There are few things in life as certain as death, taxes and the silence that falls upon a table of people engrossed in something dark and chocolaty. It’s funny how even those freakish people who claim not to like chocolate all that much manage to give a decent chocolate mousse a good crack of the whip. I think it must be something about the soft and airy texture in chocolate mousse that gives the green light to those who otherwise might skip dessert. Of course for those of us who love to practice the dark arts on a regular basis no encouragement is needed to polish off not one but possibly two helpings without feeling even the slightest twinge of guilt.

Chocolate mousse should be made with the very best chocolate you can afford because by definition it needs to rise above the addition of cream, eggs and booze. A common mistake people make when shopping for chocolate to cook with is to simply buy the one with the highest percentage cocoa solids. Indeed many recipes you will see urge you to do just this. But, whilst this is a good starting point it does not take into consideration all the subtle nuances and varying flavours of all the different chocolates on the market. Another quality that marks a good chocolate is the ease with which it melts. A really smooth mousse must be made with a chocolate that melts to a glossy, mirror like mass in a matter of minutes. This particular quality comes at a price and therefore rules out many of the cheaper brands.My favourite is French brand Valhrona which is available on line from http://www.chocolatetradingco.com. If you enjoy cooking with chocolate as much as I do then it’s well worth buying it in kilo blocks as it’s guaranteed not to hang around long.

Chocolate mousse - serves 6

Ingredients

150g dark chocolate with cocoa solids of at least 70%, finely chopped

120ml double cream

2 tbsp rum, brandy, or Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 large eggs

Method

Bring the cream up to the boil, turn off the heat, and add the finely chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and then add the alcohol. Leave the mixture to cool a little, and then beat in the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and then add the caster sugar gradually. Continue whisking the egg whites and sugar until the mixture holds stiff glossy peaks. Stir one quarter of the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mixture, and then carefully fold in the rest taking care not to knock all the air out. Spoon into small dessert bowls, glasses or espresso cups. Refrigerate for an hour or two until set.

So there we have it, the humble chocolate mousse, a dessert that is so much greater than the sum of it’s parts and light and airy enough that even ordinarily choc shy people seem to love it. On the other hand, however, there is a dessert so rich, unctuous and literally oozing with molten chocolate that only the most die-hard chocoholics will be able to clean their plate.

Many years ago I was given a recipe for something called “Sylvia’s Sitting Chocolate Soufflé”. It was named after the daughter of the person who gave me the recipe and it was rumored that young Sylvia could eat up to three of these individual puddings in one go. It struck me that these dark and rich individual puddings had no similarities at all, other than in name, to a soufflé as the recipe involved no whisked egg whites and no dramatic top hat effect occurred when they came out of the oven. After years of making them I realized that the recipe was in fact for a classic hot chocolate fondant. I have made them ever since but always like to refer to them by the name I was originally given.

The chocolate fondant has become something of a ubiquitous addition to restaurant menus in the last few years but don’t let that stop you from learning to make them at home. This is one dessert that when done properly is a true (chocolate loving) crowd pleaser. The criteria for a perfect fondant are a crisp exterior and a molten centre that oozes out onto the plate when prodded with a spoon. The flavour shouldn’t be too sweet either, as this pudding should have a resolutely “grown up” taste. And just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, the perfect accompaniment for a hot chocolate pud like this has got to be cool and velvety vanilla ice cream. Made properly you should be able to serve the fondant with a ball of ice cream sitting on top of it so that the ice cream gently melts and then finally sinks into the centre when the outer shell is broken.

I’ve read and tested many recipes for fondants over the years but never one that uses the unusual technique of freezing the mixture before baking. The result is quite simply stunning and whilst it’s by far the best version I’ve ever tasted I’ve never quite been convinced that Sylvia could ever polish off three of them!

Sylvia’s Sitting Chocolate Souffle – Makes 6

Ingredients:

200 gms of good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

200 gms unsalted butter

160 gms caster sugar

4 eggs, well beaten

40 gms plain flour

Method:

Grease 6 individual metal pudding bowls well and dust with a little flour. If you have non stick moulds then all the better otherwise just make sure you grease the pudding bowls well.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and frothy.

When the chocolate and butter are fully melted incorporate the egg and sugar mixture and then finally sieve in the flour. Fold to combine and divide between the prepared pudding bowls.

Cover with a double layer of cling film and place in the deep freeze for a minimum of 4 hours or over night.

30 minutes before you want to eat the desserts pre-heat your oven to 200ºC. Remove from the freezer and place straight into the hot oven. Cook them undisturbed for exactly 18 minutes. Remove when done and allow to stand in a warm place for 3 or 4 minutes to settle before turning out onto waiting plates and serve with the aforementioned ice cream.

I’m in Paris at the moment and during the last few days of cooking for a group of French people I have noticed the most perculiar thing. Day after day the bowls of fresh steamed vegetables I had lovingly prepared to go with each meal were, almost without exception, languishing untouched on the dining table. I simply couldn’t understand why my perfectly ‘al dente’ veggies were being rebuffed in such a cruel manner.

A couple of days later all became clear when one of the French chefs stepped up to make lunch and proceeded to cook the delicate little haricot vert I had bought in the market that morning for no less that 10 minutes! I looked on in horror and it took all of my powers of international diplomacy not to scream “Turn the beans off before they turn to soup”! However imagine my suprise when he served these limp, slightly off green little beans with lunch and the assembled crowd fell upon them like they were manna from heaven.Weirder still; they were delicious.

So, where did we get this idea that our veggies should retain their crunch or risk being branded overcooked? When I asked my french colleagues they shrugged their shoulders and jutted their chins in that way the French do, suggesting that what ever the question it was idiotic. They explained that “undercooked” vegetables will cause all manner of tummy problems and are basically indigestable.

So, if leaving some crunch in your veg is not a French notion who’s is it? Well, it turns out we have our American cousins to thank for this phenomenon and in particular the healthy eating movement that started in California in the 60’s and 70’s. For me, the jury is still out. The french beans I ate the other day were delicious but broccoli you can pass through the gap in your teeth? Non merci.