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! 😂
Thanks for this! I made one slight adjustment, I added salt and vanilla to the whipped cream. It’s much safer and easier than trying to add it to the butter and chocolate. I don’t have the slightest clue how on earth you manage to incorporate this stuff in just 8 folds. After 8 I didn’t have streaks of whipped cream in my egg yolks, I had entire Islands of cream in a sea of yolk. Same with the chocolate, it took twice as many spatula strokes to incorporate. But it still turned out great, in fact the final mousse looked more stiff than yours does in the video.
It turned out fantastic! It’s just for my boyfriend and I so I didn’t make it all pretty, just plopped it into ramekins. But it was so dreamy. Good tip on using good quality baking chocolate, a recipe like this lives or dies on the quality of your chocolate. Hershey’s ain’t gonna cut it.
How do I make whip cream and when to make
This looks so yummy.
One question: at the moment I have only unsweetened chocolate POWDER for cooking from Trader Joe’s. Would that be sufficient? Or does it have to be that 70+% baking chocolate bar. Thank you.
watch when i see u
I don’t think cocoa/chocolate powder in substitute for real chocolate would work at all
The best chocolate mousse recipe ever! It’s so easy to make and tastes absolutely divine. You have to try it! Ciao from Italy!
watch when i see u bumboy
This recipe worked perfectly! My dinner guests said it was the best ever homemade chocolate mousse they’d ever had.
Yummy! It’s quite sweet (which makes sense because it’s a dessert!) so I think it really needs the cream and maybe raspberries to offset that but it’s a delicious chocolate mousse!
This was lovely. However the mousse ended up with choc bits in it where the melted chocolate must have hardened in bits once mixed in and put in the fridge. Maybe it wasn’t the stated temp when I added it in? Everyone enjoyed the added bits but would like to try again to get a smooth consistent
Yeah, same. It was great when I put it into the serving dishes, but as it chilled overnight it got a little grainy. I think what I’m going to do next time is ignore the directions and mix the chocolate into room temperature egg yolks before folding in the rest. In fact I have no idea why on earth it’s not written that way to begin with. At 98° the chocolate isn’t hot enough to scramble the egg yolk, and you can just put it through a fine mesh strainer into the whipped cream to get rid of any potentially cooked bits anyway.
The same thing happened to me twice! Don’t know why>
I had the same problem. I don’t know if my kitchen was too cold or what, but my chocolate did not blend well. It was liquid when I poured it in the mix but lots of it thickened up/solidified. It ended up pretty lumpy. I couldn’t mix it more or it would’ve ended up a pudding.
I had the same issue
I just made this recipe and I have to say, it came out perfectly. I’m terrible at following recipes as a general rule (thanks adhd) but this was so easy to follow. Thanks Nagi!
Actually, authentic French mousse doesn’t call for cream.
Thanks for the recipe. It was awesome!
I used it to frost a cake. I used a mix of chocolates I had on hand, unsweetened chocolate, Hershey chocolate bars, semi-sweet chocolate chips and some cocoa powder since those were so sweet. It’s not something that had much form or that you could make details with in case you wonder.
Can I put this in a piping bag and use it as a layer for a cake, per se?
Excellent recipe. Mousse was very rich, creamy and delicious with Ghirardelli 70% bittersweet chocolate. Will definitely make again and experiment with different types of chocolate.
This dessert is so heavenly! The lightly whipped mousse and flavor is everything! I finally mustered up the strength to make it and so glad I did. Five star quality! Thank you!
it is so easy to make bit i made the mistake not to use the kitchen aid and whipped it by hand i am so sour after🤣🤣🤣
Great recipe. I’ve made it times now. Just two asks, Can you include imperial measurements/ tbs or tsps, since it’s less than 1 tbsp, for the butter? Because in the U.S. that’s how it’s measured on the stick. And could you suggest the size of the bowl that each thing is done in so that the largest bowl is the one where we combine everything? I got it wrong by about 2 bowl sizes Thanks!
On my scale I just added butter to the bowl until it was exactly 10 grams heavier.
Google the conversions, but make sure to use all converted, or all states as tbs/tap vs weight can offen differ.
Agreed! I am madly trying to figure out this: 10g / 0.3 oz butter
argh!
The whole world is metric except for the US so with respect, it’s a good thing to learn. Or just Google for a conversion like the rest of us ((ironically, US recipes very seldom convert) Another great option is to buy a set of kitchen scales. They measure in grams and ounces and, truly, once you get used to them you’ll wonder how you lived without them.
Thanks for adding the cups version. I prefer weights as you already had, but with me coming in late to the game, I get the idea for those that don’t use weight and don’t google well. It’s nice to see both ingredient options for us in the USA that are behind the rest of the world.
I use a kitchen scale that allows you to toggle between ounces and grams. It’s very helpful when following recipes from bloggers outside the US.
This is absolutely delicious and easy enough for someone like me who isn’t a whizz in the kitchen. I will definitely make again! Yummy
Please include a note on the eggs that the egg whites MUST be warm to room temp and NOT over beaten. I made this twice and it was delicious. The 3rd time I couldn’t get the whites firm (they were directly out of the fridge), and once I added all the other ingredients, the bubbled into water and protein. I never knew this could happen! So disappointing. I have family out of town and this was a disaster 🙁
Looks good. Will make it now. Could you please give us the recipe for using milk chocolate and white chocolate? Thank you
Fantastic recipe! SO easy to make and foolproof! And of course super yummy! I did not have castor sugar, so I used regular sugar and it turned out perfect.
This chocolate mousse is absolutely delicious! I’ve tried many, many recipes. This is by far the best one. It is restaurant quality. I have made it several times and I am making it again today for a dinner party. I am having tomorrow evening. Thank you so much!
So delicious! I misread the instructions the first time I made it, but it was still so yummy. Second time I used it as a filling in a devil’s food cake and it was phenomenal!
Super annoying that you didn’t specify to clean the bowl really well before you do the egg whites. I left the smallest amount of the egg yolk concoction in the bowl when I started whipping my egg whites and then I googled why it would not stiffen and it said to make sure your bowl was really clean. It would be nice if you specified this. Also wasn’t really clear how to go about that process when using the same mixer to begin with like you do the cream and then put it to the side clean bowl and do the eggs. It’s just not clear.