An easy, do-ahead mousse your love will love

Valentine's Day practically screams for a chocolate dessert. And this mousse is an easy way to incorporate chocolate without being overly indulgent.

Because this is a chilled dessert, you can make it ahead of time and not worry about things coming out of the oven at the right time when you're busy trying to impress your sweetheart with dinner. For a restaurant-worthy dish, spoon the mousse into parfait glasses and top with fresh berries.

Milk Chocolate Mango Mousse 

1 cup frozen mango chunks, thawed

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

1 whole egg, plus 1 yolk

1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2/3 cup milk chocolate bits

1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: Fill a medium bowl with ice. In a blender, combine the mango chunks, sugar, milk, whole egg and yolk, and the cornstarch. Puree until completely smooth. Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture until it thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the milk chocolate bits. Stir until the chocolate is melted and thoroughly incorporated. Place the saucepan in the bowl of ice; ensure that none of the ice gets into the saucepan. Whisk the mixture until completely cooled and smooth. Place the cream in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat it until medium peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add half of the beaten cream to the milk chocolate mango mixture and fold together to incorporate. Add the remaining cream and fold again to incorporate. Transfer the mousse to 4 individual serving dishes and refrigerate.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 500 calories; 310 calories from fat (60 percent of total calories); 34 g fat (21 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 195 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 2 g fiber; 80 mg sodium.