Olive oil chocolate mousse with PX & almond biscuits

Finish off a dinner party with this silky, rich chocolate mousse served with crunchy homemade almond biscuits. Good-quality olive oil is the secret to the mousse's texture

Ingredients

• 170 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), broken up
• 4 eggs , separated (about 130g egg whites and 60g yolks)
• 50 g caster sugar
• 3 tbsp Pedro Ximénez sherry
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 75 ml double cream
• 175 g plain flour
• 25 g ground almonds
• 0.5 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 125 g light brown soft sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon , zested
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 18 whole blanched almonds

Steps

1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water) or in short bursts in the microwave. Cool completely.
2. When the chocolate has cooled, put the egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl, and beat using an electric whisk until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 mins. Fold in the sherry and olive oil, then gradually stir in the melted chocolate and cream.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl using an electric whisk until they just form stiff peaks. Stir a spoonful of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen, then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, being careful not to knock out too much air. Divide the mousse between six ramekins or glasses. Chill for at least 3 hrs, or overnight.
4. For the biscuits, tip the flour, almonds, bicarb and sugar into a bowl, and mix together. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, lemon zest, vanilla and olive oil. Mix together, then chill for 10-15 mins. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
5. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the biscuit dough into 18 small balls, then arrange, well spaced apart, on the sheets and press down to flatten slightly. Top each one with a blanched almond and bake for 15 mins until lightly golden. Leave to cool on the sheets for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve the mousse with the biscuits and a small glass of sherry, if you like.