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    Home • Recipes • Gluten Free Recipes

    Pure 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Recipe by Patrice Chapon

    Published: Oct 13, 2015 · Modified: Jun 1, 2023 by Jill Colonna10 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Pure chocolate mousse recipe by Patrice Chapon in Paris using the strongest 100% cacao content plus a brief description how chocolate is made.

    chocolate mousse bar

    How many chocolate storefronts do you know resemble dark chocolate?  Every time I walk past the Chapon boutique in Paris's pastry street of rue du Bac, I could almost lick off the writing imagining it's made of cocoa butter and gold leaf.

    Patrice Chapon has been making his chocolate since 1985 from "bean-to-bar" from his workshop in Chelles (a suburb 20km north-east of Paris).

    Chapon Chocolate Shop in Rue du Bac

    Originally a restaurant chef then pastry chef in Deauville, Monsieur Chapon then popped over the Channel for a short stint as official ice-cream maker to the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace - how cool is it to have had the Queen Mother surprise you one day with rose petals from the royal gardens, asking you to make a sorbet with them? After inspiration from Harrod's food hall, he realised his real vocation was back in France making chocolate and by 2005, he opened this second shop in Paris.

    It takes 10 days to make the chocolate as we see it in the store. Even the cacao growers in the tropics (10° North or South of the Equator) are amazed at what final result can be achieved from these simple looking beans.

    He procures the beans after they've been fermented and dried, then does the rest himself. He grills them - 20 kilos at a time - for about 30 minutes at 105°C until they start to smell and taste like chocolate, even if still bitter at this stage.

    After grinding to obtain cocoa nibs then 8 hours maturing, he adds sugar (and powdered milk for milk chocolate). He continues to grind then liquify the cacao by a method called conching.

    Any acids or bitterness disappear after at least 48 hours and as if by magic, the end result after tempering and mixing, we're left to discover the end result.

    Chapon chocolate shop Paris rue du Bac

    Tasting Different Kinds of Chocolates in Paris

    Tasting our way through the characteristic tropical-patterned packaged chocolate bars, each variety has its own subtle but particular flavours: Cuba has notes of spice and exotic fruits, Lucie agreed that Ghana has banana notes, and Madagascar has real after-notes of red fruits.

    With wide-eyed children looking on at the generous samples laid out in front of us, Chapon surprised them with his witty Willy Wonka remark in French, "With this ticket, adults have a tasting of a chocolate mousse cone; children have their tasting of salsify" (which is a popular root that's served as vegetable here, especially I hear at the school canteen).

    Their confused expressions were quickly transformed as their eyes feasted on chocolate lollipops.

    domes fondant au sel or salted dark chocolate domes best award paris

    Chapon's Most Popular Chocolates

    My eyes were for the salted praline Dômes au Sel, winners of the Mairie de Paris Chocolate Grand Prix in 2003.

    Chapon chocolaterie Paris rue du Bac

    Ratio of Chocolate in French Chocolate Mousses

    True to the chocolate bars, the mousses were so dense in chocolate, yet light and airy.  Chapon states that he uses about 20-30% less chocolate in his mousses due to the high cocoa content than more standard chocolate mousses that our grandmothers made.

    As I left the boutique, realising again that I'd bought way too much chocolate (confessions of a chocoholic), I noticed that the recipe for the legendary chocolate mousse was printed on the brown paper bag.

    pure dark chocolate mousse Venezuela Chapon

    What Does the Strongest 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Taste Like?

    With so many chocolate varieties to choose from, I thought I'd be adventurous and go for the 100% pure cacao Rio Caribe of Venezuela.  On the tablet's back label, it even specifies "100% minimum", which would excite any cocoa connoisseur!

    If I have to make one remark, the recipe's chocolate quantity of 185g isn't that ideal for us shoppers, since most of the tablets are 75g and so with two bars I was 35g short of pure Venezuela.

    As it's 100%, also note that it's drier than most classic mousses.  The aftertaste is intense - a little goes a long way to appreciate the flavours. Just as in wine-tasting, I'd even go as far as to say that this chocolate mousse is earthy or as we say in wine terms, "sous bois" or undergrowth (for more on tasting, see my post about different aromas on the nose for wine-tasting).  It was almost leafy or, dare I say, mossy. In French, moss is mousse - so I'll leave you to groan at that pun!

    Chapon chocolate mousse recipe ingredients

    Pure 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Recipe by Patrice Chapon

    Patrice Chapon states the best chocolate to use for his mousse is 100% Rio Caribe. However, if you don't want to use a strong 100% cacao tablet, use either Equagha, équateur, Mexique or Brésil from his choice of chocolate tablets.

    Pure chocolate mousse Patrice Chapon Recipe

    Serving suggestion: spoon into Tuile cookies.

    100% pure chocolate mousse recipe by Chapon served with French tuiles
    Serve with French Almond Tuiles for dessert

    If you're in Paris, either drop in and taste the mousse for yourself at Chapon's boutiques. This post is not sponsored.

    CHAPON CHOCOLATERIE
    69, rue du Bac, 75007 Paris
    Tel. 01-42 22 95 98

    See my article for more on the chocolate and pastry shops on rue du Bac, Paris.

    chapon chocolate shop Paris

    chocolate mousse bar

    100% Chocolate Mousse by Chapon Paris

    Jill Colonna
    Patrice Chapon states the best chocolate to use for his mousse is 100% Rio Caribe. However, if you don't want to use a strong 100% cacao tablet, use either Equagha, équateur, Mexique or Brésil from his choice of chocolate tablets.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Chilling Time 6 hours hrs
    Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine French
    Servings 6 people

    Ingredients
      

    • 185 g Pure origin Chocolate Chapon (I used 100% Venezuela Rio Caribe)
    • 100 g semi-skimmed fresh milk
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 6 egg whites
    • 37 g cane sugar

    Instructions
     

    • Heat the milk until it boils. Grate the chocolate in a large bowl.
    • Pour the hot milk over the grated chocolate and stir gently until well mixed using a wooden spoon.  Add the yolk and continue to stir until the mixture is brilliant.
    • In a separate bowl, whip up the egg whites using an electric whisk, adding half of the sugar at first and then at the end when they are whipped and fluffy (but not firm).
    • Gradually incorporate the egg whites, folding it in delicately until all mixed together and smooth.
    • Either keep it in the bowl or transfer to individual serving bowls (I would suggest little ones here, as this mousse is so intense!)
    • Refrigerate overnight (I suggest covering with cling film) and enjoy next day.

    Notes

    Serve with almond tuiles or macarons (recipes in my book, Teatime in Paris)
    Keyword 100% chocolate mousse recipe, French chocolate mousse
    Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored in any way and I was not asked to write about Chapon in Paris.

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    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

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    1. Thomasina

      October 19, 2015 at 6:54 pm

      From these photos Jill I can almost smell the chocolate. I will definitely visit Chapon's Boutiques when next in France. The Domes au Sel take my fancy.

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        October 19, 2015 at 7:30 pm

        You're so right Thomasina. I forgot to mention that's one of the first thing that strikes you when you walk in to a shop like this - blown over with the smell of dark, intense chocolate! You'll love it your next trip.

        Reply
    2. Jean-Pierre D

      October 19, 2015 at 6:47 am

      I've seen 100% chocolate lately but didn't even make the move to try it since thought it would be too bitter. Although I hear it's good for your health.

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        October 19, 2015 at 11:39 am

        I was the same Jean-Pierre. But surprised that it wasn't as bitter as I thought. Intense and dry, sure, but the flavours that come through are really pure - and knowing that it has more iron (as well as other nutrients) than other chocolate bars, it's definitely worth trying. In small doses!

        Reply
    3. Liz

      October 14, 2015 at 12:58 am

      Chapon has certainly had an illustrious career!!! How fun that you and Lucie got to meet him. And that mousse looks divine!!

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        October 14, 2015 at 8:33 am

        Monsieur Chapon is a real gem Liz. I can feel a visit to his chocolate workshop coming in the near future since I'm dying to see it and share it with you!

        Reply
    4. Christina @ Christina's Cucina

      October 13, 2015 at 8:38 pm

      Wow! That mousse even LOOKS intense! I can imagine the flavor and decadence! Oh, it is so unfair to be so many thousands of miles away from these amazing treats! I'm off to eat a Kit Kat 🙁

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        October 14, 2015 at 8:31 am

        No, no! Don't do it Christina! Now I know what I can send you 😉

        Reply

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