Here’s a simple recipe I often use for catered parties, large and small. It’s a great recipe for your “go-to” party file - my five minute Easy Chocolate Mousse. Serve in stemmed glasses, ramekins or chocolate shells and add berries for color. This will become a go-to chocolate dessert.
With chilled heavy cream, high quality Dutch process cocoa powder, powdered sugar and vanilla, you can whip up a beautiful, creamy, easy chocolate mousse in about 5 minutes. If you plan to serve it right away it will be a soft mousse. If you refrigerate the mousse it will firm up a bit. It can even be made a day ahead to save time.
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Recipe Ingredients
Simple ingredients!
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are the same at the market. Look for a high fat content heavy cream for a rich, decadent easy chocolate mousse.
- Cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa powder blends in the easiest.
- Sweetener: Powdered sugar (see substitutions).
- Vanilla: Use only real, pure vanilla extract. Vanilla paste works too. No artificial or fake stuff here.
Substitutions and Variations
- To reduce sugar and make easy chocolate mousse low carb or keto, swap this terrific powdered monk fruit/allulose blend for the powdered sugar.
Serving Suggestions
To serve, spoon or pipe the mousse into martini glasses, brandy snifters or stemmed wine glasses. For an over-the-top presentation, pipe the mousse into purchased chocolate shells.
From bite-sized to small bowl sized, they make an elegant presentation. Garnish with berries, whipped cream and fresh mint for more flavor and color; a treat for the eye as well as the palate.
You can purchase varying sizes of chocolate shells at many better grocery stores, online chocolate dessert shell sources and sometimes at stores like Cost Plus World Market. Availability comes and goes depending on the season.
More Chocolate Recipes
For a really incredible, no fail chocolate pudding recipe, see the Chocolate Pots de Creme recipe with dark chocolate, coconut milk, eggs and stevia. It's heavenly and people always love it. For another twist on mousse, try my white chocolate peppermint mousse recipe.
📖 Recipe
Easy Chocolate Mousse
Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer for whipping cream
Ingredients
Chocolate Mousse
- 3 pints cold heavy whipping cream 48 ounces
- 1 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit blend
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Optional Garnishes
- 8 ounces whipping cream whipped, for garnish
- raspberries or strawberries for garnish
- chocolate sprinkles for garnish, optional
- mint leaves for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, place cold heavy cream. On a piece of wax paper or parchment, sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together to eliminate any lumps. Using parchment as a funnel, pour the cocoa powder-sugar mix into the mixer.
- On low speed, begin to mix the mousse. Start on low or you will be wearing the cocoa powder. Whip the cream until powder starts to incorporate, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. As the mousse starts to smooth out, add the vanilla and increase speed to high. Whip the mousse until stiff.
- Place mousse in 18” disposable bags fitted with a wide star tip. Twist top and close with a rubber band. Refrigerate until serving time. When ready to serve, snip off point of piping bag and pipe into vessel of choice. Garnish with plain or sweetened whipped cream and berries.
- Alternatively spoon the mousse into glasses, cups or ramekins to serve.
Debra F Carroll says
I would love to learn how to make a strawberry 🍓 mousse
Sally Cameron says
Hi Debra, that's a good idea. I have an idea on how to do a quick one but have not tried it. Guess I better and let you know. Fruit mousses are different than chocolate as chocolate gives it so much body. Thanks for the idea.
Abby says
I made this myself today and my dad personality liked it. I didn't like it though but I guess some people like it personality. I was just looking for something a little more sweeter
Sally Cameron says
Hi Abby. You can certainly make it as sweet as you want. We personally don't like things overly sweet. We eat very little added sugar in our diet, so for us it is sweet enough. Because so many foods are overly sweetened these days and there is so much sugar in the Standard American Diet, some people's tastebuds prefer things really sweet. It's all personal taste.
Therese says
Thank you Sally this will help me a lot.
Therese says
Hello Sally,
In your recipe you said we can use the drops I would like to know how many drops I could use in this recipe and could I use any flavor beside the chocolate drops? Thank you
Sally Cameron says
Hi Therese. On flavors besides chocolate, you could try coconut, raspberry, mixed berry, orange. All would be good and pair well with chocolate. And you could play up the flavors with garnish, like coconut flakes, orange zest, add orange oil to the mix for more orange flavor. Hazelnut would be good, with chopped hazelnuts. Lots of possibilities! For how much, it will be up to your tastebuds. If you are making the full batch, start with a couple of full squirts from the dropper. I use Sweet Drops by Sweet Leaf. Add and taste. One more note - the powdered sugar gave this body. With no sugar it may be softer.
erica hudson says
Do u have to use powdered sugar?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Erica. In short, no. How my recipes have changed over the years since I began blogging. I don't even have powdered sugar in the house these days. I would make this now skipping the powdered sugar and using liquid chocolate stevia drops for sweetness (made by Sweet Leaf). For a really incredible, no fail chocolate pudding recipe, see the one I created in The Daniel Plan Cookbook with dark chocolate, coconut milk, eggs and stevia. It's heavenly and people always love it. I've added a link in the post to the cookbook on Amazon. That recipe is dairy-free as well as sugar-free.
Susan says
Delightfully easy, delicious recipe! That being said, let me share my personal failure in making it, so others can learn from my mistake lol. This mousse came together so quick and easy- about 2 minutes for me- that I thought it couldn't be finished. So I made the mistake of trying to whip it the full 5 minutes, thinking it would end up fluffier. Nope! Separated into a curdled-looking mess of butter and whey. (Still yummy, but not fit for company) Completely my own fault.. The recipe is still delightful. Thank you!
Sally says
Thanks for reporting back Susan. Yes, sometimes cream can whip faster. It really depends on the precent of butterfat in the cream and it can vary. Glad it ended up working out for you.
Nancy Kalal says
Can this mousse be made a day ahead and transported? thanks
Sally says
Yes, Nancy it can. Hope you enjoy it. Please let us know!
genuine Seo says
This is my first time pay a visit here and i am in fact happy to read everthing at single place.
Diana says
Loved this! As easy as it seems on "paper". After making truffles had some heavy whipping cream and cocoa powder left over. Looking for a use for it before cream went bad - and this was a winner - my 3 year old son loves it!! 🙂
Peanut butter and chocolate says
I'm shocked by the ease of this recipe!
i'm going to try this tonight with my kids.
Thank you,
Itai Matos (TFIM)
Wilma says
To my friend Jaynette, this is S0 simple, believe even we could make it! It must be luscious, can't wait to try.