Chocolate mousse

Look out for: a rich, simple chocolate flavour and a clean creaminess. Steer clear of anything oily, sugar-sweet or overly airy.

Guest panellist: Stuart Gillies, executive chef of Boxwood Café, London SW1 (020-7235 1010).

The top three

Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Pot Au Chocolate, 4 x 50g, £2.99.
There’s a pureness to this, and although denser than you’d ideally like, it has a lovely hint of bitterness and a silky texture. Simple but sophisticated.

Waitrose Chocolate Mousse, 4 x 62g, 95p.
A good, long-lasting chocolatey flavour here, and not so sweet that you can’t wolf down a pot. It looks quite whipped, and there’s a lingering gelatine-like feel, but overall, not bad at all.

Cadbury Mousse, 4 x 55g, 99p.
Looks cheap and nasty, but the milk chocolate flavour isn’t horrible – think economy soft-scoop ice cream. See how it’s held together with stabilisers. More like airy blancmange than proper mousse.

And the rest…

Duchy Originals Organic Dark Chocolate Dessert, 2 x 95g, £3.49.
Dense and rich – too rich in fact. There’s obviously a high cocoa content, but it feels like fudge.

Gü Mousse, 4 x 60g, £2.99.
This looks dark and immediately inviting, but you get a greasy sensation where you’d expect a hit of proper cream. There’s an unpleasant aftertaste that has nothing to do with chocolate. Disappointing.

Asda Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Mousse, 120g, 78p.
How did they make this? It’s incredibly light. Sticky chocolate gunk at the bottom, chocolate shavings on top, and the flavour and feel are still somehow watery.

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