Recipe: Chocolate Wickedness with Mock Creme Fraiche

CHOCOLATE WICKEDNESS

1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup brewed espresso coffee (or 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water)
1/2 cup creme de cacao
6 egg whites*
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
MOCK CREME FRAICHE:
4 cups heavy (whipping) cream
2/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Using wire whisk or electric beater, whip cream until thick. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Put chocolate in large heat-proof bowl over pot of simmering water. Do not let bottom of bowl touch water. Heat until chocolate is melted. Stir in egg yolks, coffee and creme de cacao. Mix until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

Beat egg whites with salt until they stand in soft peaks. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Beat several more minutes, until very stiff. (If beating by hand, it will take at least 5 minutes.)

Fold whipped cream into egg whites and then fold chocolate mixture into that mix. Pour into a large glass bowl or 10-cup souffle dish. Freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.

Let sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving with mock cr me fraiche.

TO PREPARE MOCK CREME FRAICHE:
Whip cream until it holds soft peaks. Blend in sour cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*If you are worried about consuming raw egg whites, use a pasteurized egg product such as Eggology egg whites, or Just Whites powdered egg whites.

Source: Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess by Gael Greene