Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse Foam

Crack 4 eggs – separate yolks into a saucepan and whites into a small stainless bowl. Beat yolks first to a lemony colour prior to heating, it stops them from scrambling.

Put coffee in a small saucepan and add sugar, heat coffee and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Stir for a minute or so until melting begins. Slowly add to the beaten egg yolks, a small amount at a time until all of the coffee sugar mixture has been whisked in with the egg yolks (add slowly so that you don’t ‘scramble’ the eggs, it's called tempering).

Add rum to a small saucepan, followed by the chocolate. Place chocolate mixture in a ‘bain marie’ which means to place saucepan in a larger pan with simmered hot water to melt the chocolate (set aside).

Place saucepan with egg yolks/coffee mixture in a larger pan with simmered hot water and whisk the eggs, they will thicken as they are heated. It may take 5 minutes 5 Minutes until the yolks are thick and creamy (when the mixture feels hot to the touch it is ready). Pour into a bowl and hand-mix until thicker and foamier, doubling in bulk, about 5 minutes 5 Minutes (once it feels cool to the touch and ‘ribbons’ it’s ready).

Mix chocolate and rum together until mixture is smooth and liquidy. Add soft butter next and mix together until melted and smooth. Add to the egg yolk mixture and slowly fold in together.

Beat room temperature egg whites with a hand blender. Start slowly until the egg whites begin to foam. Add a pinch of salt for flavour and then cream of tartar to stabilize the eggs so that they don’t break down. Beat faster until peaks form. With a rubber spatula gently fold 1/4 of the stiff egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Scoop the remaining egg whites on top and delicately fold (deflating the egg whites as little as possible), keep rotating the bowl. Place into serving dishes and chill for several hours or overnight. Serve with chocolate shavings or whipped cream (the choice is yours)!