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.
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.
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 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.
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
Elizabeth says
This was the perfect ending to our valentine’s dinner! Thank you for the simple and amazing recipe!
Jodi says
I just made this and forgot the butter. It’s still tasted delicious although there were a little flakes of chocolate in the final product. I’ll just have to make it again the right way.
Thanks for all the delicious recipes
ishita rathi says
I really likes your easy home recipes. I would definitely try this at home and will upload it on my website. Thankyou.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
omigosh yes this is exactly the sort of chocolate mousse recipe I need!
Marianne says
Ok so I made this last night and while it was super easy to make and delicious (thank you for sharing!) I ended up with the melted chocolate getting really thick/hard while I whipped the cream and then when I whipped them both together I ended up with little bits of chocolate all throughout instead of a smooth mousse. Any advice?? Thanks again!
Christina Lane says
Hi Marianna! Sorry I'm just now seeing this comment! That happens to me, too, sometimes. It's because the hot chocolate seized when it hit the cold cream. You can try letting the chocolate cool off a bit before adding it to the cream next time, but know that this happens to me too sometimes and we still eat it up :)
Julie says
Do you absolutely have to use powdered sugar? Could one use granulated sugar, maple syrup, or stevia?
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.
Cathy C. says
Had to come up with something quick for Valentine’s Day with what I had at home - bought the heavy whipping cream a while back but since it has a rather long shelf life...thought I would give this a try. Holy cow! I just put finished licking the bowl - yum, yum, it’s de-lish! Keeper for sure. Thank you.
Liz West says
This recipe was absolutely fantastic even though I forgot to add in the powdered sugar!! I’m definitely going to make this again.
Kylie Ferguson Solis says
I love this chocolate mousse so much. I’ve made it hundreds of times. The texture is so wonderful.
I use dark chocolate in place of milk because I’m a dark chocolate person, but otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing.