Chocolate Mousse may well be the ultimate chocolate fix! Rich and creamy, yet light and fluffy, one pot is satisfying but always leaves me wanting more…….
This is a classic chocolate mousse made the proper French way, as served in fine dining restaurants. Less cream, more chocolate, a more intense chocolate flavour and a beautiful creamy mouth feel.
A classic, proper Chocolate Mousse recipe
I’ve never been 100% happy with the various chocolate mousse recipes I’ve tried in my lifetime. Not fluffy enough, not chocolatey enough, too sweet, grainy, etc etc. Many “easy” chocolate mousse recipes tend to use too much cream so the end result is more like custard, rather than aerated like real chocolate mousse should be.
Thus, when Chocolate Mousse was submitted by a reader as a Recipe Request, I had reason to focus and make it over and over again until it was exactly what I wanted.
Let me repeat: I had to make chocolate mousse over and over again for work purposes.
Life is tough, my friends. The sacrifices I make…. (she says sadly, shaking her head, thinking about the various body parts on which all that chocolate mousse appears to have ended up residing…)
What goes in chocolate mousse
Just FIVE ingredients, all good stuff we like: chocolate, cream, sugar, eggs and butter.
Chocolate
Make sure you use chocolate purchased from the baking aisle of grocery stores, not the confectionary aisle (ie eating chocolate). Chocolate intended for cooking is made especially so it melts smoothly and properly (unlike eating chocolate).
All types of chocolate can be used for chocolate mousse but I like using 70% cocoa dark chocolate (which is a bittersweet dark chocolate) because it has a good intense chocolate flavour, it’s not as sweet as milk chocolate and I don’t need to hunt down a gourmet store to find it because it’s sold at supermarkets.
Milk chocolate is more milky but you still get a great chocolate flavour. The higher the cocoa % (dark chocolate), the more chocolatey and less sweet it will be.
High quality bittersweet dark chocolate is what good restaurants typically use – not the stock standard. The quality of chocolate used by restaurants is not sold at grocery stores, you need to go to speciality stores and expect to pay upwards of $20/kg ($10/lb).
Eggs
Raw eggs are key for real chocolate mousse, the classic way to make it the way its served at fine dining restaurants. You will not achieve a result as good using a recipe that doesn’t use raw eggs, no matter what they promise. It’s just not possible to replicate the fluffy-yet-creamy texture with anything other than eggs whipped into a foam. Those “no egg” recipes will either be too dense, taste like whipped cream, or have a weird jelly-like texture.
Note on raw eggs concern
Raw eggs in food is more common than you think – and you’ve probably eaten it without even realising.
It is true that eating uncooked eggs carries a risk of salmonella food poisoning which is transmitted to the eggs via infected hens, but in this day and age, I do not consider it any greater risk than eating sushi.
This concern seems more prevalent in some regions around the world, most notably in the US and Canada, presumably because of the outbreak in 2010 which resulted in the recall of millions of eggs.
Raw eggs are used in a number of popular desserts including Tiramisu, it’s used in mayonnaise, the Japanese eat raw eggs on rice, the Koreans top Bibimbap with raw egg. And I don’t know about you but runny yolks is the only way I have fried eggs!
If you are concerned about eating raw eggs, you can used pasteurised eggs for this recipe. If you cannot find pasteurised eggs in stores, you can pasteurise eggs yourself at home if you have an accurate thermometer (have a read of this resource).
Note: raw eggs is not advisable for pregnant women and babies.
How to make chocolate mousse
The path to light and fluffy Chocolate Mousse involves just a few key steps:
Beat egg whites and sugar until foamy;
Soft peaks – it should be foamy but have SOFT peaks that flop at the top – as pictured above – not standing upright (“firm peaks”);
Whip cream;
Fold together cream and egg yolks;
Fold in melted chocolate;
Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Don’t beat furiously – that’s the sure fire way to a pot of liquid chocolate!
Spoon into individual pots or a larger dish, chill until firm.
The recipe video is super helpful to see the consistency of the egg whites and cream, as well as how to fold the ingredients into each other.
I chose to make little pots (using whisky glasses!) but you can make one dish if you prefer, then scoop out to serve.
First timers – never fear!
If you’re a chocolate mousse first timer and are concerned about deflation because you’re taking your time with the steps, don’t be worried! When I film recipe videos, I’m always faffing around with camera set ups and batting away a certain giant dog who is always sprawled where I want the tripod to be.
So it probably took me 3 times longer than it usually does to get the mousse in the fridge so I was quite concerned about deflation of the egg whites and cream.
But it was fine! The chocolate mousse came out exactly the same as it always has. Fluffy, chocolate perfection, as show in the photo above! – Nagi x
PS More ways to get a serious Chocolate fix: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or Ganache and Chocolate Mirror Glaze, Chocolate Cream Pie and BROWNIES!
Chocolate Mousse
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 3 eggs (~55g/2 oz each)
- 125g / 4.5 oz dark cooking chocolate , bittersweet / 70% cocoa (Note 1)
- 10g / 0.3 oz unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup cream , full fat (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine white sugar)
Decorations:
- More whipped cream
- Chocolate shavings (Note 3)
Instructions
- For reliable results, work at a steady pace so your whipped egg whites and cream do not get too warm!
- Separate eggs and yolks while eggs are cold. Place whites in a large bowl and yolks in a small bowl. Leave whites while you prepare other ingredients. (Note 4)
- Yolks: Whisk yolks until uniform.
- Melt chocolate and butter: Break chocolate into pieces and place in a microwave-proof bowl with the butter. Melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. (Stir in optional flavourings at this point, but read Note 6 first). Set aside to cool slightly while you proceed with other steps.
- Whip cream: Beat cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip (see video).
- Whip whites: Add sugar. Beat whites until firm peaks form (see video, Note 5)
Fold together all ingredients:
- Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula – 8 folds max. Some streaks is fine.
- Check chocolate temperature: The chocolate should still be runny but warm (min 35C / 95F; ideal 40C / 104F). If too cool or thick, microwave in burst of 5 seconds at a time until runny.
- Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through – 8 folds max. Some streaks here are ok.
- Add 1/4 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold through until incorporated – "smear" the spatular across surface to blend white lumps in – aim for 10 folds.
- Pour chocolate mixture into egg whites. Fold through until incorporated and no more white lumps remain – aim for 12 folds max, but ensure there are no obvious egg white patches.
- Divide mixture between 4 small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- To serve, garnish with cream and chocolate shavings. Raspberries and a tiny sprig of mint for colour would also be lovely!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Back at the beach with his mates! Under strict instructions to take it easy* and ease back into it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand what “taking it easy” means…..
* Post knee op a few months ago. According to Dozer, he was back to 100% the week after surgery, but the doc says no! It will be months! 😂
How many servings will i get from this recipe???
Hey. Can I put in closed jars to refrigerate or does it need to be opened?
Hi Qurat, you can put this in jars if you like 🙂 N x
It was absolutely delicious. Great recipe.
My one came out runny not thick any tips
Hi Shak, did you whip the cream before incorporating into the mix? N x
This is the best ever! I gave it to several people and they also agreed! I used Valrohona 70% chocolate. Perfect in every way.
Can I use this recipe to set on top of a biscuit base and use your chocolate ganache to cover it once cooled?
Hi Candice, yes that sounds fantastic! N x
Delicious!!!! It took many more folds than the recipe stated to combine the mixture so may have lost some frothiness; but none of the taste. Will definitely add to my dinner party hit list.
This is my go-to recipe for a super yummy decadent dessert. My 6yr old and I made this together and it’s such a hit! Love it. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe 🙂
I’m not sure what I did – I followed to a T – but the consistency was lumpy. The flavour was lovely, and my husband thought the lumpy bits were chocolate bits, and thought it was intentional (bonus) but it wasn’t. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Hi Tee! It means the chocolate didn’t melt properly. Did you use baking chocolate, not eating chocolate? Eating chocolate doesn’t melt properly. Also, old chocolate does not melt properly ie you end up with lumps. Any chance either of these applied? – N x
I had the same issue. Chocolate was all melted properly, I used the correct chocolate and it was bought that day. Similar to another comment, I did have to fold more times than suggested to combine so perhaps that was it? Any ideas?
Yes. Mine too. I used high quality bakers chocolate.. The chocolate didn’t fully mix. I use a cold bowl to make whipped cream so maybe my cream/yolk mixture was too cold.
I noticed when I make this and anything is too cold it does this to the chocolate. Make sure it’s lukewarm when u add it to the whipped cream and less issues! Best of luck next time this is an excellent mousse!
I haven’t made this recipe but I just wanted to say I love your in depth explanations. I can’t wait to make it just by the way you worded everything. Sounds like the perfect mousse recipe x
Hi i made this dessert and the texture of it felt like the sugar was not desloved and it was way to sweet. What can I do to change the texture of the mousse.
And also to make it less sweet.
I made this chocolate mouse however o found dark chocolate too rich then opted to try it with a mix of white and milk chocolate, it was absolutely gorgeous although I used quite big glasses so I could have doubled the portion size.
Loved the recipe. Added fresh orange juice right after the chocolate melted, and some zest, but it seemed to seize up..should I have added during the melting process instead? Thanks
Eggs in fridge!!! No no no, eggs should be room temp, always.
Folding mixing bit more. Good recipe otherwise,
Incorrect. Eggs should be kept in the main section of the fridge but not in the door. Its keeps bacteria under control and keeps them fresher for longer….apparently!
Perfect mousse recipe with helpful hints. Turned out perfectly with light fluffy texture.
Omg, I’ve never made mousse before and this turned out perfect! Thank you!!
Not a bad recipe, though I did find the ‘folding instructions’ difficult – frankly, I found it hard to combine ingredients within the limit of the folds and ended just ignoring the folding instructions. It turned out lovely anyway, so that’s good. I did choose to heat the chocolate in the traditional fashion – melting in a bowl over hot water – but I find that usually works better. Anyhow, great recipe, but stressful while making – my yolk/cream mix was such a total mess. Happy Christmas, and thank you for the recipe!
Hi Nagi, would this mousse be firm to pipe? Do I leave it in the fridge for a few hours then whip it into a piping consistency?
Hi Nagi, I’m keen to make this recipe for Xmas but I only have raw sugar. Will that work?
I powdered some raw sugar in a food processor – worked just fine. Or you could pound it or grind it in a mortar and pestle.
Can you please tell me how many tablespoons or teaspoons of butter you actually need?
Hi Kim, 10g which is about 2/3 tbls or 2 teaspoons. N x