Chocolate Mousse

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.

How to make chocolate mousse

The path to light and fluffy Chocolate Mousse involves just a few key steps:

1. Beat egg whites and sugar until foamy;

2. Soft peaks – it should be foamy but have SOFT peaks that flop at the top – as pictured above – not standing upright (“firm peaks”);

3. Whip cream;

4. Fold together cream and egg yolks;

5. Fold in melted chocolate;

6. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Don’t beat furiously – that’s the sure fire way to a pot of liquid chocolate!

7. 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

Author: Nagi

Prep: 20 mins

Dessert

French, Western

4.99 from 101 votes

Servings4

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Recipe video above. Light and airy yet rich, this is a Chocolate Mousse made the classic French way, as served in fine dining restaurants. Less cream, richer mouth feel, true chocolate flavour. It's actually quite straight forward to make!

Raw eggs note: required to make real chocolate mousse. It is not possible to achieve the same result without using eggs, despite what other recipes promise - and I've tried many. It will either be denser, or be like eating whipped cream, or have a weird jelly like texture more like pana cotta. Read in post for more information. Note: raw eggs not advisable for pregnant women or babies to consume.

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• ▢ 3 eggs (~55g/2 oz each)
• ▢ 125g / 4.5 oz dark 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

• 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.
• Melt chocolate & butter: Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. 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 - proceed with other steps.
• Whip cream: Beat cream until stiff peaks form (see video).
• Whip whites: Add sugar. Beat whites until firm peaks form (see video, Note 5)

Folding:

• Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula - 8 folds max. Streaks is ok.
• Check Chocolate Temp: Touch the chocolate. Should still be runny but only lukewarm. If too thick, microwave 2 x 3 seconds until runny.
• Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through - 8 folds max. Streaks 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.
• Divide mixture between 4 small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at least 5 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:

1. Chocolate: Ensure you use COOKING chocolate, not eating chocolate. Cooking chocolate (baking aisle) is made for cooking with - melts smoothly and is thinner than eating chocolate. If you use eating chocolate, the mousse is denser (I tried).

Bittersweet dark chocolate and 70% cocoa dark chocolate is best to get a good chocolatey flavour. The 70% cocoa sold at supermarkets in Australia is ideal (Nestle Plaistowe, Cadbury and Lindt 70% all work well) - these are bittersweet chocolates.

2. Cream: You must use a cream that can be whipped. Pure, thickened or heavy cream all work here. Do not use "Pouring Cream" that cannot be whipped - the label will say as such if the cream cannot be whipped. 

Cream must be full fat - now is not the time to go low fat!

3. Chocolate Shavings: Use a small knife and scrape at a low angle on the flat side of a block of chocolate.

4. Eggs tip: It's easier to separate whites from yolks when eggs are cold, but whites at room temp fluff up better when closer to room temp. So separate the eggs when fridge cold then set aside while you prep the other ingredients to let the whites come to room temp a bit.

5. Beaten whites consistency: Egg whites can be beaten to: soft peaks, firm and stiff peaks. We want the middle one - firm peaks. This is when you have a "elf hat" floppage at the top of the peak (see video). If it stands straight upright without the little hook then it's stiff, not firm (still works fine but it won't hold up as well after a few days in the fridge). If you do not get any type of peaks at all, then keep beating!

6. Flavourings: such as liquor, can be added into the melted chocolate, but make sure it is at room temperature other it can make the chocolate sieze. Stir it in then leave to cool per recipe. You can taste it later to see if the flavour is strong enough for you - but don't go overboard otherwise you may have issues setting the mousse! Up to 1 tbsp should be fine (and that should be enough!!), don't go overboard otherwise it might affect the melted chocolate or compromise how the mousse sets.

PRO TIP: Never add flavourings into just melted chocolate otherwise it might seize and become grainy, always ensure it's combined with something (butter, in this case).

7. Storage: Best within 2 days but keeps for a week in the fridge with only a slight reduction in aeration.

8. Nutrition per serving. Makes 4 x 1/2 cup (125ml) servings. It is quite rich! 

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate Mousse

Amount Per Serving

Calories 375 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 18g113%

Cholesterol 171mg57%

Sodium 92mg4%

Potassium 266mg8%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 700IU14%

Calcium 134mg13%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 375cal (19%)Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 18g (113%)Cholesterol: 171mg (57%)Sodium: 92mg (4%)Potassium: 266mg (8%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 19g (21%)Vitamin A: 700IU (14%)Calcium: 134mg (13%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: Chocolate Mousse

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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! 😂