Dive into this incredibly fluffy Chocolate Mousse recipe that is great to serve a bunch of people. This velvety dessert combines the perfect balance of rich, creamy flavors with a light and airy texture.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and substitutions for Chocolate Mousse
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar works best as it dissoves and adds sweetness without adding additional flavor. You could substitute with raw or light brown sugar instead.
- Heavy cream: Homemade whipped cream is best here for freshness and control over your cream topping. You could subsititute with whipped coconut cream.
- Chocolate: Finely chopped chocolate with 50% cocoa solids is best so the mousse isn't too sweet.
- Eggs: As well as adding structure and richness to the mousse, the eggs help give our mousse the perfect texture.
- Orange zest: Orange flavored chocolate can be a divisive flavor, however, here, the peel adds a depth to our mousse that helps cut through the richness. It's a subtle undertone that is recommended not to omit, at least that first time you make this.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Chocolate Mousse:
Melt your chocolate: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
Cook the zest and egg yolks: Cook the zest, sugar and egg yolks in a double boiler, whisking every few minutes until the thick and pale.
Beat the cream: Beat your cream until soft peaks have just been reached.
Fold and fold: Fold ยฝ the egg yolks into the melted chocolate until well combined and repeat.
1
Fold: Fold half the chocolate egg yolk mixture into the soft peaks.
2
Beat the egg whites: Beat your egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold and fold again: Add half the chocolate cream to the egg whites and fold until well combined. Repeat.
3
Refrigerate: Spoon the mousse into a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably several hours.
Serve: Spoon into serving bowls and dig in!
FAQ's for the best Chocolate Mousse
The key to a rich and indulgent Chocolate Mousse lies in using high-quality dark chocolate. Opt for a dark chocolate with at least 50% cocoa content to achieve that intense and heavenly chocolate flavor. Choose a brand that you love and trust to ensure the best results.
While it is possible to replace orange zest with orange extract in some recipes, it is not recommended for this mousse. The zest of an orange provides not only a burst of citrus flavor, but also adds moisture and texture, which helps the mousse set properly. Using orange extract as a replacement may result in the mousse that fails to set or lacks the desired consistency. To achieve the best results and ensure a perfectly set Chocolate Mousse, it's best to stick to using orange zest as specified in the recipe.
Yes, you can! This Chocolate Mousse recipe is a perfect dessert to make ahead for parties or special occasions. Simply prepare and portion into individual serving dishes or ramekins and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. This will allow the flavors to meld together and the mousse to set beautifully. Just remember to cover the dishes to prevent any unwanted flavors or odors from seeping in.
This mousse is rich! So 3 heaped tablespoon amounts to 1 perfect serving size, making this great for a crowd. Though, you can definitely increase the amount you serve...you do you here!
More chocolate desserts you'll enjoy
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 200 grams / 7 ounces dark chocolate
- 275 grams / 5 medium eggs room temperature and separated
- 50 grams / ยผ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest finely chopped
- 189 grams / 1 cup - 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl in a double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring to melt smoothly.
- Place the egg yolks, sugar and orange zest in a bowl in a double boiler and whisk intermittently over low heat until thickened and pale, approximately 7 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks have just formed.
- Add ยฝ the yoke mixture into the chocolate and fold to combine until smooth, the chocolate will become stiffer almost immediately, if the eggs and chocolate aren't even enough in temperature.
- Add the remaining yoke mixture to the chocolate and continue to fold. Do not fear if the chocolate is stiff due to the combination of the yoke mixture, the mousse will still turn out perfect.
- Spoon the chocolate into the whipped cream and fold through until well combined and most of the chocolate lumps have been smoothed out as you incorporate into the cream. The cream should resemble thickened almost curdled whipped chocolate cream.
- Lastly, whip the egg whites until you reach soft peaks.
- Add โ of the chocolate cream and carefully fold through the egg whites so as not to lose volume.
- Spoon the mousse into a serving dish and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour, but this is best served after chilling for 8 hours.
- Serve the fluffy mousse into individual serving bowls.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Chocolate: Finely chopped chocolate with 50% cocoa solids is best so the mousse isn't too sweet.
- Melting the chocolate: Melting the chocolate over low heat allows it to melt evenly and smoothly.
- Replacing the orange zest with orange extract: While it is possible to replace orange zest with orange extract in some recipes, it is not recommended for Chocolate Mousse. The zest of an orange provides not only a burst of citrus flavor but also adds moisture and texture, which helps the mousse set properly. Using orange extract as a substitute may result in a mousse that fails to set or lacks the desired consistency. To achieve the best results and ensure a perfectly set Chocolate Mousse, it's best to stick to using orange zest as specified in the recipe.
- Mixing the egg yolks and chocolate: The consistency of your smooth melty chocolate will stiffen with the first portion of cooked egg yolks.
Time for refrigeration: The recipe I have adapted does not give a refrigeration time period, it even says this can be served immediately. Allowing this to sit in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or even overnight allows the cool air to infiltrate every square inch of this dish and the fluffiness is what makes this mousse so special. - Serving: This mousse is rich and 3 heaped tablespoon amounts to 1 perfect serving size, making this great for a crowd.
Nutrition
Subscribe to receive a free weekly newsletter using seasonal produce as well as exclusive content!
Made it and loved it?
If you have made this recipe, it would mean so much to leave a review below to help more people find this.
Leave a Reply