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Red wine chocolate mousse is a silky, spoonable dark chocolate dessert made with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon folded into the base, where the wine's dark fruit and soft tannin sharpen the chocolate instead of sweetening it. This one comes from Chef Robert Nieto, who first served it in the Kendall-Jackson tasting room and got asked for the recipe so many times that handing it over became the only reasonable option.
What makes it worth the counter space is what it leaves out. There are no eggs here, no yolks to temper, no whites to whip, and no water bath to babysit. Three ingredients, one bowl, and an hour in the refrigerator produce something that tastes like it came out of a restaurant kitchen, which it originally did. The Cabernet does double duty: a couple of ounces go into the mousse, and the rest of the bottle pours alongside it.
Why You'll Love This Chocolate Mousse
- Three ingredients. Cream, good bittersweet chocolate, and Cabernet. That is the entire list, which means each one has to be worth buying.
- No eggs, no tempering, no water bath. Most mousse recipes ask for yolks whisked over simmering water or whites beaten to stiff peaks, and both are where things go wrong. This one skips the entire category of problem.
- It sets in an hour. Not four, not overnight. Start it after the main course is plated and it is ready by the time the table clears.
- The wine is in it and next to it. Two ounces go into the mousse. The rest of the bottle has somewhere to be.
Ingredients for Red Wine Chocolate Mousse
Three ingredients means there is nowhere for a weak one to hide. Buy chocolate worth eating on its own and wine worth pouring a glass of, and the recipe takes care of itself.
- Heavy cream does two jobs. Part of it gets whipped to soft peaks for lift, and part gets boiled and poured over the chocolate to build the ganache base. Same carton, two different treatments.
- Bittersweet chocolate at 61% is the target. Bar chocolate chopped fine melts smoother than chips, which are formulated to hold their shape. Anything past 70% starts fighting the wine.
- Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon goes in by the ounce and pours by the glass. Its blackcurrant and blackberry carry through the mousse rather than disappearing into it, and there is no reason to cook with one bottle and drink another.
How to Make Red Wine Chocolate Mousse
1. Whip part of the cream. Take the larger portion to soft peaks, the stage where the cream folds over itself and the peak tips rather than stands. Set it aside. Stiff peaks make the mousse dense instead of airy.
2. Build the ganache. Bring the remaining cream to a full boil, pour it over the chopped chocolate, and stir until completely smooth and glossy.
3. Cool it for 10 minutes. Non-negotiable. Warm ganache deflates whipped cream on contact.
4. Add the wine, then fold in two stages. Stir in the Cabernet, fold in half the whipped cream until roughly combined, then add the rest and fold gently until no streaks remain.
5. Pipe and chill. Spoon into a pastry bag, pipe into glasses or cups, and refrigerate one hour before serving.
Cabernet Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Recipe Type:
Dessert
Prep Time:
25 minutes
Cook Time:
5 minutes
Total Time:
30 minutes
Servings:
6
Ingredients
- 25 ounces heavy cream
- 8 ounces Valrhona Bittersweet Chocolate 61%
- 2 ounces Kendall-Jackson Highland Estates Hawkeye Mountain. Cabernet Sauvignon
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, whip 16 ounces heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place chocolate in a medium size bowl. In a small pot, add 9 ounces heavy cream and bring to a boil. Once cream has come to a full boil, pour over chocolate and stir until smooth.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes. Add the wine and half of the whipped cream. Fold approximately halfway and then add the remaining whipped cream. Fold gently until incorporated.
- Spoon the chocolate mousse into a medium size pastry bag. Pipe the mousse into any desired cup or bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Pairing Chocolate Mousse with Wine
The easy answer is the bottle already open on the counter. Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon goes into the mousse two ounces at a time, and pouring the same wine alongside it makes the dessert taste more like itself. The blackcurrant and blackberry in the glass echo what is already folded into the chocolate.
Serve it at around 60 degrees, cooler than most people pour a Cabernet. A red served too warm reads as heavy next to a chilled dessert.
For something different, Vintner's Reserve Zinfandel brings jammy blackberry and a cinnamon edge that plays to the sweeter side of the mousse. Across Kendall-Jackson's reds, whites, Rosé, and sparkling, there is a pour for every course before this one, too.
