This Chocolate Mousse is made the proper French way, with the right ingredients and technique so it has beautiful chocolate flavour with a rich and luscious texture, yet not too sweet. It feels a little fancy but is surprisingly straightforward. Excellent for dinner parties – make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for days, ready to serve!
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, too grainy. But the most common flaw was that they left a greasy mouthfeel from excessive use of whipped cream which many “easy” chocolate mousse recipes tend to solely rely on to set the mousse, rather than a combination of cream and whipped eggs which is the classic way chocolate mousse is made.
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. Make sure you use chocolate intended for cooking purchased from the baking aisle! More on this below. Don’t use eating chocolate – the only exception is Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate. That is suitable for eating and cooking.
70% cocoa chocolate
It’s important to use the right chocolate for chocolate mousse to ensure it mixes in seamlessly, gives the mousse enough chocolate flavour and the right texture.
70% cocoa dark chocolate – This is the chocolate I use which has good intense chocolate flavour, is not as sweet as milk chocolate but sweeter than unsweetened chocolate. It is also firmer than milk chocolate so it ensures that the mousse sets to the perfect consistency. Brands I use: Best – Lindt 70% cocoa (which is actually an eating chocolate but because it’s tempered it works for baking too, find it in the confectionary aisle). Every day purposes – Cadbury or Nestle Plaistowe baking chocolate block 70% cocoa.
Must be baking chocolate – Be sure to use a chocolate intended for cooking, purchased from the baking aisle, not one from the candy aisle. Chocolate made for eating is actually designed to not melt easily (think – hot hands, left in car) and if you use an eating chocolate, you’ll find it won’t melt smoothly (you get little lumps) or it burns in patches before it fully melts (if you use the microwave). Lindt is the only exception. As noted above, it’s an eating chocolate but because it’s tempered (“snaps” when you break it, and is shiny) it can also be used for baking and is my premium option.
Bittersweet chocolate can be used – The cocoa percentage of chocolate labelled “bittersweet” can range from 60% to 85% cocoa solids. It will add good chocolate flavour into the mousse but is slightly less sweet than using 70%.
Milk chocolate work too – It has a lower cocoa percentage (30% – 40% usually) so the mousse won’t have as intense a flavour, it makes the mousse a little sweeter and it sets a little softer, but it can be used here.
RAW EGGS
Raw eggs are key for real chocolate mousse, the classic French way to make it the way it’s 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 (and leave a slick of cream fat in your mouth that mousse does not), 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:
Melt chocolate with the butter;
Whip cream and egg whites separately until fluffy;
Gently fold everything together with the yolks; then
portion into glasses and refrigerate to set.
Here’s are step-by-step photos with a little more detail. And don’t forget there’s a tutorial video below as well which is quite helpful if you are a first-timer!
Beat egg whites and sugar until foamy.
Soft peaks (floppy elf hat!) – Then keep beating to fluff it up into a meringue (ie white fluff) until it is “firm peaks”. This means that the mixture stands upright but the pointy end flops down as pictured above. I call it a floppy elf hat!
If the mixture stands upright with the pointy end pointing up (not flopping) this means it has be beaten to “firm peaks” which is a little far for chocolate mousse. However, don’t worry! It’s ok, the mousse will work fine and will be great for 2 days, but it deflates a bit more on day 3 and beyond.
Whip cream to stiff peaks. This is one step further than firm peaks which we did for egg whites. So for the cream, we want the peaks to point upright – no floppy elf hat! Stop beating as soon as your cream reaches stiff peaks. If you beat it too much, the cream starts to get lumpy – and if you keep beating, you’ll turn it into butter which we definitely do not want!!😂
Fold together cream and egg yolks. By “fold”, I mean gently combining the mixtures using a lifting and turning motion rather than stirring, so you keep all the air in the mixture and end up with a light, airy mousse. Don’t beat furiously – that’s the sure fire way to a pot of liquid chocolate rather than fluffy mousse!
Fold in melted chocolate. Make sure the chocolate is at room temperature but is still runny. If it’s cooled too much and is thick (not pourable), microwave and stir in 5 second increments until it;s pourable again.
Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. The fluffed egg whites is what makes our mousse beautifully aerated so be gentle in this step!
Mousse mixture – Keep folding until you no longer see egg white lumps or streaks.
Spoon into individual pots or a larger dish, then refrigerate to chill so it sets. It will take around 6 hours for individual pots.
**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
Watch how to make it
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Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 3 eggs (~55g/2 oz each)
- 125g / 4.5 oz 70% cocoa chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, , break or cut into small 1 cm / 0.2" pieces (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)
- Whisk yolks until uniform.
- Melt chocolate and butter – Place chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl with the butter. Melt in the microwave in 20 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 – we want it at room temperature but still pourable.
- Whip cream – Beat cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip (see video).
- Whip whites – Clean the whisks. Add sugar into the egg whites bowl. Beat until firm peaks form. GOAL – flopping "elf hat"! (see video and Note 5 for what this means).
Fold together all ingredients:
- Yolks and cream – Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula – 8 folds max. Some streaks is fine.
- Check chocolate temperature – The chocolate should be cooled to room temperature but still runny (minimum 35°C / 95°F; ideal 40°C / 104°F). If too cool or thick, microwave in burst of 5 seconds at a time until runny.
- Chocolate into cream – Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through – 8 folds max. Some streaks here are ok.
- Fold in egg whites – 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.
- Chill in fridge – 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:
1. Chocolate – Use 70% cocoa or bittersweet for best flavour, colour and texture. I use Lindt 70% (preferred), or Nestle Plaistow / Cadbury for everyday baking.
- Use cooking chocolate (baking aisle), not eating chocolate (candy aisle). It melts smoother and thinner, giving a silky mousse. Eating chocolate can seize and turn lumpy – except Lindt 70% (an eating chocolate), which works because it’s tempered chocolate.
- Milk or dark chocolate (semi-sweet chocolate) can also be used, but the mousse will be lighter in colour, less chocolatey and softer set.
Nutrition Information:
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!
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! 😂
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!
Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve been in a few different countries, but never have I seen a grocery that didn’t sell plain heavy whipping cream.
Are you talking about the premade, canned whipped topping or the stuff in a tub? In that case, yeah, you’re not going to find an unsweetened can of cool whip. But you shouldn’t be using that stuff to make a chocolate mousse anyway.
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?
This happened to me, too. It’s because this lady told us to fold melted chocolate into cold whipped cream, of COURSE it solidified and became chunky! And yes, my chocolate was lukewarm, too. Didn’t make a lick of difference. Hot cream doesn’t whip, so you cannot do this recipe as written and obtain a smooth, perfectly emulsified result.
I think next time, what I’m gonna do is whip the chocolate into ⅓ of the cream mixture, then fold in the remaining ⅔. That’s how I’ve seen most chefs do it, I have no idea why we were instructed to do it this way.
Yeah, me and a couple of others had the same issue. I think it’s because of using the microwave to melt the chocolate. Use the stop top instead.
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?
I had the same issue 🙁
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!
I think it might deflate under the weight of the cake Michelle! N x
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.
Hi! Would this work using full fat coconut cream? Lactose intolerant here but would love to have this.
I don’t know Che as I haven’t tested that! N x
Hi! Lactose intolerant here and I tried this just with lactose-free cream. It turned out okay. 🙂
Would this work using white chocolate?
I have not tested it with white chocolate Darcy. You can make white chocolate mousse but in general it does seize easier than dark chocolate does so I would have to try it to be sure. Let me know how it turns out! N x
Very yummy!
Just made this, I was really nervous and watch the video 5 times. BUT came out sooooo good. I did not have super fine sugar so I just put reg sugar in the food processor. Now to your Cannelloni recipe.
Great mouse, instructions are great. The taste of mouse is silky and fluffy. Overall would recommend
I made it for Easter….it was amazing! Thank you so much Nagi!
I made this for a dinner party tomorrow which has had to be postponed. It is delicious but can it be frozen it makes quite a bit and I would hate to waste it.
This was magnificent a roomful of delighted moans.
Use Lindt 70%, served with orange zest, Cointreau flavoured whipped cream , dusted with grated chocolate, thank you .
I love all of your recipes. Could you make this using high quality cocoa powder instead of chocolate?
I would not recommend that Heather as it will be very dry! N x
This recipe is awesome!!! My husband asked for mousse for his birthday and I made this with my 5 year old, easy for her to follow the recipe, came out perfectly and tasted delicious! I used dark chocolate with 60% cocoa which was just right for us. Will be our go to recipe for mousse from now on. Thank you x
I am happy that you enjoyed it Emily!! Love that she is cooking so early!! N x
I’m having issues with the butter! I weighed out 10g but that’s a lot of butter!!! Yet .3 oz is next to nothing. How much butter do I use since the numbers don’t make sense. .3 oz is next to impossible to weigh out. Can you please just list tablespoon or tsp?!
Hi Nikki – 1 tablespoon of butter is 14 grams so just use about 2/3 of a tablespoon and you will be fine. 1/3 of an oz is the same as 10 grams! N x
Hi! Would this make a good cake filling? It looks so yummy 🙂
Can’t wait to make this but have a question. I’m a bit confused about the difference between eating chocolate & cooking chocolate. Would you consider Ghirardelli chocolate chips as eating chocolate or cooking chocolate? I want to be sure I use the correct chocolate. Thank you!
Hi Sheri – the easiest answer is that cooking chocolate is found in the baking section of the grocery. The chocolate found in the candy bar aisles is not good for this recipe! Ghirardelli makes both cooking and eating chocolate so if you got in in the baking section, it should be fine! N x
Thank you so much Nagi!
I just made it and oh my goodness, so wonderful. Texture & taste perfect!
Thanks again!
Wholly cow! This is ridiculously delicious. And easy. And now that I know what I’m doing, it’s dangerous!
I added a 1/4 tsp of espresso powder to pop up the chocolate.
I know what I making for my girlfriends next time they come over!
I am happy that you enjoyed it Amy! N x