Recipe - Dark Chocolate and Orange EVOO Mousse

On a recent trip to olive oil producer/restaurant Olio Bello, their Chocabella dessert really caught my eye. Apparently, it’s a chocolate mousse made out of their Mandarin-Pressed EVOO. I’ve only ever seen chocolate mousse made with butter and made a mental note to find out more when we got home. Tasting’s definitely on the agenda next time we’re down south!
 
In the meantime, I’m on a mission to find and test other EVOO-based chocolate mousse recipes – surprisingly, there’s quite a few. The one I’m sharing is based on the wonderful Tenina’s recipe. It’s simple to make and can be made pretty low carb, depending on the chocolate used.
 
The higher the percentage of cocoa in your chocolate, the less sugar (and carbohydrate) you’ll have. If you’re not used to very dark chocolate, you might find this recipe a little bitter. Adding some raspberries or strawberries to your mousse will help balance the flavour. Regardless, I really like it!

Warning though, it’s super rich, so small portions are the way to go. Even though the recipe is for 6 portions, you could easily divide it up to be 8 or 10 servings instead.
 
Dark Chocolate and Orange EVOO Mousse (serves 6)
Nutritional information (per serve): Calories: 421, Protein: 4.7g, Total Fat: 40.9g (21.1g saturated fat), Carbohydrate: 6.4g (4.4g sugar)
Ingredients

• 150g 85% dark chocolate (I used Lindt)
• 60g EVOO (If you have orange or mandarin-infused or flavoured EVOO, use that and omit essential oil below)
• 4 drops food grade orange essential oil (I used Doterra Wild Orange)
• 1tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 50g full fat milk
• 300g pure whipping cream

Method

1. Melt chocolate in the microwave using the melt setting. Remove from heat just before the chocolate is completely melted and then stir any remaining chunks through until smooth. Cool slightly.
2. In a separate bowel, whip cream until soft peaks form.
3. Add the EVOO, orange oil and vanilla to the cooled melted chocolate and stir gently to combine all ingredients. Then gently stir in the milk. The mixture will thicken slightly.
4. Finally, gently stir in the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture until no white streaks are visible.
5. Gently spoon into 6 ramekins, small serving glasses or cups.
6. Eat straight away if you can’t wait or you like a softer mousse, otherwise refrigerate until needed. Enjoy!