Milk chocolate is a sweetened chocolate product typically low in cocoa solids but containing a good amount of milk solids instead (see Tables 15.2 and 15.3 ). As with bittersweet dark chocolate, milk chocolate often contains natural or artificial vanilla flavoring, emulsifiers, and cocoa butter. The rest is sugar. Milk chocolate undergoes refining, conching, tempering, and molding processes similar to those of bittersweet dark chocolate.
What if Chocolate Mousse were made with Milk Chocolate?
Chocolate mousse is typically made with bittersweet dark chocolate. If milk chocolate was used instead, the mousse would likely come out quite different. It would be lighter in color; in fact, it might look more like butterscotch mousse than chocolate mousse, because milk chocolates are low in cocoa solids nonfat.
The low amount of cocoa solids also means that milk chocolate mousse would likely be softer and less firm than one made with bittersweet dark chocolate. In fact, some milk chocolate mousses fail to set up.
Finally, milk chocolate mousse would be sweeter than one made with bittersweet dark chocolate, maybe too sweet and too weak in flavor. The flavor often is more buttery, creamy, caramel, or vanilla than chocolate. These flavors come through aerated products more strongly than does chocolate.
Does this mean that milk chocolate should never be used in chocolate mousse? No, but it is often difficult to predict how well any particular milk chocolate will work without first trying it. To increase your chances of success, select a milk chocolate with a strong flavor and one that is relatively high in cocoa solids and low in sugar; use a combination of milk and bittersweet chocolates; or use a formula designed specifically for milk chocolate.
