Rich, creamy, and wonderfully festive, this white chocolate mousse was always a holiday favorite at my catered events. Smooth white chocolate, refreshing peppermint, cream cheese, and fluffy whipped cream come together in a luscious, make-ahead dessert that's perfect for holiday entertaining. Serve in small portions for an elegant finish to a special dinner.
This white chocolate mousse is an elegant finish to a holiday dinner. Rich yet light in texture, it has just enough peppermint to balance the sweetness of the white chocolate. Serve it in small dessert glasses and garnish with crushed peppermint candies or sparkling red sprinkles for a festive touch.
White Chocolate Mousse Recipe Snapshot
- Rich and creamy - With a light, fluffy texture.
- Make ahead - For stress-free entertaining.
- Perfect for holidays - Great for parties and special dinners.
- Versatile flavor - Refreshing peppermint or other flavor options.
- Egg-free - No eggs required.
For another creamy mousse recipe, try this easy pumpkin mousse.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- White chocolate - My favorite is the 35% Valhrona for the quality and taste. Buy it in blocks or pieces (called feves or discs).
- Cream - You need heavy whipping cream.
- Extract - Peppermint extract used for baking and flavoring.
- Sweetener - Either agave syrup or sugar-free simple syrup
- Cream cheese - Get the block of cream cheese, full fat, not low fat, not the tub or whipped.
- Optional Garnishes - Peppermint candies crushed fine (sometimes called peppermint snow) or red sugar sprinkles.
Chef's tip: To make your own "peppermint snow" for garnish, place peppermint candies in a zip bag and finely crush with a rolling pin (or buy crushed peppermint candy). Another option is placing them in a food processor and pulsing until it's fine.
Here's another one of my favorite dessert recipes, this creamy light lemon mousse.
Substitutions and Variations
It's easy to make this white chocolate mousse in different flavors by changing the extract and garnish.
- Vanilla - Replace the peppermint extract with vanilla extract and garnish with colorful sugar sprinkles, dark chocolate sprinkles, or chocolate shavings.
- Coconut - Use coconut extract and garnish with toasted coconut flakes.
- Almond - Use almond extract and garnish with finely chopped toasted almonds.
For a super easy chocolate mousse, try this 5 minute Chocolate Mousse recipe.
About White Chocolate
Quality makes a big difference when choosing white chocolate for mousse. Inexpensive white chocolate can taste overly sweet, waxy, or chalky, so choose a high-quality brand for the best flavor and creamy texture.
After trying several brands, my favorite is Valrhona, a French chocolate maker. Their 35% white chocolate is beautifully smooth and creamy without tasting waxy. Available in bars or fèves (oval-shaped chocolate pieces), you can find it at specialty grocers, cooking stores, and online.
Chef's Tip: How to Make a Double Boiler - Add a few inches of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Set a heatproof stainless steel or glass bowl over the pan, making sure the bottom doesn't touch the water. The gentle, indirect heat melts chocolate evenly without scorching it.
How to Make White Chocolate Mousse
Step 1: Slowly melt the white chocolate with unsalted butter over a barely simmering double boiler. This gently melts the chocolate and butter. Do it too fast and your chocolate will be grainy.
Step 2: In a separate bowl whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Add the peppermint extract, sweetener, and salt. In the bowl with the cooled white chocolate, add the cream cheese and whip until smooth.
Step 3: Fold the whipped cream, white chocolate, and cream cheese together by hand with a flexible spatula. Cover the mousse and chill for a few hours to stiffen up before serving if you are piping. Otherwise it can be served soft.
Serving and Storage
To serve white chocolate mousse, I use 2 ounce ramekins because it's rich and just a little satisfies a sweet tooth. Sprinkle with the finely crushed peppermint candies or red sugar crystals as a beautiful accent and festive touch.
White chocolate mousse lasts 3 to 4 days stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The mousse's texture may start to lose some of its fluffiness over time, so for the best taste and texture, aim to serve it within 1-2 days at best.
Recipe FAQs
Grainy mousse can happen if the chocolate isn't fully melted or if it's over-mixed with the whipped cream. Be gentle when folding the ingredients to keep the texture smooth.
Chill the mousse in the fridge for 2-4 hours before serving. This allows it to firm up to the perfect consistency.
Loosen or lighten a heavy mousse by folding in a little more whipped cream or gently stirring in a spoonful of milk. This should help soften the texture.
Melt it slowly and gently, and keep any moisture or water away from it as it causes chocolate to seize. Be patient with the melting process, and use a double boiler which can be more controllable than the microwave. While it's melting, stir occasionally to keep chocolate from overheating.
More Decadent Holiday Dessert Recipes
From lemon to chocolate or vanilla, from rich to light, try some of these decadent desserts.
⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
If you make white chocolate mousse, please comment and let me know how you liked it. If you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers and I enjoy hearing from you.
Originally published 12-11-2011, now updated for you.
📖 Recipe
White Chocolate Mousse
Equipment
- Piping bags and tips optional
Ingredients
Mousse
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces white chocolate bar or discs, chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream well chilled
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup, keto syrup, or simple syrup
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
Optional Garnishes
- Peppermint candies or candy canes crushed fine
- Red sugar sprinkles
Would you like to save this recipe?
Never lose a recipe! We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.
Instructions
Set up double boiler
- Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water to set up a double boiler. Place butter and white chocolate in a stainless steel or glass bowl that will fit partially inside the pan. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. When the water comes to a strong simmer, place the bowl on top and turn the heat down to low.
Melt the White Chocolate
- Slowly melt the white chocolate and butter together. It will take just a few minutes. When it's melted together, stir and remove from the heat. Allow to cool.
Whip the Cream and Cream Cheese
- In a separate bowl or container whip the cream to stiff peaks. Add the peppermint extract, sweetener, and salt. In the bowl with the cooled white chocolate, add the cream cheese and whip until smooth.
Finish Mousse
- Fold the whipped cream, white chocolate, and cream cheese together by hand. Cover and chill for a few hours to stiffen up before serving if you are piping. Otherwise it can be served soft. Small 2 ounce ramekins work well. At serving, sprinkle with the peppermint snow. Red sugar crystals are optional for more color.
Notes
Nutrition
Would you like to save this recipe?
Never lose a recipe! We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.
Amber says
This looks delicious for my families Christmas dinner. May I ask for a suggestion for an alternative to the agave. Honey seems like it would be too bold a flavor. Maybe a really thick simple syrup?
Sally says
Hi Amber. Yes, simple syrup should work, either regular or the monk fruit based. The mousse is really good, and quite rich. A Christmas splurge. A light colored agave is usually not quite as sweet as honey and neutrally flavored (the darker ones have more flavor). If you want to reduce sugar, try a liquid flavored stevia, maybe the vanilla cream. Made by Sweet Leaf. I use that quite a bit these days. Have you tried it? Please let me know what you do and thanks for asking. Love to hear from readers!
Valerie says
What a gorgeously festive mousse! I'm a dark chocolate addict, but this looks too luscious to pass up...peppermint and white chocolate make a delicious couple. 🙂
Sally says
Yes they do make a good pair! Pipe it into dark chocolate shells. Heavenly! I do that for catered parties because the chocolate shells really take it over the top for dessert presentations.
Dina says
so cute and sound so good!
Chef Debbie says
This mousse is one of my favorite recipes and I'm definitely going to try it with crushed peppermint candy and then serve with a pretty candy cane dipped in white and dark chocolate 🙂