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Home » Recipes » Dessert

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Published: Feb 10, 2021 Last Updated: Sep 2023 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 11 Comments

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5 from 9 ratings
spoonful of chocolate mousse homemade

Super yummy easy chocolate mousse! This is my favorite chocolate mousse recipe in that it is totally foolproof, works BEST when made in advance, and is an easy gluten free dessert for dinner parties and guests. Chocolate mousse is definitely the at-home dessert we need more of!

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For Valentine's Day! Or for your weekend, you do you. 

A few nights ago Jay and I were ignoring each other on our devices before we fell asleep, as you do, and all of a sudden he was all "what should we do for Valentine's Day?" I probably replied "I want to keep reading stop talking to me," but honestly we don't always do anything for Valentine's Day. We definitely don't exchange gifts, but we've done flowers and fun dates and cooked fun food together over the years. Valentine's Day falls at a time of year where I'm travelling a lot on the weekends, and now that we have Beck we'd rather relax and enjoy family time with no work (the 7 days a week is getting awful), so I'm hopeful that's what we'll do this weekend leading up to the day. 

One thing that I'm DEFINITELY putting on the plan, though, is a batch of this chocolate mousse. I've made several versions in the past, but I love a super plain eggs+sugar+chocolate version so much. This one from Boulder Locavore was my inspiration, and I made hardly any adjustments to the original recipe.

The ingredients here are so simple and the method isn't hard in the slightest as long as you're patient. You do need to know how to separate egg whites from egg yolks, but the rest of the recipe is waiting on the egg whites to beat and slowly melting chocolate, which I do right in the microwave. I use a combination of dark chocolate and semi-sweet, but you can use any kind that you like!

How Do You Separate Eggs Without An Egg Separator?

There are tons of ways to do this, but here's my method: First, I put a small bowl on the counter to catch the egg whites. In this case I do this directly over the mixing bowl.

Then, I crack the egg gently on the counter, then separate the eggshell into two halves. Then, I move the egg yolk back and forth from half to half as I go, and use the edge of the eggshell to nudge the egg white away from the yolk.

The egg white will fall into the bowl and the egg yolk stays in the shell, then I ploop that into another small dish.

So, first! We need to separate the egg whites and yolks. The whites will go into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Set the egg yolks aside while you beat the egg whites. 

Turn the mixer to medium-high and start to whip the egg whites, slowly at first, then increasing speed as you go. The time it takes for egg whites to whip depends a ton on your mixer, eggs, and the humidity in your house, so I hesitate to even say how long this will take. When the eggs are puffy and white, very slowly pour in the sugar and let the egg whites keep whipping. 

When the egg whites and sugar are super glossy and stiff, turn off the mixer. 

While the eggs whites are fluffing up (or right after this step if you have a handheld mixer), break the chocolate into small pieces in a microwave-proof bowl. You can use a double boiler, but I find a microwave works just fine. 

This is easy chocolate mousse, after all! Double boiler setup not necessary.

Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir it. The first few times it may not look like anything is happening, but stir after every 30 seconds no matter what. When the chocolate is ALMOST melted, take it out of the microwave and keep stirring until the chocolate is totally melted, then stir for another minute or two to cool it slightly. 

When the chocolate has cooled slightly, stir the egg yolks into the melted chocolate. Stir quickly so that the eggs don't scramble if the chocolate happens to still be too hot. 

So now we have a warm chocolate/egg yolk mixture and sweetened whipped egg whites. The key will now be to super carefully fold them together until the mixture is fairly smooth. Start by adding a third of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture. 

Then, add everything from the chocolate bowl to the rest of the egg whites, and very carefully fold everything together (just fold it in, David). It'll look strange at first, but stir gently and smoothly and in just a minute or two the mousse will come together.

I stir juuuuuust until there are some streaks left, the mixture is smooth here but not perfectly uniform in color, which means I haven't stirred too much. 

As soon as the chocolate is incorporated into the egg whites, put the chocolate mousse into small dishes for serving and into the fridge to chill for several hours or even overnight. 

THE TEXTURE. Once this mousse has chilled it gets nice and firm almost like a super light cheesecake, and the flavor from the two types of chocolate is so rich and delicious. 

There is really no need to garnish this with anything, but I love whipping a little bit of fresh cream and throwing some berries into the dishes for fancy occasions. The tart fruit is a great contrast to the rich mousse and cream, and the berries look so pretty on top of the mousse. 

So here we are! Lovely little portions of your favorite new homemade gluten free dessert that wasn't hard at all to make (20 minutes or so minus the chilling, seriously), works every single time, and is so, so good. 

I'm trying to figure out how to justify this for breakfast, and honestly this is way healthier than pancakes or some nonsense. Eggs are TOUTED as a perfect breakfast food and this is practically all eggs, so I'm thinking yes. 

Whether or not you celebrate Valentine's Day, you will definitely want to try these ASAP. Hell, make a big batch on any random Sunday and have dessert every day this week to celebrate being you! 

That's a Valentine's plan for sure. 

Recipe

how to make chocolate mousse

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
My favorite easy chocolate mousse in just a few steps! Perfect for any time you need a quick chocolate pick-me-up.
5 from 9 ratings
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Total Time 3 hours hrs
Course Dessert

Equipment

  • Glass Mixing Bowl
  • Mixer

Ingredients
  

  • 6 ounces baking chocolate I use a mix of bittersweet and semi-sweet
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • whipped cream chocolate shavings, and berries, optional, for serving

Instructions
 

  • Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Place the egg whites into a large bowl (of a stand mixer if you have one), and set the egg yolks aside.
  • Using an electric mixer with beaters or a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites for several minutes until they triple in size. Slowly stream in the sugar, and continue to beat the eggs until the mixture is glossy and very stiff; peaks should stand up on their own.
  • Meanwhile (or right after this if you have a handheld mixer), break the chocolate into pieces and place into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat until the chocolate is nearly melted (don't skip any stirring or the chocolate may burn). Remove the chocolate from the microwave and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes to completely melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly.
  • When the egg whites are finished and the chocolate has cooled just a bit, stir the egg yolks quickly into the chocolate to continue to cool the mixture without cooking the eggs. Add ⅓ of the egg white mixture to the chocolate and gently stir to combine.
  • Scoop the chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl with the rest of the egg whites. Carefully fold the chocolate into the egg whites several times, moving slowly and gently, until the mousse is smooth and nearly uniform in color.
  • Transfer the chocolate mousse to small serving dishes, and into the refrigerator. Chill for at least two hours or up to overnight.
  • Serve topped with whipped cream, extra chocolate shavings, and berries, if desired.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from https://boulderlocavore.com/traditional-french-chocolate-mousse-mousse-au-chocolat-recipe/
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

This recipe was originally published in February, 2018 and has been updated with new instructions. Last updated February 2021.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maddie

    February 12, 2021 at 11:16 am

    5 stars
    There's nothing quite like a cup of delicious chocolate mousse. What a great, classic recipe!

    Reply
  2. Alexandra

    February 11, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a delicious recipe! We love chocolate mousse!

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      February 12, 2021 at 3:15 pm

      I just made a batch and my child "helped" so much she had to be put in the bath mid-work day. I blame the pandemic. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Kyleigh

    February 11, 2021 at 10:50 am

    5 stars
    These were delicious!

    Reply
  4. Marcellina

    February 11, 2021 at 6:36 am

    5 stars
    Who can go past a classic chocolate mousse? Just love this - so creamy!

    Reply
  5. Ksenia

    February 10, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    5 stars
    Such a simple, delicious dessert! I am in love with the way it looks and how easy it is to make

    Reply
  6. Audrey

    February 10, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    5 stars
    This is perfect for Valentine’s Day!

    Reply
  7. Liz

    February 10, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    5 stars
    omg this looks so bomb. Hitting all my pregnancy craving buttons haha

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      February 11, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      Yessss girl!

      Reply
  8. Kris

    February 10, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! Making again for Valentine's.

    Reply
    • Lindsay

      February 11, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      Yay!

      Reply
5 from 9 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

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spoonful of chocolate mousse homemade
 

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