Orange chocolate mousse

Dear Diary,

I am a fan of Solon's quote "live and learn".

I read, observe, watch, discuss, search.

For ideas, for my research, for history, for books, for the city, for tastes and flavors, for people.

This introduction aims at explaining today's post. I was watching Masterchef, and realized I did not know how to make mousse, how to give it different flavors, and how to use gelatin. So I decided to learn how to make mousse myself.

I made an exhaustive online searching, found dozens of recipes, read about gelatin, found my gelatin powder box in the back of the shelf, took the baking chocolate from the fridge and an orange from the fruit bowl. It was time to create a mousse...!

Here's what I made with:

• 200 gram. semi-sweet chocolate
• 200 gram. heavy cream
• 2 egg whites
• zest from an orange
• juice from an orange
• 10 gram. of gelatin powder
• half a cup of cold water

And here are the steps I followed:

1. Mix gelatin with cold water and let it stand for 10 minutes.
2. Whip egg whites into meringue.
3. Put heavy cream in a separate bowl and whip it into chantilly.
4. Melt chocolate in baine marie. Add the orange zest and juice, and the gelatin-water mixture. Let it cool for a while.
5. Carefully merge the meringue and chantilly with a silicone spatula. Make sure the meringue is gently folded, so that it does not lose its volume. 
6. To the meringue-chantilly mixture add the chocolate mixture (should not be hot by now).
7. Put in small glasses or bowls and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 
8. Top with orange zest and white chocolate.
9. These ingredients make 4 bowls of mousse, or 8 small glasses.

Finally, I have to say that the last days I'm so in love with Secret Garden's Adagio. I hear it all day long, but still can't decide which I like better, the piano version or the violin one...

Yours,
Jennoula