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Holy crap was this good. I made it because my boyfriend said he was craving chocolate pudding to which I replied “fuck that shit. Who wants to eat artificial sweeteners, thickeners, and guar gum out of a plastic cup?” One tiny serving gave me instant diabetes and sent me flailing off the chocoholic bandwagon.

1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped. I used Scharffen Berger, for which I paid a week’s wages at ONF.

I also used a candy thermometer in this recipe. They’re very useful to have on hand.

Heat 1/2 cup cream in a heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh something (cheesecloth, metal colander) into a bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.

Beat remaining 1/2 cup cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream. The folding part was a bitch, btw…but worth it.

Spoon mousse into 4 ramekins (I used creme brulee cups) and chill, covered, for at least 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving. I topped with a tiny bit of very lightly-sweetened whipped cream and shaved chocolate.