Big Teddy Family Chocolate Mousse

Time to share the great Big Teddy Family Chocolate Mousse recipe....
mmm-mmm...it cant be beat...

It was lately unearthed by my brother, Ted, pictured. Here it is...

Right so. First off: the recipe and the juggling makes it look like its quite hard but although slightly nerve-wracking its actually really easy...

Ingredients:
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The official recipe says ingredients are:
1oz dark chocolate and 1 egg per person.

a) Basically, 1oz=c.28grams
b) The above portions are a bit mean. Recommend that you add a couple of fictional people when you do your calculations.
c)Its important that that the choclate is dark, not milk.
d) Finally note that the eggs aren't cooked. Yes, you will be eating raw egg. Our family has eaten it a million times and its no problem just pick your egg source wisely and bear in mind who will be eating it. Though we bears have got a tough digestion it is true.

Method:
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Basically, you need to have three things prepared before you start.
Separate the eggs into a bowl of whites and a bowl of yolks. Both bowls should be fairly capacious but the bowl for the whites needs to be fairly huge actually.
1) Melt the chocolate slowly in a pan or bowl over a pan of water. Don't allow any water to creep into the chocolate as it will curdle. Don't allow the chocolate to get too hot as this will mean the eggs will cook and mess up the whole thing.
2) Beat the yolks until they are stiff and glossy. You should be able to (in theory) turn the bowl over without them pouring out. At times you think you wont get there, but persevere until they are really stiff otherwise your mousse will be runny.
3) Beat the whites until they are stiff and form peaks in the bowl. If you've ever made meringues, that's the kind of stiffness we are looking for. Be careful though as its easy to, after a while just be beating the top part of the eggs and all the stuff at the bottom of the bowl is still runny. If you can, use a glass bowl for the whites so you can see how you are doing. It doesn't really matter though, just make sure you keep hitting the bottom with the beaters. The egg whites will obviously expand to a massive amount so the most important thing is the huge bowl.

So. You can do 1,2 and 3 in any order but the whites, if left to stand, will start to go back to their runny form so I find its better to start the chocolate, do the yolks and then the whites. The whites wont collapse instantly, but just don't plan to leave them stand around for 5 minutes. If the yolks are very stiff they seem to be OK for the 10 minutes or so you need to do the whites.

Finally then, you pour the chocolate slowly into the yolks, stirring (not beating) until it becomes a uniform colour. Its about now you notice that the mixture reduces in volume and how little you really have. Anyway, then fold the whites into the chocolate+yolks mixture stirring again until all the white disappears.
Pour the end mixture into its final destination; big bowl or small bowls or whatever and place in the fridge to chill for about 2 to 3 hours (or longer). You'll see yourself when it has set. Decorate with cream and/or grated chocolate or fruit or 100s/1000s or whatever you like and serve. It'll keep for a couple of days but it doesn't usually last that long. If you were having a party, you could make it the night before and just leave it in the fridge no worries.

Ta-Da! Good Luck,
Big Teddy
ps- recipe source: From a Northumberland's Women's Institute publication.