Airy Chocolate Mousse Pie

Alright, so the word "airy" is in the title. However, you should not take this to mean that this little charmer of a dessert is easy on the thighs. I can attest that it is not.

It's airy because most of the components are whipped into a delicate, delicious frenzy. I love that this looks like you labored over it most of the day, infusing every morsel with love. When in fact you threw it together quickly because, well, it's damn good.

The filling here is a rich chocolate mousse over a chocolate chip cookie crust, topped with freshly-whipped cream. Sounds like a pain, right?

Well, it's not, but you don't have to tell anyone else that.

For the crust, I used chocolate chip cookies I had made the previous day (yes, I actually have cookie leftovers because I make several dozen at a time). You could use store-bought cookies, or even substitute a graham cracker crust.


Airy Deep-Dish Chocolate Mousse Pie
(8-10 servings)

For the crust:
12 chocolate chip cookies
4 Tbsp butter (melted)

Use a food processor to turn your cookies into coarse crumbs (you could do fine crumbs, but I like to keep them coarse for the texture). Slowly add the melted butter until it's fully incorporated. Press this mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish pie plate.


For the mousse:
3/4 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp butter  (not margarine)

3 egg yolks

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl, whip the cream and set aside.

Heat the chocolate, butter, and half of the water in a double boiler until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.

While it's cooling, whisk the egg yolks, the other half of the water, and the sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, until it reaches 165 degrees. Take off of the heat and whisk in the chocolate mixture.

Allow it to cool to room temperature and then fold in the whipped cream with a large rubber spatula.

For the whipped cream:
1 c heavy whipping cream
Scant 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Using a whisk, or the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, whip the cream until it's nearly stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla and then continue whipping until stiff.

Put it all together:
Spread the mousse over the pie crust and top with whipped cream.

Finishing touches (optional): sift cocoa powder over the top (which I did), add chocolate shavings, and ring with fresh berries. Actually, there's a ton of options here.