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……. And you’re just five simple ingredients away from these little pots of chocolate heaven!!!
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.
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.
We (the RecipeTin Family) tried this with various types of chocolate – bittersweet dark chocolate / 60 to 70% cocoa dark (best at supermarket plus from speciality store), standard dark and milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet in US/CAN), usually around 30% cocoa.
The darker the chocolate (ie higher cocoa %) = more intense chocolatey flavour and high quality bittersweet dark chocolate is what good restaurants typically use.
But even milk chocolate is lovely in this recipe. Chocolatey enough – I think partly because this chocolate mousse recipe uses less sugar than many. I would happily serve milk chocolate mousse to company.
All types of chocolate are great and it comes down to personal taste. I typically use 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.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
The path to light and fluffy Chocolate Mousse involves just a few key steps:
- Melt chocolate with a bit of butter;
- Beat egg whites and cream until firm;
- Fold the ingredients into each other. 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.
Note on RAW EGG concerns: Classic chocolate mousse is made with raw eggs. It is true that eating uncooked eggs carries a risk of salmonella food poisoning which is transmitted to the eggs via infected hens.
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.
In Europe, raw eggs is used in a number of popular desserts including Tiramisu, we use it 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.
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. See? ↓↓↓ – Nagi x
PS More ways to get a serious Chocolate fix: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Cream Pie and BROWNIES!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
- 3 eggs (~55g/2 oz each)
- 125 g / 4.5 oz dark chocolate , bittersweet / 70% cocoa (Note 1)
- 10 g / 0.3 oz / 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 125 ml / 1/2 cup cream , full fat (Note 2)
- 35 g / 3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine white sugar)
- More whipped cream
- Chocolate shavings (Note 3)
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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)
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Yolks: Whisk yolks.
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Melt Chocolate: Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside to cool - proceed with other steps.
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Cream: Beat cream until stiff peaks form (see video).
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Whites: Add sugar. Beat whites until firm peaks form (see video, Note 5)
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Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula - 8 folds max. Streaks is ok.
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Check Chocolate Temp: Touch the chocolate. Should still be runny but only lukewarm. If too thick, microwave 2 x 3 seconds until runny.
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Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through - 8 folds max. Streaks ok.
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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.
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Pour chocolate mixture into egg whites. Fold through until incorporated and no more white lumps remain - aim for 12 folds max.
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Divide mixture between 4 small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight.
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To serve, garnish with cream and chocolate shavings. Raspberries and a tiny sprig of mint for colour would also be lovely!
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: Must use whipping cream (there are some creams only for pouring that don't whip). 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. Storage: Best within 2 days but keeps for a week in the fridge with only a slight reduction in aeration.
7. Nutrition per serving. Makes 4 x 1/2 cup (125ml) servings. It is quite rich!
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! 😂
Looks AMAZING! Actually I prefer the chocolate mousse which is harder a little bit. From your clip when you scoop it up, I can see it’s very soft, so is that glass taken from the frigde after 5 hours? I’m quite confused.
– Natalie
Hi Nagi
Last night we had friends over for dinner. I made your chocolate mouse in the morning (iPad on the kitchen bench with the video playing , I continuously paused it as steps were completed). The mouse was a huge success! rich but light and fluffy-also served in whiskey glasses with sliced strawberries (Trying to support our farmers) whipped cream and chocolate shavings which looked very decadent. Main course was your Slow Cooked Lamb Leg with roasted veg and steamed greens. Your videos and writing are inspirational and have got me back in the kitchen cooking and loving it-thank you 🙂
I love hearing that Tan! Thank you so much for sharing that! N x
Haa Nagi you sound like Step mother……but we understand the cost and hard work, post operative work. We are having REALY cold mornings only 04 C and mix bag of warm days, late change rain. Hope your week is very good.
This looks delicious! Would it work with white chocolate too?? 🙂 Can’t wait to give it a go.
Hi Brittany! I haven’t tried but I am sure it will work though it will be a bit sweeter because white chocolate is sweet 🙂 N x
Wow! Made it for a potluck with the ladies and it was a HUGE success!
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!! (Can you hear me shouting from Down Under??)
Ha, ha! Yes, yes I do hear you. 🙂
Keep up the great work! Love the recipes, love the videos, love your stories. 🙂 Best part… At the ladies potluck, I gave you credit and a girlfriend knew your site too. 🙂
Thanks Nagi for all your wonderful recipes..
Every one I’ve tried so far has turned out brilliantly, much appreciated.
Just wondering whether you think a Swiss meringue base would work for the egg whites as I’m cooking for a mother to be, who is advised not to eat raw egg products..
I’m not sure whether it would be light enough as Swiss meringue is usually a bit denser.
Hi Debs! I’m sorry to say I am not sure about that 🙂 And I must confess I don’t know how to make a mousse without eggs so I’m at a bit of a loss here! What about the Chocolate Cream Pie? No raw egg but a similar very soft texture, not aerated like mousse, it’s like a custard 🙂 N x
Nagi, I love your recipes
Thank you for the compliment Cheryl! N x
A tad of rum does wonders with this dish, and doesn’t seem to interfere with the setting. I always add rum, especially in place of vanilla.
YES!
I’m a first-time mousse maker, but I’ve got a good feeling about this! The whiskey glasses are chilling as I type!
Did you love it???!!!!
Nagi you have done it again . What a wonderful recipe. I will be making it so soon. Thank you so very much.
Thank you Lesley! I do hope you get a chance to try it, I’d love to know what you think 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi I will definitely let you know how great it was when I make it and try it. Thank you again for sharing this lovely recipe.