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! 😂
Wondering if you can help me. I have made this recipe like 15 times at least. It’s so delicious. But every time it ends up with chocolate lumps in it. Like it’s seized a bit once it’s come in contact with something, I think. I’ve tried so many things, extra butter in the chocolate mix, bringing the cream to room temperature, different chocolate etc, I just can’t get it right. Wondering if you’ve had this issue or any idea what I’m getting wrong. I sort of flit between your recipe and another similar one and I have the same issue every time
In any case, it’s delicious, and I’ll keep making it, lumps or not. You know, for practice…
Hello. I’m thinking that when you melt your chocolate, it’s too hot.
If you melt in the microwave, then do it in increments. Warm enough to melt and then stir but not hot. Same with double broiler. Just make sure it’s not too hot when you melt.
Once I realized that, it becomes smooth every time.
Hope this helps 🙂
I made this Christmas Eve to serve the next day. Not sure what I did wrong but it was a fail, not light and fluffy at all. I put it in the freezer as I did not want to throw it out. Yesterday I defrosted it added another egg some SR flour and put it in the oven. One of the best chocolate cakes ever!
Just made this for the first time and what an easy recipe!
My only issue now is waiting 6 hours for them to set in the fridge 😭😭😭
Taste tests so far are making it hard not to eat it now – I think I’ll be staying up late tonight!
For those in Aus buying the 180 gram Cadbury 70% cocoa dark cooking choc block from the supermarket, I scaled the recipe up to 6x servings and used 4 extra large eggs and it’s worked perfectly 👍🏼
My 11 year old son and I made this recipe. The entire family loved it!!
Hi There, can 72% Cocoa Chocolate chips work?
I would like to know if this recipe would be too light to put into 1/2 round silicone molds (3.5 oz)- freeze to set and then unmold then Glazed with ganache.
Thanks for a speedy reply,
I know it’s a bit late to answer your question, but for anyone else who is wondering: Yes this works! I used this recipe to make dome shaped entremets with raspberry centres and a mirror glaze over the top. Worked perfectly. 🙂
Fantastic recipe!!
We really enjoyed your chocolate mousse, thank you for sharing this recipe!
The few chocolate mousse recipes i tried in the past tasted like chocolate whipped cream. Which was ok for what it was, but THIS is the real deal -incredible texture and intensely chocolate.
5
I won’t rate this recipe yet, as the chocolates baking drops (I assumed would melt, unlling the baking chips) ended up in a thick mess. I still tried, but ended up with chocolate flakes thru the mousse. Will definitely try again with better baking chocolate. Do you know if the Cadbury baking blocks) 45% cocoa, which is all I could find in NZ) would work better? The NZ cream I’ve had issues with for a few years now too… When whipped, it separates into a liquid at the bottom, no matter how fresh, and the mousse also separated into a thin liquid at the bottom. I’d rather not sink an extra $10 into high quality cream, but the basic and anchor brands all see to separate after a few hours in the fridge when whipped. Cold bowl, cold whisks… I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong? Please help!
Hi I used the melts as well and the big choc mess happened to me too BUT then instead of butter I put coconut oil at the end and it worked perfectly
So instead of butter I put coconut oil in once it had melted and the left over heat melted the coconut oil and was smooth.
Are you over-whipping your cream, leading to butter and buttermilk?
Not overwhipping. Its perfectly fine, useable, just until soft peaks form, and it hold its shape. It’s just that when stored in the fridge, separation occurs after a few hours, and it gets watery at the bottom. I’ll keep googling for an answer!
Can you use chocolate chips instead of cooking chocolate.
This is such an easy recipe and more importantly we were able to make it with lactose free cream for our oldest daughter . I feel one tablespoon of sugar less would be better as it is so so rich . Utterly delicious and super easy , thanks again for a great dessert
Do you think if I added 55ml orange juice and some zest that the mousse would still set?
Try zesting a couple of oranges into some sugar, and letting that rest for a couple days. The sugar absorbs the orange flavor nicely, and you dont need to add extra liquid.
Thank you for this simple and excellent recipe! Made for a birthday. Family rejoiced! So rich and wonderful texture. 🙏
hello! i intend on making this soon, but i have sweetened whipping cream. where i live, you can’t find the unsweetened one. do you know how much sugar i should cut?
Hello Dear,
it really depends on your taste, for example i made this wihtout adding any suger, the 70% dark chocolate had enough sugar for me, it was nice and bitter and yummy for my taste, you play it by ear… hope this helps!
If you use a sweetener instead of sugar and 100% cacao do you know what the carb content would be and if it would still taste like mousse?
I haven’t tested that, sorry Rachell! N x
When I folded the chocolate through the mix it went all speckled, looks more like cookie ice cream!
Chocolate was lukewarm. I was careful with temperatures so not sure why this happened?
Need to make chocolate mousse ahead of time. What is the slight reduction in aeration?
That will depend on how long you store it Marion. I can’t tell you the exact amount but I would only make ahead as per Note 7 in the recipe. N x
Amazing flavour. Only issue we had was that the chocolate mixture semi set when mixed with the cold ingredients and left a slightly lumpy texture. Any tips?
Add the egg yolks to the melted chocolate then add that to the cream and whip. Add the eggwhites beaten with the sugar. 😊
Can this be a filling in cake, or would it deflate? Beginner here!
You can use mousse to fill a cake, but not frost. If you seal the edges between layers with a sturdy frosting like buttercream or ganache it usually (depending on cake density) supports the cake nicely. Just pipe a barrier of the frosting a 1/4 inch in from the edge of the cake all around. It is possible to frost well with mousse if the cake is very light like an angel food or other light crumb.
I think it might deflate under the weight of the cake Michelle! N x