Dark Chocolate Mousse
When I was a kid, chocolate mousse seemed like one of the fanciest desserts I could imagine. Weeknight desserts usually consisted of Jell-O with Cool Whip, and aside from that, there were sometimes cookies or Entenmann’s goodies at my grandma’s, and the occasional cake at a birthday party. I can only remember a couple of instances during my childhood that mousse was placed in front of me. It always stood out as something special. Served in a fancy glass goblet, topped with whipped cream and a garnishment… that was something to behold! It was chocolate, therefore I loved it, but it wasn’t until much, much later that I was really able to appreciate a wonderful mousse dessert. While I placed chocolate mousse on my 100 list years ago, I just recently got around to making it. As is always the case when it comes to great recipes… better late than never.
Part of the reason it took me so long to make homemade mousse is that I could never settle on a recipe. I wanted something that would be smooth, light, and almost foam-like. I didn’t want merely a lightened-up version of pudding, but something much more spectacular. Surprisingly, hardly any of my tried-and-true cookbooks contained a recipe for chocolate mousse, but one of my newest favorites – The Science of Good Cooking – had a version that sounded like it fit the bill perfectly.
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In less than 30 minutes, I had the mousse made and it was in the refrigerator chilling. Once chilled and set, the mousse was everything I had hoped it would be… bursting with a clean chocolate flavor, a light, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and silky smooth. I topped the mousse with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings; it would also be wonderful with some fresh berries on top. This is a perfect dessert to serve to company since it can be prepared in advance easily and served in individual glasses or dishes.
It doesn’t take a lot of time, fancy equipment, or hard-to-find ingredients to make something that’s extra special. This fabulous mousse recipe is a testament to that, and it’s one that I’m going to tuck away as a “tried-and-true” for decades to come.
You Will Love These Other Chocolate Desserts:
Dark Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) bittersweet chocolate, 60% cacao, finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (238 ml) + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Combine the chocolate, water, cocoa powder, brandy and espresso powder in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a small saucepan filled with about 1 inch of water set over low heat, so that it is barely simmering. Stir the mixture frequently until it is completely melted and smooth; remove the bowl from the heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1½ teaspoons of the sugar and the salt until it is slightly thickened and pale in color, about 30 seconds. Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Let cool until it’s slightly warmer than room temperature, about 5 minutes.
- Whip the egg whites using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add the remaining 1½ teaspoons of sugar and increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to whip until soft peaks form, about 1 more minute. Gently whisk one-quarter of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold into the chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula until just a few white streaks remain.
- Wipe out the mixing bowl and then add the heavy cream to the bowl. Again using the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, at least another 15 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the mousse until no white streaks remain. Spoon the mousse into individual serving cups, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Notes
- If you are concerned about using raw eggs in this recipe, look for pasteurized eggs – almost all grocery stores carry them now.
- You can omit the brandy if you do not drink alcohol. You may substitute vanilla extract, adding it to the egg yolks, sugar and salt in step #2.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Chocolate heaven-ness! Love it’s poofy texture :)
Such a beautiful dessert! I love this mousse is dark chocolate, my favorite kind of chocolate!
I always love chocolate mousse because it just feels so decadent. And dark chocolate sounds even MORE decadent! I love it!
I just made chocolate mousse and it was fantastic! Your shots look beautiful!
This looks wonderful. I had to chuckle, though, when I saw your note about substituting vanilla extract for brandy if you don’t drink… I think vanilla extract is 40% alcohol!
Love your website and recipes!!!!
This looks amazing! I have a question though, is there any dairy-free cream substitute available out there? Several family members(myself included) can not eat dairy products, but this looks sooooo good.
Hi Abi, I am not familiar with dairy-free products, but the cream is whipped and folded into the chocolate mixture. If you have something you routinely substitute to make fresh whipped cream, use that.
Hi Abi
I’m lactose intolerant and am able to find lactose free cream in Canada.
It’s made by the brand Natrel. Ill be making it tomorrow and will let you know how it turns out.
This chocolate addict would die and go to Heaven if this was in front of me now!! Yum :)
You can’t go wrong with a classic dessert like this. Yours looks heavenly!
I think we can forget how amazing the simplicity of a dessert can be in our efforts to make something fabulous. One of my all time favorites desserts is Pots de Creme…another very basic chocolate recipe using the best ingredients. This is NOT your mother’s chocolate pudding! :)
This looks amazing! I’ve had chocolate mousse on my list of things to make for quite some time and have never gotten around to making it!
Yum, Shane would *love* this!! The texture looks absolutely amazing!
Ooooooh…I want some right now! lol. It looks so light and airy. I’m so excited to give it a try! My family will go crazy for it!
how many eggs?
Two, as stated in the recipe above.
My husband loves any type of mousse. This sounds great!
This looks amazing . I can not wait to try it.
This sounds soooo good! And I love how east it is!
I love, love, love chocolate mousse!! Your looks so light, airy and fluffy!! Oh my gosh I just want one giant spoon!! Looks amazing!
Similarly, I had never made pudding for dessert, as it always seemed like it was too much trouble. Once you make it once though, you realize how easy (and deeply comforting!) it is. Thanks for posting this, now I’m sure to add chocolate mousse to my sweet arsenal!
better late than never is right! This looks scrumptious!
Dark Chocolate … Mmmmm …. my husband will kill me if I don’t make this.
Michelle, It looks decadent. Might make this for a Mothers Day get together.
I’m excited to try this!! Do you know if it would work with lactose-free cream??
Hi Lisa, I am not familiar with lactose-free products, but the cream is whipped and folded into the chocolate mixture. If you have something you routinely substitute to make fresh whipped cream, use that.
I want to just jump into the screen and gorge on this delight! Wow. You do know how to click most tempting and seductive foodie pictures! Love ’em! I have been following this blog for quite sometime now and I just love it! Hope you do many many more!
P.S: I long for BEB mails more than anything for in my mailbox! :)
My husband and I just love Chocolate Mousse, and we will have to try your recipe, Michelle. However, I have a personal story concerning Chocolate Mousse. Many years ago, there used to be a restaurant in Monroeville, PA by the name of “Victoria Station”, which was one of our favorite places to dine, who served Chocolate Mousse as one of their desserts. So one evening while dining with a few friends of mine, I asked our server if he could please ask their pastry chef if he would be so kind as to part with his recipe for Chocolate Mousse. Well, much to my surprise, our server came back to our table with a small slip of paper, which they used as a bar tab, that listed 4 ingredients in mammoth proportions and with absolutely no directions to go along with these ingredients, whatsoever. And they were a gallon of heavy whipped cream, 16 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate; 16 egg yolks; and 2 cups of sugar. Of course, with amounts like these, I would have had to set up a stand on a street corner and give it away — LOL! However, I went back home, broke down the ingredients into a much more manageable recipe for 2-4 people and also figured out exactly what to do with those ingredients by consulting one of my cookbooks which happened to have a recipe for Chocolate Mousse. To this day, I still make that recipe, but usually only for special occasions, since it is a rather rich dessert.
Valerie, I know that it was a very long time ago that you wrote this, but would you please please please share with me how you do the Victoria’s station chocolate mousse? My cousin and I would go there just for chocolate mousse. It was our absolute favorite. Would you please let us know how you modified the info given to you. We would be forever in your debt. Thanks so much, Jeanette Lynch
I too have always wanted to make my own chocolate mousse but not able to settle on a recipe and can say that 100% this is the one I will make when I get around to it! :) That last photo just sums up what a good mousse should be like to me. Awesome recipe for sure :)
This looks insanely delicious!!!!! It’s so fluffy looking-the pictures are amazing!
This looks lovely. The first time I made chocolate pudding from scratch I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I’ve made several different chocolate mousse recipes, and I never get tired of it. Can’t wait to try this one.
This mousse looks like pure chocolate heaven!
Lovely! It’s fluffy and almost foam-like, as you wanted. Not merely a lightened-up version of pudding. I can tell the texture is just wonderful and settling on a recipe for something you really want to nail can be tricky. I have spent months before researching something until one day, finally, I just do it. Glad you just did it. Pinning!
This is absolutely gorgeous mousse! I love that it’s dark chocolate