Chocolate Mousse
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Looking for a dessert that’s both impressive and easy? This chocolate mousse recipe delivers rich, silky chocolate goodness in just 20 minutes—the perfect treat for any special occasion!
Chocolate mousse, or mousse au chocolat, is one of the easiest French desserts to make. Seriously, if you have a microwave, a hand mixer, and a rubber spatula, you can whip up homemade chocolate mousse that rivals any French restaurant’s version—in just 20 minutes! This recipe from Tyler Florence is virtually foolproof. I’ve tried adding a hint of coffee or a splash of booze to enhance the flavor, and while both versions are tasty, the family consensus is that plain chocolate is best. Keep it simple!
For serving the mousse, you can use pretty juice glasses, martini glasses, champagne flutes, small bowls, or espresso cups. If you’re hosting a party and want to give your guests a small taste, serve the mousse in Asian-style porcelain soup spoons. Just remember, chocolate mousse needs to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving, so plan accordingly.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Mousse
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness to the chocolate mixture.
- Semisweet chocolate: Provides a deep, luscious chocolate flavor to the mousse; additional can be shavings added for serving. Since this recipe has very few ingredients, it’s important to use good quality chocolate; its flavor will shine through. I like semi-sweet chocolate but if you prefer your mousse with a darker chocolate flavor, use bittersweet (the higher the cacao percentage, the less sweet the chocolate).
- Large eggs: Essential for structure and richness; yolks create a creamy base while whipped whites add lightness.
- Cream of tartar: Helps stabilize the egg whites for a better texture.
- Sugar: Sweetens the mousse; a bit is added to the egg whites and some to the whipped cream for balanced sweetness.
- Heavy cream: Contributes to the mousse’s rich, creamy texture, with additional heavy cream whipped for a light topping.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a warm, aromatic flavor that enhances the chocolate.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Break the chocolate into small pieces directly into the bowl (no need to chop it first and dirty a cutting board).
Microwave it in 20-second intervals, stirring between each bout of heat, until the chocolate is about 75% melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely. This prevents the chocolate from scorching.
(Alternatively, place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing about 1 inch of barely simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.)
Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then add the egg yolks one at a time.
Whisk until smooth after each addition and then aside.
In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form (the peaks should be just starting to hold, and will melt back into themselves after a second).
Gradually beat in 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the peaks will stand straight up when the beaters are lifted from the mixture).
Using a large rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture.
Mix only until uniform, then set aside.
In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until it begins to thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla.
Continue beating until the cream holds medium peaks.
Add the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
Gently fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, making sure not to mix any more than necessary.
Divide the mousse between 6 individual glasses, cover, and chill until set, at least 2 hours.
Up to a few hours before serving, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar and whip to medium peaks. Dollop the whipped cream over the mousse and top with chocolate shavings.
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Note: Like tiramisu or homemade mayonnaise, chocolate mousse is made with raw eggs. If that is a concern, try to find pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been briefly exposed to heat to destroy any potential bacteria. Whole Foods usually carries them but call your local store to be sure before making a special trip. (Note: eating raw eggs is not advisable for pregnant women, babies, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system.)
Chocolate Mousse
Looking for a dessert that’s both impressive and easy? This chocolate mousse recipe delivers rich, silky chocolate goodness in just 20 minutes—the perfect treat for any special occasion!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, best quality
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature, yolks and whites separated
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream, cold
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For Serving
- ½ cup heavy cream, cold
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Break the chocolate into small pieces directly into the bowl. Microwave it in 20-second intervals, stirring between each bout of heat, until the chocolate is about 75% melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely. (Alternatively, place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan containing about 1 inch of barely simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.) Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form (the peaks should be just starting to hold, and will melt back into themselves after a second). Gradually beat in ¼ cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the peaks will stand straight up when the beaters are lifted from the mixture). Using a large rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture until uniform. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until it begins to thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla and continue beating until the cream holds medium peaks (when you lift the beaters or whisk out of the bowl, the peaks will slightly droop down, but they won't lose their shape entirely). Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Be sure it is fully incorporated but don't mix any more than necessary. Divide the mousse between 6 individual glasses, cover, and chill until set, at least 2 hours.
- Up to a few hours before serving, whip the cream until it begins to thicken up. Add the sugar and whip to medium peaks. Dollop the whipped cream over the mousse and top with chocolate shavings.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Mousse can be made up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and keep chilled in the refrigerator. Add whipped cream topping and chocolate shavings up to a few hours before serving.
- Note: Chocolate mousse is made with raw eggs. If that is a concern, try to find pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been briefly exposed to heat to destroy any potential bacteria. Whole Foods usually carries them but call your local store to be sure before making a special trip. (Note: eating raw eggs is not advisable for pregnant women, babies, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 415
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated fat: 19 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Sugar: 31 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 55 mg
- Cholesterol: 163 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I found your recipe to be a bit over complicated, I’m reading through it, looking at all the pretty pictures, but not getting what I want, which was a recipe, oh look there it is at the end of the pretty pictures. Too much work. So I have a cookbook from my mother, you know old school, I looked up a recipe for pudding, found Chocolate cream under Vanilla pudding. The recipe was so simple a child could follow it unlike what your version is. It called for chocolate chips or any kind of good chocolate bar- I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chunks since that’s what I had, half & half or whole milk( or a combo of both as I did), egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. I added Cayenne red pepper for a little heat. DONE. It’s very rich and delicious. There was a note that that to make it a mousse you could fold in whipping cream to the mixture and of course there was short recipe for it, heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2 whipped to soft peaks. Stupid simple, no photos, no video.
Why are you so angry about a recipe you didn’t make? Is this the first time you went to the Internet for a recipe?
You made chocolate pudding following a recipe in your mother’s cookbook. Yet you give one star to a recipe you didn’t even make!!
This recipe is delicious!!
I like the pictures in Jenn’s posts and they can help if I want to see if my progress with the recipe is on target. Otherwise, you can click on the recipe at the top and not scroll through.
Jenn, you have one of the best and user friendly sites and I use your recipes all the time! Thank you!
Were you not aware that there is a button right at the top that allows you to skip right to the recipe?
My mother had recipe books too and was a great cook. But things have come a long way and now we are lucky to have the internet and sites like this one that help us to be WAY better cooks than our moms were.
You really should try this recipe as written. I’m an accomplished chef and find each of Jenn’s recipes VERY good, well written and easy to follow. I don’t usually look at all of the pictures and step by step but it’s nice to have them there for people like my husband who are a bit more novice.
Interesting Rachel, that you were so extremely frustrated with the time consuming process of scrolling but found more than ample time in your daily time budget to write a rambling and ridiculous non-review of the actual recipe.
Your reply was unnecessarily rude. I wonder why you were even looking at it since you already have a good recipe. Jenn has amazing recipes and is always gracious about responding to questions. She also often includes very useful information letting us how know how far ahead a recipe can be made or whether it freezes well. I find her level of detail incredibly helpful when trying a recipe for the first time.
As someone else mentioned you can click on the button “jump to recipe” and it skips over the photos.
I am making this for a women’s luncheon. Can this recipe be doubled?
Sure!
My absolute favorite recipe! It is so decadent, and one of my top fillings for clients when I make cakes and cupcakes. They absolutely rave over it.
Loved how this turned out. It was super easy, and tasted phenomenal. The second time I made it, instead of vanilla extract I used orange extract and added orange zest to the whipping cream. Ohhhhh myyyyyyy gawwwd. So. Delicious.
Is it possible for me to make this with fruit instead? I’m trying to make raspberry mousse cups for a family gathering. I’ve tried the chocolate ones before and they came out delicious, so I wanted to stick with the same recipe.
Hi Kavya, I think you’d need to make too many adjustments to the recipe to turn it into a fruit mousse, so I’d suggest looking for a recipe specifically for that — sorry!
I am concerned that the eggs are not cooked.
Hi Geri, If that is a concern, try to find pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been briefly exposed to heat to destroy any potential bacteria. Whole Foods usually carries them but call your local store to be sure before making a special trip. (Note: eating raw eggs is not advisable for pregnant women, babies, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system.)
I made this mousse with no added sugar. Used a mixture of 85% and 75% dark chocolate, and followed the recipe as is, except that I added no sugar. It is delicious, thanks!
Hello, before I make the Chocolate Mousse, I wanted to make sure I understand what I’m doing as I an not much of a baker. Regarding the 6 ounces of chocolate, would that be a total of 1 cup?
Hi Lucille, the 6 ounces is the weight of the chocolate (not the volume like you would use a cup measure for). Most bars like this (I use Ghiradelli) are 4 ounces each, so you’d need 1.5 bars. Hope that clarifies!
Hi there. Is the cream of tartar integral or can it be omitted? Making this for a friend who is on a post-surgery low-residue diet, and we must strictly stick to the ingredients on the list she was provided (cream of tartar not on the list).
Hi Tiina, Assuming they’re on the list, you can replace the cream of tartar with an equal amount of white vinegar or lemon juice. Hope that helps!
What type of sugar do you use for the mousse itself? Granulated or powdered?
Hi Alex, you’ll need granulated sugar for both the mousse and the whipped cream. Hope you enjoy!
Actually, I made the whipped cream without the sugar. Came out fine.