If you have a blender, you can make this incredibly decadent dessert that will impress anyone, even yourself! Just 4 ingredients make this incredibly easy chocolate mousse recipe, and we absolutely cannot stop eating it. It's great for Valentine's Day, date night at home, or any other day that you need a rich chocolate fix!
If you can chop chocolate, whip heavy cream, brew coffee, and stir in an egg yolk, you can have this incredibly chocolate mousse for two.
This Chocolate Mousse Recipe is the perfect treat when you need a chocolate fix
Rich chocolate mousse for two--it's so much easier than you thought, right?
Of course, this recipe isn't entirely authentic. I'm using heavy cream instead of egg whites here, and my technique of melting chocolate with hot coffee in the blender would make any French chef angry. But I've had the super complicated fancy mousse, and I still like this 5 minute chocolate mousse version more. It's darker and richer.
Plus, anytime a recipe comes together in 5 minutes instead of 30, and uses less dishes, I always call it a win.
The recipe that I use the most on this site is my 15-minute puff pastry recipe, but I have a feeling that this 5-minute chocolate mousse is about to take its place.
This easy strawberry mousse for two is great if you don't love chocolate. Plus, it's made in the blender, just like this recipe!
If you want to make a petite chocolate mousse cake complete with truffles on top, I've got you covered there, too.
What is Mousse?
Mousse is a light and fluffy sweet dessert. It is typically an uncooked custard or cream that is whipped until the air bubbles create a light, fluffy texture. The air bubbles can be trapped in egg whites or in heavy cream.
Chocolate Mousse vs pudding
Pudding is cooked to thicken with cornstarch or flour, while mousse is not cooked. Mousse is typically whipped to trap air bubbles and create a custard-like fluffy texture that sets while pudding relies on a chemical reaction to thicken it.
Chocolate Mousse Ingredients
- Chocolate. Reach for a 6-ounce bar of your favorite chocolate. I don't recommend using chocolate chips here, because they can be harder to melt, however, you can be used. See tips below if they don't melt fully in the blender. I like to use 60% chocolate (also known as bittersweet chocolate) because it's perfectly balanced in bitterness but has just enough sweetness. We're not adding any sugar to this chocolate mousse recipe, so make sure the chocolate is sweet to your liking before using.
- Heavy Cream. We need ⅔ cup of heavy cream, and we will divide this in half. One-third of the heavy cream will be kept very cold in the fridge for whipping. We will heat the other one-third cup of heavy cream to melt the chocolate.
- Coffee. We need ¼ cup of freshly brewed hot espresso. You can use instant espresso powder (1 teaspoon in one-quarter cup of boiling hot water). Or, you can use instant coffee granules and double the amount (2 teaspoons in one-quarter cup of boiling water.
- Egg Yolk. Just the egg yolk, not the egg white. Save the egg white for another use. Check out my recipes that use egg whites.
Chocolate Mousse Recipe variations and substitutions
- Chocolate Orange Mousse - Stir in half a teaspoon of freshly grated navel orange zest when you add the chocolate for a candy-like orange chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Peppermint Mousse - Add ¼ teaspoon of real peppermint extract to the blender and taste after blending. You can add additional drops if needed, but if you add too much, it will taste like toothpaste, so be careful!
- Chocolate Lavender Mousse - You can steep ¼ teaspoon of edible culinary lavender buds in the cream to infuse this mousse with floral flavors. Try rose petals, too!
How to Make Chocolate Mousse
Chop the chocolate bar into small pieces, and add to a blender or small food processor. Pulse a few times to break up the chocolate into even smaller pieces.
Heat ⅓ cup of the heavy cream until steaming hot either in the microwave or in a small sauce pan. Brew the espresso, and re-heat if not steaming hot. Add the hot espresso, hot cream and egg yolk to the blender with the chocolate mixture. Place the lid on to trap the heat so that the chocolate begins to melt for 2 minutes.
Then, blend until smooth, keeping the lid on the entire time so that the heat melts the chocolate. If your chocolate mixture is not fully melted and is grainy or chunky after few minutes, you can put it in a glass measuring cup. Then, put the glass measuring cup in a bowl of very hot water; stir until everything melts. Set aside to cool.
Whip the remaining ⅓ cup of cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Slowly fold in half of the chocolate mixture to the whipped cream, followed by the remaining chocolate and fold gently by hand until smooth.
Divide between two glasses, chill for an hour, and then serve. You can chill for longer than an hour, but let it rest at room temperature until scoop-able before serving.
Easy Chocolate Mousse tips
- If the chocolate is not completely melted and smooth after step 2, you need to pour the lumpy mixture into a glass measuring cup. Lower the glass measuring cup inside a bowl of hot water, but be careful not to get any water inside the mousse mixture! Slowly stir and let the hot water melt the ingredients inside the glass measuring cup. Set aside to cool slightly, and proceed with whipping the cream and folding it together.
- When the mousse has been sitting in the fridge for longer than one hour, it can become too firm. Simply let it rest at room temperature until it is that perfectly smooth, scoop-able texture, about 1 hour.
- You can make this in advance. Keep it tightly covered for up to 3 days, and let rest at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.
- If you're concerned about raw eggs, buy pasteurized eggs. Alternatively, you can leave out the egg in this chocolate mousse and still have great results.
- You can double this recipe successfully, but do not triple it, because there might not be enough room in the blender to cover the chocolate with the hot cream mixture.
How to serve this Chocolate Mousse
I like to make this easy chocolate mousse for Sunday supper dessert, but it will also be on my Valentine's Day dinner table. Since Valentine's Day is on a weekday this year, what are you guys doing? If you're staying in, have you checked out my Romantic Dinners for Two?
Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
This 5 minute mousse only requires 4 ingredients, and is so easy to make .
Ingredients
- 6 ounces 60% chocolate, chopped
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (divided use)
- ¼ cup hot espresso
- 1 large egg yolk
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate into very small pieces, and add to a blender or small food processor. Pulse
a few times to break up the chocolate even more. - Heat ⅓ cup of the heavy cream until steaming hot either in the microwave or in a small sauce
pan. Brew the espresso, and re-heat if not steaming hot. - Add the hot espresso, hot cream and egg yolk to the blender with the chocolate mixture. Place
the lid on to trap the steam so that the chocolate begins to melt for a minute or two. - Then, blend until smooth, keeping the lid on the entire time so that the heat melts the chocolate.
If your chocolate mixture is not fully melted and is grainy or chunky after few minutes, you can
put it in a glass measuring cup. Then, put the glass measuring cup in a bowl of very hot water;
stir until everything melts. Set aside to cool. - Whip the remaining ⅓ cup of cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Slowly fold in half of the chocolate mixture to the whipped cream, followed by the remaining
chocolate and fold gently by hand until smooth. - Divide between two glasses, chill for one hour, and then serve.
Notes
Chocolate: Reach for a 6-ounce bar of your favorite chocolate. I don't recommend using chocolate chips here, because they can be harder to melt, however, you can be used. See tips below if they don't melt fully in the blender. I like to use 60% chocolate (also known as bittersweet chocolate).
Coffee: We need ¼ cup of freshly brewed hot espresso. You can use instant espresso powder (1 teaspoon in one-quarter cup of boiling hot water). Or, you can use instant coffee granules and double the amount (2 teaspoons in one-quarter cup of boiling water.
Egg: If you're concerned about raw egg, buy pasteurized eggs. Alternatively, you can leave out the egg in this chocolate mousse and still have great results.
Make-Ahead: You can make this in advance. Keep it tightly covered for up to 3 days, and let rest at room temperature for at least an hour before serving. You can double this recipe successfully, but do not triple it, because there might not be enough room in the blender to cover the chocolate with the hot cream mixture.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 792Total Fat: 59gSaturated Fat: 36gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 295mgSodium: 132mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 3gSugar: 46gProtein: 13g
Barbara says
So I'm planning on making your peppermint brownies that you just recently posted, and the wedding cake for two from your first cookbook, for valentine's day. Do you think there's enough room in our stomachs for this mousse too?? Because it looks amazing. Thinking that maybe we'll just skip the dinner part..
Christina Lane says
Hah, Barbara! My husband and I do a dessert crawl sometimes! Instead of going out to a restaurant for dinner, we go to 3 places and order dessert! It was our first date, and now that's how we spend our anniversaries!
Julia says
Can you use semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe?
Thank you!
xo Jules
Christina Lane says
of course :) Use what you love :)
Annie says
My sister recently got her braces on, so this was a great recipe for her! I forgot to stir in the egg yolk until after I'd put the chocolate in with the whipped cream..oops. It still tasted amazing, though it was a bit runny (I think i should have whipped the cream a bit longer)
Christina Lane says
Yay, Annie! So glad your sister liked this! Thanks for writing :)
Jana H. says
I'm going to be at home alone with my doggo on V-day but I might still cook me up a steak and buy myself a box of chocolates. Or skip the steak and have a box of chocolates for supper. Or just make this dreamy mousse and call it a day. :-D
Christina Lane says
This sounds like an excellent night-in! If only my dogs were good boys...they are not right now, hah! Happy V Day!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I love these easy recipes you make, using whipped cream instead of egg whites is genius!
Jessica LouAllen says
If I double this recipe, do I use a whole egg or two yolks?
Christina Lane says
two yolks :)
Arinna says
Omgoodness how great is this! I am going to share this for sure on my socials thanks for sharing http://www.themoderndaygirlfriend.com
Mama Jo says
Where does the butter play into in this recipe I saw butter on the list but I did not see it in the recipe but that could be me easily Not seeing it.
Christina Lane says
Melt the chocolate AND butter :)
Ann says
Is the egg yolk safe to eat without really being cooked?
Christina Lane says
So, I buy pasteurized eggs for this. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. If you have high-quality eggs (local & organic), you're safe, too :)
Elizabeth Stelley says
I did not want to write this comment, but I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I just went through 4 bags of chocolate chips and almost 2 hours with failure after failure. I consider myself a baker but recently have had such trouble with chocolate lately. It seized every single time. Finally I tried melting the chocolate without the butter per package directions and it worked. But stirring in the egg yolk seized the chocolate. Frustration tears were flowing! Our Valentine's dessert will be Christmas candy haha. I know it's not your recipe. And I have melted chocolate so many times. I tried wooden spoon, non wooded spoon. Microwave. Double boiler. I just don't get it. Like I said, I'm a baker. Help!
Christina Lane says
I emailed you back, Elizabeth. I'll paste it here in case others have this issue:
Oh no, Elizabeth!!!
I have so been there! I remember testing recipes for my cookbook, and went through 3 pounds of chocolate in a day because of this!
The thing is, even if it seizes, just keep going with this recipe! I promise it would have been totally fine to eat! Maybe there would be some chocolate chunks, but it would have been fine because the beaters would work it out.
Also, I think it’s seizing most likely because your egg yolk is cold. Is it right from the fridge?
Meg says
I know this is quite late - I just discovered the site and I LOVE IT! - but if you re-read your posts ever I hope this might help. If there is any water in your bowl/measuring cup/whatever you used to melt your chocolate it will seize every time! You need to be sure all is completely dry when melting chocolate. Hope this might help you.