This fast and fancy dessert is the recipe you didn't know your life was missing. Chocolate mousse, unlike cookies or brownies, is all too often considered a fussy restaurant-only recipe, but Chrissy Teigen proves it's just the opposite. The mousse is easy enough to make any day of the week, and the crispy-rice-cereal-meets-lux-hazelnut-crackle makes this recipe extra special.

I'm going on record right now saying that in years to come, Chrissy Teigen's chocolate mousse recipe will become legendary — on the same status as Katharine Hepburn's brownies or Ina's coconut cake. It's just that good.

The only appropriate caption for this photo is “Damn you @chrissyteigen” #cravings2 #thekitchn

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To be perfectly honest, while the chocolate mousse is super straightforward and easy, the crackle — a candy-like confection — does require a little more fuss. It's a combination of airy crispy rice cereal and toasted hazelnuts, held together with a salty toffee-like candy coating. It's so good, you'll be standing in your dark kitchen late at night eating it from the cupboard (yes, I'm speaking from experience), so you're going to want to make extra so you can snack on it before or after serving the mousse.

With the crackle, this recipe is a wonderful make-ahead dinner party treat. But even if you just make the mousse and barely-sweetened whipped cream, you have the perfect weeknight treat for a small family like mine.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

good-quality chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate (6 ounces)

whole milk

cold heavy cream

Oil, for the pan

granulated sugar

water

light corn syrup

baking soda

kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

toasted rice crisp cereal, such as Rice Krispies

chopped, toasted hazelnuts

cold heavy cream

granulated sugar

Combine the chocolate and milk in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Remove and stir the mixture until melted and smooth; set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Once the chocolate is cooled, whip the cream with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff peaks form (see Note), 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate until uniform, making sure not to stir too hard or the mousse will deflate. Divide evenly among 4 smallish glasses, such as juice glasses or martini glasses (use them for something else for a change). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease lightly with oil. Place the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a small (2-quart) saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, Let it cook and bubble, swirling it occasionally, until the mixture turns toasty, the color of nice caramel, about 5 minutes from when it starts to bubble.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the baking soda and salt, then the rice cereal and hazelnuts. Working quickly (the stuff hardens), spread the mixture onto the parchment and sprinkle with more salt. Let it cool and harden, then break into pieces.

When ready to serve, whip the cream and the sugar to soft peaks with a whisk or electric mixer. Top each glass of mousse with some of the whipped cream and the broken crackle.

Whipping cream: “Soft peak” cream means the cream holds nice shapes when lifted with a spoon or whisk, but the tips will still kinda flop over. “Stiff peak” cream is prrrrrrretty stiff: If you run a finger through the center, there’ll be a hollow channel there.

Reprinted with permission from Cravings: Hungry for More by Chrissy Teigen, copyright (c) 2018. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Aubrie Pick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.