Name: Caramelized White Chocolate Mousse
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces (227 grams) white chocolate, chopped; 5 tablespoons water; 2 large eggs, separated; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Why This Recipe Works

White chocolate has a relatively mild, sweet, milky vanilla flavor that often complements and blends in with the flavors it's paired with. But by applying heat to white chocolate, its plentiful sugars and milk solids caramelize, and it becomes a different confection entirely—bold, less sweet, rich with butterscotch notes, and appropriate for a starring role. To caramelize the chocolate, we roast it in a relatively low oven (300 degrees) until it slowly turns from a creamy white hue, to beige, to, finally, light brown—stirring all along the way for even cooking. The color of the roasted chocolate should resemble peanut butter once fully caramelized, and the texture will become more dry and crumbly (almost startlingly so) as it cooks. We whisk the water for the mousse into the skillet of caramelized chocolate and cook it on the stovetop just until the chocolate is mostly smooth again; any remaining small lumps are easily strained out. Folding whipped egg whites and whipped cream into the chocolate and egg yolks gives the creamy mousse a light, buoyant texture.

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Place chocolate in 10-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until chocolate is melted, about 10 minutes. Stir chocolate and spread into even layer. Continue to bake, stirring and spreading into even layer every 10 minutes, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. (Chocolate will become dry and crumbly as it bakes.)

Recipe Tip

If the interior of your nonstick skillet is very dark, start checking the caramelized white chocolate for doneness 5 minutes earlier.

Transfer skillet to stovetop and set over medium-low heat. Being careful of hot skillet handle, add water to chocolate and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is fully combined and mostly smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain chocolate mixture through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much chocolate mixture as possible; discard solids. Let cool until just warmer than room temperature, about 10 minutes. Whisk in egg yolks and salt until fully combined.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using whisk, stir about one-quarter of whipped egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining egg whites until few white streaks remain.

Return now-empty bowl to mixer and whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into mousse until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into 6 individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve.

Recipe Tip

We like serving the mousse with berries; their tartness balances the sweetness.