White chocolate mousse with caramel sauce recipe

This elegant, fuss-free white chocolate mousse recipe is a lighter version of the classic dark chocolate bistro dessert. Chocolate mousse is an ideal dinner party dessert as it can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Show off its light and fluffy texture by serving it in stemmed glasses, which will also reveal the bonus caramel sauce base. You can find caramel sauce alongside ice cream toppings in the supermarket, otherwise use four heaped spoons of dulce de leche. This recipe doesn't use gelatin, making it suitable for vegetarians, and a fair bit less faff for you!

Ingredients

• 200g white chocolate
• 250ml double cream
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, whites only
• 50g caster sugar
• 100g caramel sauce

Method

1. Break 175g of white chocolate into small, evenly-sized pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once all the chocolate has melted gradually stir in the cream and vanilla extract, and set aside to cool.
2. In a separate bowl use an electric mixer to whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks when the beater is removed. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture becomes glossy.
3. Stir a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until fully combined, then use a metal spoon to fold in the remaining egg whites.
4. Divide the caramel sauce into four martini or small wine glasses.
5. Top with the chocolate mousse mixture and chill in the fridge, ideally overnight, or for a minimum of three hours.
6. Decorate by grating the remaining chocolate over the glasses before serving.