Hello my dear chocoholics 😉 Today, I share the best mousse au chocolat recipe with you! The amazing French dessert is guaranteed airy & delicious if you follow my steps!
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Taste and Occasion
Whether as a tempting dessert for guests or to indulge yourself, a chocolate mousse like this is worth every single calorie! And although the preparation of the well-known French dessert may seem a bit tricky at first glance, it's not difficult to make a good chocolate mousse yourself. Maybe the best thing to pamper your sweetheart on Valentine's Day? Or to surprise your parents on mother's or father's day? Or for the next brunch or breakfast session with the girls?
Whatever the occasion, in this post, I'll show you how to make a great homemade chocolate mousse - of course, without ready-made packets and the like.
Ingredients
The main ingredient of the dark, very airy cream is, of course, chocolate. Important: High-quality chocolate! Classically, you use a pretty dark one with high cocoa content. Since I have packed very little additional sugar into the recipe, real sweet-lovers should perhaps not use a dark one with 90 percent cocoa 😉 , but less.
The second most essential ingredients are eggs, which result in the wonderful, well-known consistency of mousse au chocolat. Everything that is added is more or less a matter of taste. There is not the one, only true original mousse au chocolat recipe from France, but quite many different alternatives.
While preparing this blog post, I stumbled across creations that are really just egg and chocolate; some others additionally include (little to a lot of) butter, some are without, some with cream. Also, the egg quantity ranges from 2 to 6 pieces to 200g of chocolate.
How to make the Mousse Au Chocolat
Let's get started! First of all, chop the chocolate into small pieces. Melt carefully together with the butter in a hot water bath, stir well once and set aside to cool. Attention: Make sure that not a drop of water gets into the chocolate mass! As soon as the chocolate mass is only lukewarm, separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the sugar for a few minutes until creamy.
Now, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with clean whisks until semi-stiff or creamy and beat the cream until semi-stiff as well.
After that, quickly stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg cream using a hand mixer or food processor. Add one or two teaspoons of sifted cocoa powder if you prefer a darker mousse - this step is optional, of course! Then add the beaten egg whites and the cream and fold in very carefully by hand with a dough scraper or whisk until the mousse is homogeneous.
It is important, that as little air as possible should escape when mixing. In the end, pour your chocolate mousse into four small glasses or dessert bowls and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Decorate as desired with chocolate shavings, whipped cream, berries or pomegranate seeds.
Top Tip
We think my alternative of chocolate mousse with cream (and some butter for creaminess) is the most delicious one. Deliciously airy, yet not too soft. Wonderfully chocolaty and subtly sweetened, yet not too bitter. I'll give you some tips on frequently asked questions about homemade chocolate mousse.
How do you make the perfect chocolate mousse?
With high-quality chocolate with high cocoa content and the right preparation method, the chocolate and butter must be melted and then cooled again. Beat egg yolks and sugar for a few minutes until you get a very light creamy mass. I do not whip cream and beaten egg whites thoroughly, but only half stiff or creamy. The most crucial step is to properly blend all the ingredients at the end.
How do you make chocolate mousse fluffy?
The most important thing is not to overbeat the mixture. Although the egg yolks and sugar should be beaten until very creamy initially, once all the ingredients have come together, they should be folded in very gently so that the air does not escape. This is best done with a dough scraper or whisk. Do not mix with a hand mixer!
What should I do if the chocolate mousse does not set?
In the beginning, it is pretty standard that the cream is not firm but soft and foamy. It will become more stable over time in the refrigerator if you have followed all the preparation tips. If the chocolate mixture was too warm, the egg whites or cream still too liquid, etc., the mousse may remain too soft. Then you can try to stabilize it with another stiffly beaten egg white.
How long should chocolate mousse be refrigerated?
A few hours, preferably overnight. You can eat it at any time. However, chilling changes the consistency and makes it firmer over time (like yogurt vs. pudding).
How long does chocolate mousse keep?
This depends mainly on the freshness of the eggs. In my experience, you can keep the mousse in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you can prepare it 2-3 days in advance. However, it is best to prepare it the night before.
Recipe Card
Mousse Au Chocolat
Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 ⅔ cups) dark chocolate, preferably high quality
- 40 grams (3 tablespoons) butter
- 3 eggs, medium; must be fresh
- 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
- 250 grams (1 cup) cream
- 1 teaspoon baking cocoa, optional
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Melt carefully together with the butter in a hot water bath, stir well once and set aside to cool. Make sure that not a drop of water gets into the chocolate mass!
- As soon as the chocolate mass is only lukewarm, separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for a few minutes until creamy.
- Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with clean whisks until semi-stiff or creamy.
- Beat the cream until semi-stiff as well.
- Quickly stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg cream using a hand mixer or food processor. Add 1-2 teaspoons of sifted cocoa powder if you prefer a darker mousse.
- Then add the beaten egg whites and cream and fold in very carefully by hand with a dough scraper or whisk until the mousse is homogeneous.
- As little air as possible should escape when mixing. Pour mousse into 4 small glasses or dessert bowls and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Decorate as desired with chocolate shavings, whipped cream, berries or pomegranate seeds.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
Well, do you now want to try the easy chocolate mousse recipe? You won't regret it - it will sweeten any day! To all chocoholics among you, I also recommend those treats: the lava cake, the chocolate muffins and this loaf cake with glaze. If you are looking for more recipes to spoil your loved ones, feel free to check out my other great dessert creations for young and old. Many love greetings!
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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