Have you ever seen the orange-shaped chocolate holiday candy in the stores?

My sister Hannah loves this treat. She will be coming home from college soon. I thought I would surprise her and create a light chocolaty mousse that she and the family can enjoy.

Mousse is such a great dessert after a large holiday dinner. It’s creamy yet light enough to be served with an after-dinner drink, coffee or tea.

The combination of the orange and chocolate, if balanced, makes for a wonderful seasonal dessert.

Portioned out in glass parfait or pudding cups or fluted glasses, this dessert topped with a freshly-whipped cream, a swirl of an orange slice and some pomegranate seeds is the prefect way to end a holiday brunch, lunch or dinner.

Mousse served with a nightcap, yes! We eat this mousse as a holiday morning breakfast treat and serve it with croissants, a bowl of our favorite fresh berries and a sweetened vanilla yogurt instead of the whipped cream as a garnish.

Holiday Chocolate & Orange Mousse

6 ounces of semi- sweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

4 large, clean free-range or organic fresh eggs; yolks and whites separated into two separate bowls

¼ of a cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

½ of a cup of heavy cream

A splash of orange liquor

The zest of 1 orange

½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

A pinch of cream of tartar

In a medium-sized bowl, pour in your cream and pure vanilla extract. Whisk until medium peaks form. Place this bowl into the refrigerator to stay chilled, covered if you are not going to use it right away.

Place your chocolate and the unsalted butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until the combination is melted, watching that it does not burn. Whisk. To this mixture, add in the egg yolks and whisk. The orange zest gets added now also. Set aside.

In your clean stand-up mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, pour in the egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar. Whisk, turning your mixer on to medium high for about a minute. Then, turn the mixer speed to high and slowly pour in the sugar. Keep whisking until you get medium stiff peaks.

Now, take your refrigerated whipped cream and gently fold it into the chocolate mixture. Pour in a splash of orange liquor.

At this time, gently fold in your egg whites and incorporate. Spoon the mousse into serving cups.

Refrigerate, covering each ramekin or pudding cup until serving.

Garnish with a bit of vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, small orange slices, pomegranate seeds, a mint leaf.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef and pastry chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.