Pure 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Recipe by Patrice Chapon

Famous Chocolate Mousse Bar - Including Pure 100%

How many chocolate storefronts do you know resemble dark chocolate?  Every time I walk past the Chapon boutique in Paris's pastry street of rue du Bac, I could almost lick off the writing imagining it's made of cocoa butter and gold leaf.

Patrice Chapon has been making his chocolate since 1985 from "bean-to-bar" from his workshop in Chelles (a suburb 20km north-east of Paris). However, he is perhaps best known for his legendary chocolate mousse bar, which I first introduced to on a visit many years ago to the annual Salon du Chocolat Paris.

Chapon Chocolate

Originally a restaurant chef then pastry chef in Deauville, Monsieur Chapon then popped over the Channel for a short stint as official ice-cream maker to the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.

How cool to have had the Queen Mother surprise you one day with rose petals from the royal gardens, asking you to make a sorbet with them? After inspiration from Harrod's food hall, he realised his real vocation was back in France making chocolate and by 2005, he opened this second shop in Paris.

Not only has he opened in Saint Germain-des-Près but he since December 2023, has opened a tearoom in Saint-Germain-en-Laye!

How Chapon Makes His Chocolate

Lucky enough to attend one of his chocolate workshops on rue du Bac during the Bac Sucré event, Patrice Chapon took us through the process of how he makes it.

It takes 10 days to make the chocolate as we see it in the store. Even the cacao growers in the tropics (10° North or South of the Equator) are amazed at what final result can be achieved from these simple looking beans.

He procures the beans after they've been fermented and dried, then does the rest himself. He grills them - 20 kilos at a time - for about 30 minutes at 105°C until they start to smell and taste like chocolate, even if still bitter at this stage.

After grinding to obtain cocoa nibs then 8 hours maturing, he adds sugar (and powdered milk for milk chocolate). He continues to grind then liquify the cacao by a method called conching.

Any acids or bitterness disappear after at least 48 hours. Then, as if by magic, the end result after tempering and mixing, we're left to discover the end result.

What Does 100% Real Chocolate Mean?

If labelled 100% chocolate, it means that it contains nothing else but pure cacao. As a result, it has the strongest flavour: it's not just intense but really bitter.
Chapon adds only a little sugar to his recipe but frankly, you may wish to add a little more according to your own taste.

Tasting High Quality Dark Chocolate

Tasting our way through the characteristic tropical-patterned packaged chocolate bars, each variety has its own subtle but particular flavours. While Cuba has notes of spice and tropical fruits, Ghana has banana notes, and Madagascar has magic after-notes of red fruits. For red wine notes with balsamic vinegar, nibble on Équateur (74% cacao).

With wide-eyed children looking on at the generous samples laid out in front of us, Chapon surprised them with his witty Willy Wonka remark in French.

"With this ticket, adults have a tasting of a chocolate mousse cone; children have their tasting of salsify".

Patrice Chapon's humour, during a chocolate workshop in rue du Bac, Paris

Their confused expressions were quickly transformed as their eyes feasted on chocolate lollipops.

Ratio of Chocolate in Chapon's Chocolate Mousses

True to the chocolate bars, the mousses were so dense in chocolate, yet light and airy. Chapon states that he uses about 20-30% less chocolate in his mousses. It's due to the high cocoa content than more standard chocolate mousses that our grandmothers made.

As I left the boutique, realising again that I'd bought way too much chocolate (confessions of a chocoholic), I noticed that the recipe for the legendary chocolate mousse was conveniently printed on the brown paper bag.

What Does the Strongest 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Taste Like?

I thought I'd be adventurous with the 100% pure cacao Venezuela. On the tablet's back label, it specifies "100% minimum", which would excite any cocoa connoisseur!

As it uses 100% cacao, the texture is drier than most classic mousses. The aftertaste is intense - a little goes a long way to appreciate the flavours. Just as in wine-tasting, I'd even go as far as to say that this chocolate mousse is earthy. Or, as we say in wine terms, "sous bois" or undergrowth. For more on tasting, see my post about different aromas on the nose for wine-tasting.

It was almost leafy or, dare I say, mossy. In French, garden moss is also known as 'mousse' - so I'll leave you to groan at that pun and I'll take a bow.

Pure 100% Cacao Chocolate Mousse Recipe by Patrice Chapon

This recipe is on the same lines as my favourite French dark chocolate mousse without cream - except this one includes milk. Not cream, not full cream milk but semi-skimmed milk - and very little of it.

If I have to make one remark, the recipe's chocolate quantity of 185g isn't ideal for us shoppers, since most of his tablets are 75g and so with two bars I was 35g short of pure Venezuela.
He also only states 6 egg whites, which is about 200g (7oz). See more about egg white weights in FAQ and French baking tips.

Patrice Chapon stated the best chocolate to use for his mousse is 100% Venezuela. However, if you don't want to use the strongest 100% cacao tablet, use either Equagha, Équateur, Mexique or Brésil from his choice of chocolate tablets.

How do you Melt 100% Chocolate?

Chapon uses just enough hot milk to pour over the chocolate and melt it. I'd also recommend your eggs are at room temperature, plus ensure that you fold in the whites as soon as you can after the chocolate is melted.

As I find it easier to melt the chocolate with just a little more liquid, I add a little more milk but it's a matter of your own taste.

Speaking of which, add a little more sugar if you feel that this is just too bitter for you. It's an acquired taste. However, after it chills, it does mellow so I do suggest you follow the recipe the first time.

How to Serve

Serve completely on its own to appreciate the pure flavours. For those who need some aesthetic dessert decor, top with crushed pistachios like he does. Alternatively, spoon into almond Tuile cookies or serve with salted caramel macarons.

If you're in Paris, either drop in and taste the mousse for yourself at Chapon's boutiques. See more in my article on rue du Bac: Paris Pastry Street.

More French Mousse!

Enjoy even more chocolate mousse recipes:

• French chocolate mousse without cream or milk
• Chocolate passion fruit mousse
• White chocolate mousse with rose and orange blossom
• Mango creams - like a mousse but with whipped cream and coconut milk.