Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces (150 g) savoiardi or ladyfingers
- 4 ounces (100 g) bitter chocolate
- 2 egg whites and one whole egg
- 2/5 cup (100 ml) fresh cream
- A demitasse of espresso coffee (about 1/3 cup, or 1 dl)
Preparation:
Shave the chocolate into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of cream, and set the bowl over a pot of boiling water, turning the burner off. Let the chocolate and cream rest over the heat until the chocolate has melted.Separate the whole egg. Beat the three whites together to firm peaks. Whisk the yolk into the hot melted chocolate (remove the bowl from the pot), and then fold in the egg whites. Finally, fold in the remaing cream.
Dip the savoiardi in the coffee and use them to line four individual portion pudding molds, and fill the molds with the chocolate mousse. Chill the charlottes for at least four hours. Come serving time, slip a moistened knife blade around the edges of the molds to release them and turn them out onto plates, giving them a sharp tap against the plate to help the puddings come free. Decorate them with more shaved chocolate or a little more whipped cream, and serve.
Yield: 4 servings mini chocolate charlottes.
