Traditional Chocolate Mousse – Rich, Dense, Foamy, chocolaty mousse made in a traditional way by melting chocolate over a double boiler and then mixing it with cold heavy whipping cream and egg yolks to create a shiny, silky, smooth chocolate ganache. On the other side, a meringue with stiff peaks is prepared by beating egg whites and icing sugar. Both are mixed and the mousse is allowed to set in the freezer for 3 hours and then it's ready!
ALSO READ: Mango Mousse
No dessert can even stand in front of Traditional French Chocolate Mousse. It's like letting your taste buds flow in a sea of foamy, frothy, chocolate.
Have a look at the video to know how I made this Chocolate Mousse
Let’s talk taste:
Typically, Chocolate Mousse has a foamy texture. This is because of the air bubbles that hold it together. As you take a spoon of your rich, chocolaty mousse it melts in your mouth. There is no bite, no crunch, just soft, foamy, rich, dense, pure chocolate at its best.
Making Chocolate Mousse is like having a sweet little Valentine’s Day date at your home. After all, everything that goes in it are something that we LOVE. Chocolate, cream, sugar, and eggs.
It was a sultry summer afternoon when the scorching sun was taking a toll on us. This is when my eyes fall on a brick of dark bittersweet chocolate carefully tucked up in one corner of my fridge. It was time to make him the star of the show. Grabbing few eggs from the shelf and some icing sugar I marched on with excitement in my eyes and butterflies in my stomach.
After all, I was going to make Mousse today! How could I not be excited? Every time I make chocolate mousse, in my mind, I go back to that special day when I felt like a queen put on a pedestal. It was Valentine’s Day when my husband who was my boyfriend back then proposed to me with homemade chocolate mousse! That is where the butterflies in my stomach come from. PS: How could I possibly say no to chocolate mousse and my sweet, darling man! Therefore, the chocolate mousse will always be special for us. It’s like our thing!
How to Make Traditional Chocolate Mousse
- Choosing Chocolate: You cannot make Mousse with any kind of chocolate. Especially not the chocolate that you eat. You get separate cooking chocolate in the baking aisle at supermarkets with 70% cocoa that is exactly what you should get. If your chocolate has got too much sweetness in it, then your mousse will sink to the bottom. And, that is not what we want. So, choose the best quality, dark, bittersweet chocolate with 70% cocoa.
- Melting Chocolate: You can melt chocolate in your oven or in a double boiler. However, I prefer the latter. It is just more traditional that way. So, the correct way to melt your chocolate in a double boiler is this: First, put some water in a pan and turn on the heat. When the water is about 50C or 122F (you can put in your hand and it won't burn you) that is when you place a bowl full of dark, bittersweet, 70% cocoa cooking chocolate chunks or chocolate chips on it. Then turn off the heat. Cover your chocolate with a lid and your chocolate will melt naturally. No extra heat is required. If you keep the flame on, your chocolate will start cooking and we do not want that. So, let it stay covered for about 20 minutes and it will turn into shiny, silky melted dark chocolate.
- Chocolate Ganache: The heavy whipping cream that you are going to use should be cold. So, take it out just when you are going to prepare the ganache. Mix melted chocolate with cold heavy whipping cream and the egg yolks and your chocolate ganache is ready. Now, at this point, many people add some milk to make the chocolate runny and liquidy. But, mine was simply perfect. So, I decided not to use any extra milk. However, if you have to use some milk, don’t hesitate.
- Making the Meringue: Beating your egg whites will create a fluffy, airy meringue in no time. However, you should be extremely careful that you do not add even a single drop of fat or egg yolk in your bowl of egg white. Keep beating it at medium speed for about 3-4 minutes. Add little sugar at a time. Scrape the sides and keep beating until you see stiff peaks. Do not overbeat. Do not add too much sugar. Or else all your air will go down and your hard work will go in vain.
- Mixing the Meringue with Chocolate Ganache: For this bit, go slow. Take one portion of meringue and mix it with your chocolate ganache. Have a look at the video to see how I have mixed them. Keep adding a little at a time. Always remember that a secret to a good mousse is that you do not overbeat it. Therefore, if you see any white lumps of the meringue let that be. No need to worry about it.
- Setting the Mousse: To set the mousse, you can pour it in a mousse glass and keep it covered in the freezer for about 3 hours. It takes about 15-30 minutes for the mousse to get set. However, if you must give it more time then you should. What I do is, I keep it in the freezer for about 3 hours, and just before serving I keep it in the refrigerator for about 30-minutes or an hour. So, that I do not have to bite on cold Ice while I am having my Chocolate Mousse.
Things I would take special care while making Chocolate Mousse
- I would never choose a chocolate that is too sweet. Too much sugar in chocolate will not let my mousse set. My chocolate would sink like the Titanic.
- I would always be careful to not cook my chocolate. So, I would always turn the heat off and patiently wait for it to melt. No matter how long it takes. I promise you it is worth it.
- I would always use eggs that are at room temperature. I would never take eggs out of the fridge and start working with it. That way, I will make sure that my mousse is foamy and fluffy.
- I would always use cold heavy whipping cream. That way, I would be sure that my mousse has a proper volume.
- While separating egg yolks and egg whites, I would be extremely careful to not add any fat or egg yolk in my bowl containing egg whites.
- While beating the egg whites I would never add my sugar all at once. I would add them a little at a time and I would never overbeat it.
- I would always be extra careful while mixing my meringue with chocolate ganache. Too much beating will spoil it. So, I would just mix it enough without bothering about the little white lumps in the middle.
Other Variations of this recipe
- Gelatin – Gelatin would help the mousse set appropriately. So, I don’t mind adding a little Gelatin. However, I didn’t really need it.
- Milk – Some people consider adding some milk along with heavy whipping cream just to get that runny, liquidy, consistency. However, I didn’t really think that it was necessary.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – I have seen many people adding a little sweetened condensed milk while preparing the chocolate ganache. This is for those guys who don’t like the bittersweet taste of chocolate. For me, I just love the bittersweet taste of chocolate. So, I didn’t add any condensed milk. But, you can add it if you want.
- Butter – You can add about 3 tablespoons of butter while melting your chocolate. It would make the chocolate much richer.
Traditional Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream cold, 60gm (15gm/person)
- 3 Whole Eggs at room temperature
- 3 tablespoon Castor Sugar 35-40gm (10gm/person)
- 1 Cup Melted Chocolate dark, bittersweet, 70% cocoa (100gm), should be at room temperature
Decoration
- ½ Cup Chocolate Shavings or curls
- 2-3 whole fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Cut the chocolate in small chunks and add some water in a pan. Heat the water until its about 50C or 122F and your hand won't burn if you dip it in. Keep a bowl with chocolate chunks on top of the pan and cover it with any utensil or a kitchen towel. Turn the heat off and let it melt for about 20-minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the Meringue. Separate Egg yolks and Egg whites taking care to not add any egg yolk in the bowl of white. Beat the egg whites at (low to medium speed) for 3-4 minutes. Add a little icing sugar at a time. Don't add all at once. (see the video for a visual) Whisk until you see stiff peaks.
- By now your chocolate must have melted. Get it out in a medium-sized bowl. Take out cold heavy whipping cream from the fridge and mix them both. Add the 3 egg yolks (one at a time) and mix until each disappears into chocolate.
- Take one portion of meringue and add it in the chocolate ganache. Mix it well. (See the video for a visual). Add some more and mix it in. Do not over mix. If you see some white lumps of the meringue swimming in the mousse, let it stay. Leave out a little meringue for decoration.
- Let the mousse set in the freezer for 3 hours. Transfer it to the refrigerator just 30-minutes before serving so that you don't feel too cold or bite on ice while you have your chocolate mousse.
- While serving add some meringue on top. Throw in some chocolate shavings and some mint leaves and serve.
Video
Notes
- You can also melt your chocolate in Oven. Put it in the oven and keep stirring at 20-second intervals until smooth, shiny, melty.
- Keep the Eggs at room temperature. (read the blog post for more on this)
- Always use cold cream (read the blog post to know why)
- Do not over mix the meringue or the mousse. (see the video to know how to mix and how much to mix)
Nutrition
Michelle Sharpe says
This is the best Chocolate Mousse recipe. So pleasing to watch you make it. This is exactly the way Chocolate Mousse should be made. I just love your recipe.
Anjali says
Thanks!