur friend used to get me that big bar of chocolate and is that amazing. It keeps quite well as long as it is well wrapped.