Learn how to make Classic Chocolate Mousse that is decadent, airy and intensely chocolatey. A generous dollop of whipped cream, shaved chocolate and fresh raspberries make this a romantic, special occasion dessert.
Add this dark chocolate mousse to your Valentines Day menu along with Filet Mignon or Lobster Tails for a truly memorable dinner!
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Chocolate Mousse!
Many of the “easy” chocolate mousse recipes take shortcuts which result in something that looks like mousse but tastes like chocolate pudding. This ‘Mousse de chocolate’ is something you might try in a fancy restaurant, but it’s simple to achieve these same results at home.
My husband and I took a “date night” cooking class together at Sur La Table and the chef taught this recipe for classic French mousse. We both were smitten with how intensely flavorful it was without being overly sweet. You’ll love every spoonful loaded with rich chocolate and whipped cream.
How to Make Chocolate Mousse:
This recipe comes together in 3 bowls and you will need a medium saucepan with 2″ of boiling water to serve as a hot water bath or “bain marie” to melt the chocolate and heat/thicken the egg yolks mixture. (I added Amazon affiliate links for tools we used)
- Melt chocolate with butter and coffee over simmering water
- Heat yolks with sugar and vanilla over simmering water
- Fold yolk mixture into chocolate mixture
- Beat egg whites and sugar and fold into mousse in thirds
- Divide between ramekins and refrigerate
Tips for Raw Egg Safety:
I highly recommend using pasteurized eggs anytime you are working with raw eggs in a recipe. Since even pasteurized eggs can become contaminated, raw egg consumption is not recommended for the elderly, pregnant women, very young children and immune-compromised individuals. Follow these tips for egg safety:
- Never use cracked, chipped or dirty eggs
- Only buy eggs from the refrigerated section of grocery stores
- Keeps eggs refrigerated and handle with clean hands
- Do not use expired eggs
- Use eggs from trusted sources
Cooks tip: The coffee amplifies the flavor of the chocolate so do not skip it. Espresso or dark brewed coffee work well.
If you love chocolate desserts, try these next:
- Classic Eclairs filled with cream and covered in chocolate
- Almond Nutella Cake – almond cake layers with Nutella and cream
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – so moist with gooey chocolate
- Chocolate Lava Cakes – with a molten surprise inside
- Ultimate Chocolate Cake – perfect for birthdays
Watch Natasha Make Chocolate Mousse:
I hope you are inspired to recreate this homemade chocolate mousse!
Classic Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Mousse:
- 4 large eggs
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or broken up
- 6 oz unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee or espresso
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Toppings:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp chocolate shavings
- 16 raspberries
Instructions
How to Make Chocolate Mousse:
- In a medium heat-proof mixing bowl, combine 6 oz chopped chocolate, 6 oz butter, 1/4 cup coffee. Heat a medium saucepan with 2-inches of water to a boil. Place your bowl with chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water so the bowl over the steam and not touching the water. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Separate eggs and put 4 yolks in a large heat-proof mixing bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Place bowl over the saucepan of boiling water, and whisk until thickened, hot to the touch and lightened in color (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Use a spatula to stir chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, mixing until blended.
- Place 4 whites in a third medium bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually add 1 Tbsp sugar and continue beating until medium peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter one third at a time, fully incorporating between each addition. Once all egg whites are in, stop folding when mousse is smooth and even in color.
- Divide mousse between 8 (4oz) ramekins, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or ideally overnight.
How to Make Whipped Cream and Assembly:
- In a medium bowl, beat together heavy cream with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract on medium/high speed until soft peaks form.
- Spoon generous dollops of whipped cream over chilled chocolate mousse cups and top with shaved chocolate and raspberries.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
If I’m using unsweetened chocolate how much extra sugar should I add?
Hello Zahraa, I haven’t tried that yet to advise.
I’ve tried quite a few mousse recipes but this one is definitely the best! A real mousse-like texture full of airy lightness! Absolutely love it!
One question though.. can it be frozen? Or how long can it stay in the refrigerator?
Thanks!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Deen! I havne’t tried freezing this to advise on the outcome or how it will look/ taste once defrotsted. If you happen to experiment, I’d love to know how you like this recipe!
Love your recipes. Have tried many. Chocolate.mouse tasted good but the chocolate had settled.to.the bottom of the bowl and was not firm. Watched the.video.many times too. Cannot figure.out what went wrong.
Hi, I haven’t had that happen before. Did you substitute any of the ingredients or did you possibly overheat the chocolate while it was over the steam? You want to heat just until it’s melted then remove it from the heat.
Instead can we use semi sweet chocolate chips?
Hi Viviana, I always use bittersweet, but semisweet chocolate should work fine. It will be slightly sweeter though.
First time I made this it was perfect! But the second time I used melting chocolate and not a bar. I experienced the same results as many of u have. This is what I found when I didn’t see a solution from Natashas responses to so many others with the same problem. Hope it helps someone.
There’s liquid egg white at the bottom of my mixing bowl.”
Make sure that you whisk your egg whites until they form soft peaks, when they should bend over slightly. If they are whisked to the firm peak stage, mixing them with the chocolate will deflate them, and deflated egg whites liquefy.
“My mousse is too firm or too liquid.”
Have you used chocolate that has the cocoa content given in the recipe? If necessary, change the weight of the chocolate you are using according to its cocoa content. The cocoa butter contained in chocolate is what is known as a hardener. Depending on how much cocoa butter you include in your recipe, you may have too much or too little of the hardener, and hence a texture that is either too firm or too liquid.
That is a great point and thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Natasha,
I have been following many of your receipes since the pandemic started and I love them all. I have specially loved the tiramisu recipe and have mastered it as well :-). The mousse taste amazing but one small question – I have made it twice now but somehow the mousse is not setting the way it should be….lots of chocolate is left liquidy at the bottom of the cup unfortunately. Can you let me know what I am probably doing wrong? Would highly appreciate your help !
Regards
Vasu
Hi Vasu, consider if maybe any of the ingredients or proportions were substituted. I suggest also watching the video tutorial and see where things started to look different to help with troubleshooting.
So easy to make! Tastes delicious and rich. Doesn’t even need too many ingredients.
Absolutely loved it!
That’s a great review, thank you so much for sharing!
I made this recipe and it turned out perfect.
I wasn’t sure if the chocolate mixture and the egg mixture should be cooled before adding the whipped eggs.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Julie!
Hi Natasha
Yesterday tried the Classic Chocolate Mousse.. but the Mousse didn’t set.. should I add gelatine and how much do I need to add to make for 12 servings.. the flavour was excellent .
Please let me know
HI Rashida, I haven’t tried to add gelatine to this to firm it up after the fact. Did you possibly change any of the ingredients or the process? Make sure to let it fully chill to set.
Hi Natasha, I was just about to make this recipe and I accidentally bought 3.5 ounces of chocolate instead of six can I somehow add cocoa powder?
Hi Julia, I haven’t tested that to give you exact instructions using cocoa.
Hi Natasha. Thanks for the recipe. I attempted to make the chocolate mousse following your recipe. However the consistency of my chocolate mousse after sitting overnight in the refrigerator was runny. Should I have whipped some heavy cream to make the mousse less runny?
Hi Azam, consider if there were any changes or modifications in the process or ingredients. I would recommend watching the video tutorial to see where things started to look different.
Hi Natasha. Thanks for the recipe. I attempted to make the chocolate mousse following your recipe. However the consistency of my chocolate mousse after sitting overnight in the refrigerator was runny. Should I have whipped some heavy cream to make the mousse less runny?
Hi Az did you have a chance to watch the video to see if the texture looked different at any point? That might help to see where something went wrong. Also, make sure to keep it chilled in the refrigerator and let it chill to fully set before serving.
Could you tell me how long this mousse can be kept in the fridge once it is prepared?
Hi Julia, I probably would not make it more than a day or two ahead (refrigerated) and add the toppings and cream before serving.
I am allergic to coffee. What can I use instead
Hi Pati, we have only tried this with coffee – from my research, coffee really enhances the flavor of chocolate, but you could substitute it with water instead, and the recipe would still work.
Hi Natasha! I made your chocolate mousse and let it set overnight…the consistency ended up being more like a chocolate truffle…it was still pretty good, but wasn’t light and fluffy…where do you think I went wrong? I don’t know what I did before I found you on Facebook!! You make everything so easy…I look forward to cooking now!
Hi Jenny, I would suggest watching the video to see where things may have started looking different in the process. It could be overworking the whites in the mixture or not adding it in thirds – which is my best guess. I’m so glad you are excited about cooking. That is wonderful!
I love this mousse. Can I change the butter with coconut oil?
Hi Carol, I haven’t tested that substitution so I can’t say for sure how it would work out.
Do I use icing sugar or granulated sugar?
Thanks
Hi Priya, here’s a note from the ingredients list: “1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar divided” I hope this helps.
What can you use if you don’t like anything coffee?
Hello Darla, the coffee amplifies the flavor of the chocolate so we recommend not to skip it. Espresso or dark brewed coffee works and from my research coffee really enhances the flavor of chocolate but you could substitute with water instead and the recipe would still work well.
Made this last night and our family didn’t love the added coffee flavor. We brewed a strong quarter cup, as the directions said, but we felt that the coffee flavor took over the chocolate rather than enhanced it. Next time I would also add whipping cream to the chocolate and fold in along with the egg whites as most recipes call for, I think that would’ve yielded a lighter less gummy texture than what I got. But for those who enjoy coffee flavored desserts and a thicker mousse, this recipe would be great!
Hey Natasha, have a small question. What percentage of cocoa was your Ghirardelli chocolate bar? Thanks 🙂
HI Amy, I believe it was 60% bittersweet chocolate.
Hi Miss Natasha, can i use a small tin can instead of ramekins?Thanks in advance.
Hi Nikki, I haven’t tested this in a tin. I imagine it may work but bake time adjustments may need to be made.
Hello
Natasha your answer states that bake time will have to be adjusted. You didn’t bake this desert. I’m confused. Please clarify. Thank you
My apologies Mia, that was a typo. Please ignore that. I think the tin cans will work for this recipe.
Can you use semi-sweet chocolate?
Hi Traci, I always use bittersweet, but semisweet chocolate should work fine. It will be slightly sweeter though.