Every Valentine’s Day growing up was a special day in our house. Mom would make a delicious dinner which was always followed by her homemade Chocolate Mousse. Dad would bring home a big heart-shaped box of chocolates and we would just enjoy being together. I remember that my mom would always wear these GIANT red heart-shape clip-on earrings but she would have to take them off after a while because they pinched so hard and made her ears numb. We laughed about that every year. I have very fond memories of Valentine’s Day, and specifically fond ones of this Chocolate Mousse. For our family, Valentine’s day wasn’t a romantic day, it was a day that we celebrated love for each other. With this recipe, I wish you the happiest of days celebrating Love, a wonderful thing.

The Recipe:

For 4 servings of the most delicious chocolate mousse:

• 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin
• 1 tablespoon of cold water
• 2 tablespoons of boiling water
• 1/3 cup of sugar (Option to do 1/4 cup of sugar and cocoa for a less sugary option).
• 1/3 cup of cocoa (substitute dark cocoa if you prefer)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 cup of whipping cream (whipped softly)
• 1 pinch of salt

The Instructions:

• Add 1 tablespoon of cold water to the 1 teaspoon of gelatin and let it soak for 2 minutes.
• Add 2 table spoons of boiling water to the gelatin mixture and stir, let it soak for another 2 minutes.
• Sift the sugar, cocoa, and salt together while dry to avoid lumps later on.
• Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form.
• Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the whipping cream.
• Gently fold all the ingredients together until well mixed.
• Chill for 2-4 hours before serving. (Can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge)

This is partly a selfish post, because every year, a few days before Valentine’s Day, my family has a group chat drama about finding the recipe – thankfully my sister Stephanie always seems to have it on hand, but now we have it documented here. I will be making this today and eating more than one serving myself.

While I do have a photo of my family enjoying chocolate mousse one year on Valentine’s day… it’s much too scary to share. Instead I will share a photo of me and my mom from 2010, it is her I must thank for teaching me about love… and about chocolate mousse, *wink*.

Happy Valentines Day!