Two options for gettin’ fancy! Choose silky, fudgy ganache or a thin, sweet candy shell…either way, you’re still getting a rich, smooth dark chocolate dessert that’s easy to make yet sure to impress!

Ingredients

Option 1: Chocolate Shell

  • 2 ounces white candy coating dipping chocolate (Stater Brothers’ brand is the best)
  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
  • *To make chocolate dip, blend white dipping chocolate and semisweet or dark chocolate chips using a 2:3 ratio (this means that I use 2 ounces of white dipping chocolate and 3 ounces of the chips). Blending white dipping chocolate (sometimes called candy coating or melts) with semisweet or dark chocolate tastes much better, in my opinion, than chocolate flavored dipping products.

Option 2: Ganache Glaze

  • 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate (Baker’s – see Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks)
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup (optional: use 2 tbsp of Orange Syrup and 2 tbsp corn syrup)
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Mousse:

  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (Baker’s – see Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks)
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp espresso powder (optional but highly recommended)
  • ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold


Tools and Timing

  • Half sphere molds (you can buy them on Amazon)
  • Pot and bowl that fits inside (I use one with handles, but I’ve also set a glass bowl on a smaller pot and it worked well)
  • Heatproof whisk
  • Cutting board
  • Butcher knife (for cutting chocolate)
  • Wax paper and plastic wrap
  • 85 minutes for Chocolate Shell Domes; 105 minutes for Chocolate Glaze Domes

Background

This recipe is combination of pieces of other recipes: the mousse is originally a part of a mousse cake from Tartelette Blog. I loved the idea of having a mousse that didn’t included egg whites, so when I read this recipe, I knew I need to try it. This mousse has a light, fluffy texture without the work of whipping egg whites…Hooray!

The ganache comes from a recipe called “American Beauty Cake” from the Brewer and the Baker. The original cake is SO YUMMY (I’d recommend trying it); the ganache has a fudgier component because it’s a bit more complex than a simple ganache recipe. After first making this cake, I knew I’d use the ganache component for other recipes!

Add these two together, and voila! You get a simple yet rich recipe for mousse complemented with a  sinful, fudgy ganache…and my Simply Sinful Mousse Cups were born…then, I bought a half sphere baking mold…and now I’m sharing this surprisingly easy yet elegant recipe with you!

Step-by-step

Chocolate Shell Domes

  1. Melt dipping chocolate: Chop the white dipping chocolate then combine white dipping chocolate and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval for 10-15 seconds. Continue this process just until chocolate is smooth; careful not to over-microwave…we don’t want burnt chocolate. (This took me a total of 90 seconds).
  2. Paint your domes – if you have a culinary paintbrush, have at it! Otherwise, I use the back of a teaspoon. Carefully “paint” the inside of each dome mold, trying to an even and thin coating (but give yourself some grace – if it’s not perfect, it will still be magical)! Wipe off any chocolate that gets outside of the mold using a wet paper towel.
  3. Place domes in fridge…then prep your mousse!

*If opting for ganache glazed domes, the order of preparation is reversed: the mousse gets made first, then the ganache.

mousse and shells

Mousse Recipe

  1. Separate egg yolk and set aside (this allows the yolk to come to room temperature).
  2. Fill the bottom of a pot with about an inch of water.
  3. Set bowl into pot – the water should not touch the bottom (check by lifting the bowl out to see if the bottom is wet – if it is, dump out a little water and try again)
  4. Remove the bowl and turn heat to medium-high to bring water to a boil.
  5. As the water is heating, prep and measure the chocolate, milk, espresso powder, and butter into the bowl.
  6. As soon as water boils, turn the heat down to medium and set bowl into pot. Whisking constantly, melt ingredients together.
  7. As soon as the ingredients are blended smoothly, remove the bowl and set on cooling rack. *Allow to cool 15-20 minutes.
  8. After the mixture has been cooled for at least 15 minutes, start whipping the cream. Place the cold cream into a separate bowl and whip on medium-high speed until medium peaks form (this means that the whipped cream is starting to take shape…but looks like you put whipped cream on a piece of pie then left it for 5 minutes so it’s slightly melted!)
  9. Whisk the egg yolk into your chocolate mixture.
  10. Scoop out 1/3 of your whipped cream and fold into chocolate mixture.
  11. Once folded, add the chocolate into the remaining whipped cream and fold until combined.
  12. If using chocolate shell domes, remove the mold from the refrigerator, fill the molds (you can use a piping bag or simply scoop carefully using a teaspoon), cover with wax paper and saran wrap, and place in freezer or fridge (your preference). The domes will be ready to serve in 30 minutes.
  13. If using ganache glaze, fill the molds, cover with wax paper and saran wrap, and place in freezer.
  14. Prep the ganache glaze (if choosing this option)

Ganache Glaze

  1. Chop the chocolate into chunks (think chocolate chip sized); this will help them melt quickly so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
  2. Measure corn syrup and cream into a small sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
  3. When the mixture starts to boil, turn off heat and add vanilla and chopped chocolate.
  4. Whisk until smooth and then let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
  5. Prep baking rack on top of wax paper. Remove domes from freezer and pop out of molds onto baking rack. Pour glaze evenly over domes. Place baking rack into fridge for 10 minutes to set domes (and scrape any leftover glaze into a jar or plastic squirt bottle for later use).
  6. After the domes have set for 10 minutes, place them into a storage container and freeze them for 20-30 minutes before serving.
ganache mousse dome

Serve and Enjoy

*I’ve stored and served these both from the freezer (let stand for 5 minutes at room temperature before serving) and from the fridge. The various chocolate coatings and mousse take on a different texture and taste from the freezer. I’ve had various taste testers say they preferred the domes from the freezer, while others insisted the ones from the fridge were superior! I’d suggest you try it for yourself! Either way, garnish with Raspberry Coulis, a Candied Orange slice and Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge Sauce, (recipes coming soon) or simple chocolate curls and enjoy!

Other Options

Rich Chocolate Mousse Cups

If you don’t have the silicone molds, this recipe translates really well as my Simply Sinful Dark Chocolate Mousse Cups.

Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks

As a foodie, I’ve been reading lately about chocolate…ok ok, as a foodie nerd, I’ve been reading about chocolate! Anyway, one Christmas, my brother and his girlfriend bought me a cookbook called Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate and I’ve been perusing the brownie section…in this text, Alice Medrich explains the differences between using semisweet chocolate versus cocoa powder in brownies (super interesting! I’d recommend you check it out!)…and it got me thinking: what’s the difference between semisweet Baker’s Premium Baking Bars and semisweet chocolate chips? Why would I choose one or the other? …and while I can’t explain the chemistry to you, I noticed that the first ingredient in Baker’s chocolate bars is semi-sweet chocolate while most semisweet chocolate chips list a form of sugar as their first ingredient…so, we’re on our way to chocolate nerdiness, and choosing Baker’s when a less sugary result is desired!