Chocolate mousse is one of those recipes that are an essential part of life but are normally forgotten because we just don't do enough home cooking and baking due to time constraints and having the ingredients ready.

Roughly chop 170g of good quality dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. The chocolate should be minimum 60 per cent cocoa solids. Do not let the bowl actually sit in the water, it should be in the steam above the water to allow the chocolate to melt.

While it is melting, place seven free range egg whites into a clean bowl with a quarter tsp lemon juice and whisk until they form soft peaks. Whisk 40g caster sugar through the egg whites and continue whisking until you get firm peaks.

When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat, then whisk a third of the egg white into the hot chocolate, whisking vigorously, fold through the remaining egg white using a spatula.

Do not over mix because you will lose too many air bubbles and the mousse will be dense. Spoon the mixture into martini glasses and chill for 2-3 hours.