This Easy Chocolate Mousse recipe is so creamy and deliciously rich. You can eat it all by itself, or layer it in a trifle or a cake… whatever you do, just don’t skip this no bake mousse!
The pictures and tips and tricks within the post for this recipe were updated in 2021. The recipe remains the same!
Homemade Chocolate Mousse
If you’re a chocolate dessert lover, this Chocolate Mousse recipe is absolutely going to make your day. Or your week. Possibly your year? I guess that last part depends on if you’re super obsessed with chocolate like I am… have I ever mentioned that I’m addicted to this Chocolate Pudding too?
At any rate, this easy mousse recipe came to be because I have been trying to develop it for years. Up until this point, the mousse-making-process has always ended in spoon throwing and tears, but no more! Today I’m sharing all the steps on how to get a perfectly creamy, thick-but-not-too-thick mousse that you will LOVE!
This homemade chocolate mousse is sweet, full of rich chocolate flavor, and a decadent but simple dessert that you can prepare for guests, if you want. Decorate it with fruit, sprinkles, and whatever other sweet treats you like!
What is Mousse?
Mousse is a French dessert that is kind of like pudding, but there are some key differences between the two. For one thing, mousse is airier and fluffier than pudding is. When the eggs in the mousse mixture are whipped together, air is incorporated, which makes the texture lighter.
Keep in mind, mousse should be served chilled for the best tasting experience!
Recipe Ingredients
I forgot to mention one of the best parts about making chocolate mousse… you only need 4 ingredients! Let’s get right into this very short list of essential ingredients:
- Eggs: If you’re concerned about using raw eggs, consider using pasteurized eggs instead.
- Sugar: Regular old granulated sugar works best for this recipe!
- Cream: Heavy whipping cream, specifically, is what you’ll need. Make sure it’s nice and cold before you start!
- Chocolate: I always use semi-sweet chocolate chips to make this mousse, but you can play around with different kinds of chocolate (like milk chocolate chips) if you want to.
How to Make Chocolate Mousse
This recipe has a few steps to it, but trust me when I tell you that none of them are that hard. Plus, they’ll only take you about 20 minutes to complete, so the hardest part of making this chocolate mousse is waiting for it to chill!
Beat the Eggs & Sugar: Do this with your mixer for about 3 minutes.
Heat the Whipping Cream: Heat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan until just hot, not boiling. With the mixer on low, pour the hot cream into the egg mixture slowly until combined.
Heat the Whole Mixture: Next, add the egg/cream mixture back into the saucepan and over low heat, stir for five minutes constantly until thickened. Do not boil.
Add Chocolate & Chill: Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled, stirring occasionally.
Whisk the Remaining Whipping Cream: When the mixture is completely chilled and firm use your whisk attachment on your stand mixer to whip the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Put Everything Together: Remove the chocolate mixture from fridge and, using the paddle attachment or a spoon, fold/stir the whipped cream into the chocolate until incorporated and smooth. Serve immediately as-is, or refrigerate until ready to use.
Tips for Success
Looks delicious, right? And, like I said at the beginning, this is a great recipe to use for a number of other desserts if you don’t want to eat the mousse by itself. For example, chocolate mousse is stable enough to layer between cakes. (Personally, I’ll never turn down a nice cold bowl of mousse, but no judgement.)
Here are a couple of tips on how to get the best results with your chocolate mousse, for however you decide to use it:
- What Setting Should I Whip the Mousse on if I Use a Stand Mixer? I found using the paddle attachment on a low speed worked best. That way none of the dessert is lost to the walls or the counter!
- Use Real Chocolate: Chocolate substitutions just don’t taste as rich and delicious in this mousse – stick to semi-sweet chocolate chips or grated bars of baking chocolate for the best results.
- Beating the Whipping Cream and Eggs: This occurs during the second step. You’ll want to fold the two mixtures together for the fluffiest results – beating longer results in a dense, thick mouse, and beating a little less results in a more creamy texture.
How to Store Mousse
Store this chocolate mousse in the refrigerator in a tightly-sealed container, or cover it with a couple layers of plastic wrap. Make sure to eat it within 2-3 days. I know, I know – what a difficult time constraint to deal with!
Enjoy!
Easy Chocolate Mousse
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: French
Description
This Easy Chocolate Mousse recipe is so creamy and deliciously rich. You can eat it all by itself, or layer it in a trifle or a cake… whatever you do, just don’t skip this no bake mousse!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream, divided
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (about 1 cup semi-sweet chips)
Instructions
- Beat eggs and granulated sugar with your mixer for about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan until just hot, not boiling. With mixer on low pour the hot cream into the egg mixture slowly until combined.
- Next, add the egg/cream mixture back into the saucepan and over low heat, stir for five minutes constantly until thickened. Do not boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled, stirring occasionally.
- When the mixture is completely chilled and firm use your whisk attachment on your stand mixer to whip the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Remove chocolate from fridge and using the paddle attachment or a spoon fold/stir the whipped cream into the chocolate until incorporated and smooth. I found using the paddle attachment on low speed worked best.
- Serve immediately as-is, or refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
This mousse is perfect when served alone, or as a cake filling, a cupcake topping, or a layered dessert filling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 401
- Sugar: 20.6 g
- Sodium: 37.9 mg
- Fat: 34.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Protein: 5.2 g
- Cholesterol: 130.5 mg
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More Chocolate Desserts to Try
Looking for more easy chocolate dessert ideas? You’re in the right place:
- Chocolate Poke Cake
- Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Pound Cake
Omg what a great way to make chocolate mousse! I’m serving it at a dinner party tonight and it came out perfect! I don’t know why anyone would have a problem with a 4 ingredient recipe. It thickens beautifully and combines easily with the whipped cream at the end. So light and fluffy and not too sweet! Great recipe!
I cannot thank you enough for sharing this recipe. It’s the first time I made chocolate mousse from scratch and OMG it’s the best I’ve ever had!! THANK YOU!
I tried this recipe and the mousse is delicious but never thickened up. It remained pourable despite following the directions to the letter.
tried this for the first time last night and it was perfect! I used this as a filling for a chocolate cake and it was super easy and the taste was out of this world!
I love this recipe. I’ve made it about 6 times and have even used it as the base for my other mousse desserts (lemon mostly).
Thank you for sharing!
Super yummy! For those who had issues with it being runny, one of the commenters talked about cooking the mixture until boiling to make it thicken up. That did the trick for me- I kept stirring like crazy but let it boil a tiny bit until it thickened. It is so rich and delicious! I’m topping ours with crushed oreos and whipping cream.
I am baker. This has been my favorite Mousse by far! Super easy. I am curious if i’ll have the same results with white Chocolate? Will experiment! Lol for those of you having trouble with the “thickening process” I ended up constantly whisking with a handheld wire whisk for way more than 5 min. Until I could see and feel the mixture thickened. 5 minutes was not enough for me. And then I wanted a thicker mousse for caking filling, so I did omit a bit of the stiffed peak whipped cream at the end . Not a lot . Can’t tell you how much since I go by what I feel is thick enough for me. Overall, I love this recipe! Super easy and didn’t require separating eggs ?
I have never tried this with white chocolate, but now I am super intrigued! I might need to give it a shot!
Hey there Shelly 🙂
Been looking for a good chocolate mousse for couple of hours now and came up to yours.
Simple enough to make and it looks fluffy!
My plan is to use the chocolate mousse as a sponge cake filling. Complete on a Monday, to be served next day Tuesday night.
How would you advise to approach this?
Is it ok to have the cake ready the previous day stored in the fridge, to be served on the next day at night?
The cake will also be covered in swiss merengue buttercream with your chocolate filling.
Also the cake will be stored in my house. Will be taken to another place at night.
What would you advise as measures?
First time will be attempting this.
Would appreciate your advise on this 🙂
Turned out perfect and made a half batch. I think the mistake people are making is adding too much cream to the chocolate mix.
OH MY GOD!! it was delicious. Already thinking of making it again….
thank you so much for sharing