Chocolate Mousse

Gather the ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

In a small saucepan, gently warm 3/4 cup of the heavy cream over low heat until it just begins to steam. Do not boil. (Return the remaining 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream to the refrigerator until ready to use in step 8.)

While whisking the egg mixture, slowly pour half of the warm cream into the egg mixture to temper the egg yolks. Once combined, pour the combined egg yolk and cream mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining warm cream.

Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate, your choice of cognac, coffee liqueur or brewed espresso, and the vanilla extract. Mix well until the chocolate has melted.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl, cover and chill thoroughly.

Once the chocolate has chilled, whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until combined and no white streaks show.

Spoon into serving bowls and chill until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, top with additional whipped cream and garnish with chocolate curls.