Purists would say white chocolate can’t really be called ‘chocolate’, as it does not contain the essential cocoa solids. Instead, it is made from cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids and lecithin.

Make sure when you’re buying white chocolate that it contains cocoa butter – some inferior brands use vegetable fat. Green & Blacks does an up-market white chocolate which can be found in food stores and most supermarkets. Or you could go all-out and source Valhrona’s wonderful Opera Chocolate.

Not only is its status as a chocolate under fire, but white chocolate is also difficult to work with. When melted, the cocoa butter in white chocolate can occasionally split, creating an oily compound that can be recovered by re-emulsifying.

To do this, melt a small amount of butter or chocolate and whisk back in the ‘oily’ compound.

As with other chocolate, the melted product rapidly turns lumpy and grainy when water is added. To save the mixture, just bring some cream to the boil and add the chocolate a little at a time.

This is a dessert I have being doing on and off in the restaurant for 20 years. What a scary thought!

When I first started doing it, two regular customers used to travel from outside Dublin to the restaurant just for the mousse. I hope you like it too.

White chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce

250ml cream
1 vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
80g caster sugar
2 leaves of gelatin
675g white chocolate
1.25 litre of lightly whipped cream

For the sauce
Raspberry sauce
500g raspberries
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp of water
Extra raspberries and cocoa powder for serving

Sauce method
First, make the sauce by placing the raspberries into a pot, adding the sugar and water and keeping it on a low heat for a few minutes.

Remove the raspberries and place into a blender to puree. Then pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Mousse method
Cut the vanilla pod in half and remove the seeds, then place the pods and the cream in a stainless-steel pot. It is a good idea to place a film of cold water on the bottom of the pot before you add the cream, as this stops it from burning.

While you are bringing the cream to the boil, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla seeds for one minute.

When the cream boils, add half of it to the eggs and sugar and mix, stirring constantly. Then add the remainder of the cream and return to the heat, mixing slowly with a wooden spoon. Cook on a low heat for about two minutes.

The chocolate should be cut into small pieces and added to the mixture, a little at a time. Stir until the chocolate has dissolved, remove the mixture from the heat and cool slightly.

Soak the gelatine in cold water. When it becomes limp, remove it and squeeze it to remove excessive water. Place the gelatine in a pot, along with a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture, and leave it on a low heat until the gelatine dissolves.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and add to the chocolate mixture. If you can’t get gelatine leaves, use 10g of dried gelatine, dissolved in a little warm cream and strained into the mix.

Cover the chocolate mix. Lightly whip the cream in a stainless steel bowl. Then fold the cream into the chocolate mix, a little at a time. Now divide the chocolate into moulds, or a bread tin lined with cling film. Cover and place in a freezer for about five hours.

To serve
Remove the mousse from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving. Place the mousse on the plate, add a little sauce, arrange the raspberries and sprinkle with cocoa powder.