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
What speed do you whip the cream to get soft peaks?
medium high
Several people commented on the mixture never thickening. I’m formerly a professional baker with many years of experience, (now just a lawyer who bakes a lot), and I too started having problems while the eggs, sugar, and cream were cooking on the stovetop. The consistency was running even after doubling the time on the stove. The author suggested to other reviewers that perhaps they added all 2.5 cups of cream at once, instead of just one cup. I discovered however, the discrepancy in the recipe is the amount of heat and time on the stove. After whisking the mixture nonstop on “low” on electric range heat for 15 minutes with barely any thickening, I uped the heat and got results in five minutes more. The results were outstanding. I suggest straining the mixture before adding the chocolate. I wish I could post a photo of what I ended up doing with this mousse, but I don’t see the option. Don’t give up on these ingredients–it’s not a flawed combination. But do be careful to get some heat on the eggs mixture so you don’t waste all those ingredients!
My very first attempt at mousse and it is wonderful. I did make the mistake of letting the custard get a bit too hot and it started to separate. No real harm done. My family didn’t notice at all!
I tried it for the first time this afternoon and success! I now have a tub of it in the fridge and I can’t stop snacking on it. It tastes even better after it’s chilled for a while, it gets a little denser which I prefer. I’m honestly surprised it went so well, I thought it would be a lot harder, and it tastes so good!
The only thing is that it’s not completely smooth, there are occasional little lumps. But they’re so small and rare that it doesn’t make much difference. I think it’s because I accidentally let the cream boil for a few moments when it was heating. I’ll do a better job of keeping an eye on that next time.
Thanks for posting this! I’ll definitely be making it again.
This is the BEST chocolate mousse ever!! I’ve made it as a filling for cupcakes, for cakes, we eat it by itself. It’s seriously the best!! Especially with strawberries!!
your recipe is awesome I follow you all recipe good work. keep it up.
Amazing Tips, Thank you for sharing this …….. post really this is awesome tips thanks for guiding me
I also followed this recipe to the letter and mine is back to being soup after mixing the pretty decently thick chocolate mixture and whipped cream on low setting with the paddle. Putting it back in the fridge, but not sure if I should try whipping it again?
How do I thicken it? It never thickened?
Delicious, my whole family loved it ?
Trying this tonight… just curious if you have ever chilled the first step overnight and just added the whipped cream the day you’re planning to serve? I worry about it firming up too much to add the whipped cream the next day. Looks yummy, can’t wait to try it!