Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Mousse - Wine Flight Pt. 4

On the morning of Christmas Eve I woke up feeling a little risque. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I said, "Laura, you're going to be a bad ass today. You're going to put sugar and water in a saucepan, and watch it turn into a beautiful brown bubbly caramel. But you know what else, you crazy rebel? You're going to do it without a candy thermometer." 
And I did.
And it turned out SO PERFECT.
And it was my first caramel, ever!
And then I put dark chocolate into it, and I ate a spoonful and died and went to heaven.
But then I didn't stop there! I added eggs and turned it into a mousse, and topped it with salt.
Are you still breathing?
I barely am.

You know those desserts you taste and they are so mind-blowingly good you fall to the floor after the first bite? If you don't know those desserts, make this mousse so you can understand what passing out over caramel and chocolate is all about. Even if you don't want to make a mousse, just make the chocolate caramel and drink it, or drizzle it over ice cream or brownies. Whatever you prefer.
It's worth it, promise!


Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Mousse
(recipe from A Cozy Kitchen)

½ cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 ½ tablespoons good-quality salted butter, room temperature (I used unsalted and then added 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt)
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
3 eggs, separated

Combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Do not stir. Cook over medium-high heat to a dark caramel, swirling as it begins to brown to distribute the sugar.  While the sugar and water are going at it, heat up the cream in a saucepan or microwave just until warm.
Take off the heat and deglaze and add your room temperature butter.  Add your warmed cream and whisk vigorously.  Add the chocolate, wait for a minute or two for it to melt and mix until smooth. I was a little nervous about adding the egg yolks to the hot chocolate mixture so I waited a few minutes for it to cool.  Then I added a little bit of warm chocolate to the egg yolks and stirred it around a bit just to bring the eggs to a warmer temperature and then added them to the chocolate mixture. Mix in the egg yolks.
Whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks and then fold into the chocolate mixture. Top with cracked salt and then divide between 6 4-ounce ramekins and chill for at least 6 hours.