Easy Chocolate Mousse
Silky, rich chocolate mousse that is light yet sooo creamy. Stabilized by gelatin, this can be used to fill a pie or cake but is equally as delicious eaten all on its own. Rich enough for a winter date night yet light enough for summer, there’s no wrong time to try this beloved, easy chocolate mousse!
This post may contain affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission to keep this site running. Only products I myself would or do use are recommended.
This post may contain affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission to keep this site running. Only products I myself would or do use are recommended.
Where are my mousse fans?! I feel like it’s one of those things you’re okay with or you really love. And I really, really love it. But honestly, I just don’t have it in me to make old fashioned mousse—whipping egg whites and tempering egg yolks and mixing it all together so it’s cooked but still smooth and airy—very often. It’s stressful!
So, I’ve been in the habit of making cheater’s mousse, which is just ganache with whipped cream folded in.
However, this doesn’t hold up well as a cake filling or (as I wanted to try) on a brownie mousse pie. So, I set out to find a simple way to stabilize it that doesn’t involve too many steps or too much stress.
And I think I hit the jackpot with this one.
Why this recipe works
Adding gelatin to whipped cream (known as stabilized whipped cream) is a great way to stabilize it, but it’s not always an easy task, as the gelatin can sometimes solidify before mixing into the cream, leaving small chunks of it behind. I decided to try an alternative—add the bloomed gelatin to the ganache as it cooks. This allowed me to cook it gently (as overheating gelatin can cause it to lose its stabilizing properties) and make sure it melted smoothly into the mousse. This resulted in a very silky and smooth mousse that was still very stable and held its shape well—even after a few days in the fridge.
As for flavor, you just can’t beat chocolate and whipped cream. It’s all about the ratios, and I have found what I believe is the perfect ratio to make it creamy yet richly chocolate—without being overly sweet or overly rich. This has honestly been one of my favorite bites I’ve made in a long time!
Key ingredients
Chocolate chips. Use high quality chocolate that you really enjoy eating, as that brings most of the flavor to this mousse.
Heavy whipping cream. Nope, not a health food, but soooooo creamy and delicious.
Gelatin. This is our secret star ingredient—it has no taste, is healthy for you (although not vegan, but neither is any of this recipe), and just a little helps bring the perfect texture and stabilization.
Water. This is one of those “not an ingredient” ingredients that many recipes don’t list, all in the name of “only 5 ingredients!” I’m not about that life—I want to know all the things. We need just one tablespoon of water to help bloom the gelatin.
Powdered sugar. This is actually optional, but I sometimes will add a small bit to my powdered sugar, especially if using a really dark chocolate that needs some balance.
Vanilla. Always necessary! Use pure extract, not imitation.
How to make easy chocolate mousse
1. Bloom gelatin and water. Super simple—add the water to a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it, then stir a little and let it sit while you heat the heavy cream.
2. Heat heavy cream. I suggest doing this in a double boiler (a bowl set over a saucepan with 1-2” boiling water turned down to low). You can also microwave it for about 30 seconds.
3. Add gelatin and stir until smooth. I’ve tried adding this at different stages in the heating process, and I’ve found that adding it to already warm cream right before the chocolate chips yields the most stable (yet still silky and creamy) mousse.
4. Melt in chocolate chips. This will go quite quickly, since the cream is already warm, so stir constantly. If using the microwave, you will need to heat it in 15-20 second increments, at half power, until smooth.
5. Cool to room temperature. I usually do this in the fridge (impatient baker here!). I just set a timer to stir every 5-10 minutes so it doesn’t cool past room temperature.
6. Whip remaining cream and vanilla to stiff peaks. You can also add in a bit of powdered sugar, if the chocolate mixture doesn’t taste sweet enough for you (remember that the whipped cream will dilute some of the richness).
7. Fold into cooled chocolate. Do this in thirds, folding 1/3 of the whipped cream in at a time.
8. Chill until set. Be sure to pour it into wherever it’s going--like a pie crust, cake filling, or little mason jars. If using as a cake filling, see note below for freezing it before adding any weight on top of the mousse layer.
Enjoy!
Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe
How should I serve this?
Honestly, just with a spoon! I chose to top it with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh raspberries, but you can also top it with some grated chocolate (literally just take your favorite chocolate bar and use a small grater or zester to make little shavings right over the mousse). This also works well on top of brownies, in any kind of pie crust, or as a cake filling! (See below if using in a cake.)
How do I use this in a cake?
This mousse works great as a cake filling! Before adding any weight on top of the mousse, you’ll want to freeze it first. Just spread desired amount of mousse on top of your first layer of cake, pop that into the freezer for 5ish minutes, then add the next layer of cake. If you have multiple layers of cake, be sure to freeze it between each layer (even before adding a thin layer of cake on top). It only takes a few minutes in the freezer to make it sturdy enough to hold the weight of the next layer. And be sure to freeze it for about 20 minutes before frosting, so it doesn’t slide around.
Keep refrigerated
The cream requires that this be refrigerated so it doesn’t spoil. If using in a cake, you can take it out for a few minutes before cutting so the frosting isn’t too hard to cut. As well, if you have leftover pieces of cake, be sure to cover well, as refrigeration will cause the cut cake to dry out.
What kind of chocolate should I use?
Use one you really love. I used Guittard, since it has a great taste and melts well. But any high quality chocolate will do just fine, as long as you love the taste.
My mousse tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making this mousse. Affiliate links provided.
All-rubber spatula (this makes scraping the bowl sooo much easier)
Easy Chocolate Mousse
- prep time: 10-15 minutes
- chill time: 1 hour
- total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
servings: 8-12
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon (3g) powdered gelatin
- 1 tablespoon (15g) filtered water, cold or room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup (420g) heavy whipping cream
- 1 ⅔ cups (10 ounces or 234g) chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate
- 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (33g) powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions:
- Place the water in a small mixing or prep bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over it and stir to combine. Set aside while you heat the cream.
- Heat 6 ounces of the whipped cream in a double boiler (or as almost everyone does, a medium, heatproof mixing bowl bowl set over a medium saucepan filled with 1-2 inches water brought to a boil then turned to low heat to simmer). You can also heat it for 30-60 seconds in the microwave at half power, until steaming.
- Once the cream starts to release some steam and you see some bubbles along the edge, add the bloomed gelatin. Stir until smooth (or mostly smooth–the next step will give the gelatin time to fully melt).
- Add the chocolate. Stir until mostly smooth. (If using a microwave, heat in 30 second intervals at half power, stirring in between, until mostly smooth.) Remove the bowl from heat and stir until completely smooth.
- Let the chocolate cool to room temperature. You can do this on the counter, which takes about 30 minutes, or in the fridge, which takes about 15 minutes but must be stirred every 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t solidify along the edges.
- Once the chocolate is cooled (but not cold), combine the remaining 1 cup/240g heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar (if using) in a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk (or use a hand mixer on high) until stiff peaks just begin to form and the cream starts to lose its shine.
- Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the chocolate until fully combined. Continue with another ⅓ then the final third, until all whipped cream is mixed in.
- Pour into individual serving dishes (or a prepared pie crust or use as your cake filling–see note above if using in a cake). Refrigerate at least one hour, until set.
Enjoy!
Refrigerate until serving. If not serving that day, cover with plastic wrap until ready to eat.