Best Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Somehow both rich and light as air, chocolate mousse is a luxurious (and surprisingly simple) way to end any meal. Melted chocolate, butter, egg yolks, and a dash of cinnamon are carefully folded into whipped cream and whipped egg whites, yielding a dessert that is velvety smooth, rich with the complex flavor of dark chocolate, and sophisticated enough for any special occasion.

The key to a good chocolate mousse lies, unsurprisingly perhaps, with the chocolate. In a recipe so simple, each ingredient should be of the best quality. Dark chocolate, which refers to any chocolate containing upwards of 50% cocoa, is preferred for this recipe. The high cocoa content lends the mousse a rich chocolatey flavor, which is balanced perfectly with a few tablespoons of sugar, a touch of cinnamon, a little vanilla, and some lovely flakes of sea salt.

Chocolate mousse is also a perfect make-ahead dessert for your next dinner party or romantic night in. You can make the mousse the day before and store it in its serving containers in the refrigerator, taking one dish off the agenda and leaving you with more time to enjoy your company.

For this recipe, you will need cold heavy cream, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, dark chocolate, salted butter, cinnamon, and eggs. Once you've brought together these simple ingredients, only a few minutes at the stove, a few more with the hand mixer, and a couple of hours in the fridge separate you from this delectable dessert.

Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar to a large bowl and whip for 2-3 minutes until it holds soft peaks. Set aside for now.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet over low heat, combine the chocolate, butter, and cinnamon.

Warm to melt the butter and chocolate.

Continue to heat and stir for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Remove from heat.

Allow the chocolate to cool until just warm to the touch, then mix in the egg yolks.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar until they hold firm peaks, around 4-5 minutes.

Fold the melted chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.

Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate and whipped cream mixture.

Make sure the mousse is well-mixed and uniform.

Fill your serving dishes with mousse, cover them, and place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

Serve topped with additional whipped cream, grated chocolate, and flaky sea salt, if desired.

Selecting the best chocolate is a crucial step in creating a rich, luxuriant chocolate mousse. For this recipe, we have chosen dark chocolate with a cocoa percentage of around 70%. Dark chocolate is the most common choice for chocolate mousse because of its complex flavor. While most of us are used to popping a square of chocolate into our mouth without too much thought, the flavor of dark chocolate can be quite nuanced to the careful taster, with notes of bitterness, spice, almond, or berries, among others.

While this recipe is designed for dark chocolate, that is far from the only way to make chocolate mousse. For those who prefer a less pronounced and complicated chocolate flavor, preferring perhaps a sweet and simple flavor to dark chocolate's fruity or bitter complexity, milk chocolate can be a great option. Chocolate mousse can also be made with white chocolate or even the uniquely fruity ruby chocolate. If you choose to make this recipe using a chocolate variety other than the suggested dark chocolate, simply leave out the cinnamon, as it may interfere with the subtler flavors of the other chocolates.

The use of raw eggs in chocolate mousse is a matter of debate among culinarians. Traditional chocolate mousse does make use of separated raw eggs, with yolks contributing to the richness of the chocolate, and the whipped whites lending a delightful airiness to the dessert. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs is, however, not without a small degree of risk (though it may be as few as 1 in 20,000 commercial eggs that carry salmonella).

If eating raw eggs just seems too risky, the easiest option is to buy pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs are treated in their shell to destroy bacteria. As a result, they come out of the carton looking just the same as regular eggs but are safe to eat raw. Other options include egg white powders, which are shelf-stable and safe to eat raw, and separated egg products, such as cartons of egg whites, which are pasteurized per FDA regulations.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to consume raw eggs lies with the individual. Adherence to food safety principles, such as using fresh eggs and potentially opting for pasteurized eggs, will further reduce any risk of foodborne illness.