Another pandemic St Patrick's Day is on the cards and I don't know about your kids, but mine are disappointed they won't be able to celebrate out in the community. We always enjoy the annual parade in our nearby town and make it a nice family day out. Also, like many other families, we celebrate the day with a big family dinner.

I think my kids look forward to that even more than they do the parade. Again, we won't be able to have a family dinner this year so instead, we will have a small family feast of our own: warm scones with jam and cream with our breakfast, a big feed of bacon and cabbage with mashed potatoes for dinner and, for dessert, I'm going to let the girls make something themselves.

They love getting in the kitchen. When it involves chocolate, they're even more enthusiastic.

This chocolate mousse is really simple to make, with just a few ingredients. It might look lumpy and strange when you mix the melted chocolate into the egg yolk, but keep mixing and you'll eventually get to the right consistency.

I am not really a dessert person and I sometimes forget how delicious a simple mousse can be. Light, airy and just rich enough to make a really great dessert.

This time, we made parfaits with crushed oreos, but even on its own with a dollop of whipped cream, this mousse is a winner. You can also layer it in between slabs of chocolate sponge to make a chocolate mousse cake. Instead of dark or milk chocolate, make it with white chocolate and serve with fresh fruit. The mousse possibilities are endless!

Easy chocolate mousse

Serves six

Ingredients

300g milk or dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

4 large eggs, separated

250ml cream (plus more for garnish)

50g caster sugar

Optional: crushed oreos, chocolate chips, M&M's or fresh berries, for layering/serving

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate gently in the microwave (do it slowly at 30 second intervals; mixing after each interval). Once melted, let sit at room temperature to cool slightly.

2. Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Add the caster sugar to the egg yolks and mix well; until pale and ribbony in texture (I use a hand mixer or stand mixer for this).

3. In another bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks. In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are achieved.

4. Slowly add the melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and beat with the hand mixer until smooth. Add the gently whipped cream and beat with the mixer until just incorporated.

5. Add one-third of the egg whites to the mixture and beat to combine. Then, add the remaining egg white and gently fold into the mixture with a spatula.

6. At this stage, you can divide the mousse into six different serving glasses to chill. Feel free to add chocolate chips, M&M's, fresh berry or crushed oreo layers to the mousse as you're doing this. Once the glasses are full, chill for around two hours before serving.

7. Before serving, add a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate shavings. Enjoy right away.