If your Gordon Ramsay chocolate mousse turned into thick paste instead of a light dessert, this page is the fix. My reader Alex Sunins had the same result, so he spent three batches solving it.
His fix is a custard version of the chilli chocolate mousse, built around one missing number. The recipe never gives a temperature, and Alex found the custard must hit exactly 82C.
After he emailed me his method, I checked the books. Ramsay’s crème anglaise in Just Desserts gives the same 82C, so Alex found Ramsay’s own number by trial and error.
Cooked this recipe? Send a photo or tell me what you changed at fans@gordonramsayrecipes.uk and I’ll share your experience live on this page.
Alex’s Custard-Method Chilli Chocolate Mousse
Course: DessertsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium4
servings15
minutes15
minutes655
kcal3 hr 30 min
A reader-built alternative to the sabayon method in Ultimate Cookery Course. Developed by Alex Sunins over three test batches, with the custard taken to exactly 82C. The honey and milk are his additions, not Ramsay’s.
Ingredients
- For the chilli butter:
50g butter
3 red chillies, finely chopped
- For the mousse:
300ml double cream (60ml for the custard, the rest whipped)
140g dark chocolate, crumbled
20g egg yolk, weighed (about 1 yolk)
20g runny honey
60ml (1/4 cup) full fat milk
Directions
- Infuse the butter: Melt the butter with the chillies in a small pan over low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 to 30 minutes while you prepare everything else.
- Prep the chocolate: Crumble the chocolate into a bowl and set a sieve over it. Measure the custard ingredients into a saucepan, honey first, so it is easier to remove some if you overshoot.
- Whip the cream: Whip the remaining cream, cold from the fridge, to soft peaks. Watch it near the end, the last seconds tip it over fast. Set aside.
- Make the custard: Whisk the honey, yolk, milk and 60ml cream constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches exactly 82C. It starts to froth at temperature. Pour straight over the chocolate through the sieve.
- Blend: Wait 2 minutes, then strain the chilli butter over the chocolate through a clean sieve, discarding the chillies. Blend with a hand blender until completely smooth.
- Fold: Fold in one spoonful of whipped cream to loosen the mixture, then the rest with a silicone spatula, spinning the bowl and lifting from the bottom.
- Chill: Divide between 4 ramekins and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Notes
- Skip the chillies and use plain melted butter for a classic version. Wash your hands well after chopping chillies, before you touch your eyes.
FAQs
Why did my chocolate mousse turn into paste?
The recipe gives no temperature, which makes it easy to overheat the mixture, and overheated eggs are where the paste comes from. Alex’s marker takes the guessing away: at exactly 82C the custard starts to froth, and that is the moment you pour it over the chocolate.
How do I whip the cream without a mixer?
Alex uses a balloon whisk with his 10 on, 10 off method: whip for 10 seconds, rest for 10 seconds. From his testing, Waitrose double cream reaches soft peaks in under 8 minutes this way and Coop cream in under 6.
Two of his rules: whip the cream cold from the fridge, and shorten the final cycle to 5 seconds or less, because the last moments tip soft peaks over fast.
Why weigh the egg yolk?
Yolk sizes vary, and a large egg can carry a small yolk. Alex weighs exactly 20g, which for his butcher’s eggs is one yolk, though the original recipe says two. Weighing is the only way to know.
How do I rescue a custard that went wrong?
If your hob ran too cool, the custard reduces instead of thickening and will not cover the chocolate properly. Alex’s save: bring 60ml milk to a gentle simmer and pour it over the chocolate and failed custard together. The mousse comes out paler, but it is saved.
Know your hob before you start. On Alex’s induction, setting 3 is low and setting 5 is medium, and that one fact decides whether the custard ever reaches 82C.
Is 82C really in a Ramsay book?
Yes. Ramsay’s crème anglaise recipe in Just Desserts says a sugar thermometer should read 82C when the custard is cooked. Alex never saw that page, he found the number through failed batches alone.
The same book has a mousse built exactly his way, custard poured over dark chocolate with whipped cream folded in. He rediscovered a Ramsay method by hand.
