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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Classical French Chocolate Mousse Recipe

    Published: Aug 2, 2020 · Modified: May 29, 2021 by Chef Dennis Littley

    879 shares
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    4.82 from 79 votes
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    Pinterest image for Classical French Chocolate Mousse

    Have you ever tasted French Chocolate Mousse? I’m talking about real chocolate mousse, not the instant or quick versions that use gelatin or cool whip.

    They may make fine cake fillings, but once you’ve had the real thing, there is no substitute for Real Chocolate Mousse.

    chocolate mousse in four white  ramekins

    Trust me when I tell you, once you taste this chocolate mousse, you’ll never be happy with the imitators.

    Table of Contents:

    • What ingredients do I need to make Real Chocolate Mousse?
    • Can I add another liqueur to my Chocolate Mousse?
    • What’s the secret to making Whipped Cream?
    • Chef Dennis Tip:
    • Recipe FAQ’s
    • More Dessert Recipes You’ll Love!
    • Chocolate Mousse
      • Ingredients
      • Instructions
        • Chocolate
        • Sabayon
        • Combining
      • Notes
      • Nutrition

    What ingredients do I need to make Real Chocolate Mousse?

    ingredients to make chocolate mousse

    Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Chocolate Mousse. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.

    Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

    melting chocolate in a stainless steel bowl with a blue plastic spatula

    The first step in making this classical French dessert is melting the chocolate. Using a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water will melt the chocolate easily.

    butter added to melting chocolate

    Once the chocolate has melted add the butter to the chocolate and fold it into the melted chocolate. Set aside and let the chocolate cool.

    two images showing whipped eggs in mixer bowl and adding sugar to eggs while beating in a stand mixer

    Add the egg yolks to the bowl of your mixer and begin to whip them until doubled in size, then begin to slowly pour the sugar in a steady stream into the yolks. Continue to whip for another minute.

    added Kahlua and coffee into whipped eggs

    Add the Kahlua and coffee to the whipped eggs.

    Can I add another liqueur to my Chocolate Mousse?

    You sure can! Some of my other favorite liqueurs to add to chocolate are:

    • Peppermint Liqueur
    • Chambord
    • Frangelico
    • Gran Mariner or Cointreau

    **You can also add your favorite extract instead of using liqueurs

    two images, one of sabayon in a stainless steel bowl with a wire whisk and one with the sabayon in a stand mixer

    Using a double boiler method whip the mixture over a pot of simmering water until it thickens. **This will also cook the egg yolks.

    Transfer the mixture to your stand mixer bowl and whip until it cools (2-3 minutes).

    mixer bowl with chocolate being folded into sabayon

    When the sabayon has cooled fold the chocolate into the sabayon. Completely incorporate the chocolate into the sabayon.

    **Do this by hand, don’t use an electric mixer.

    whipped cream in a mixer bowl with a red rubber spatula

    Slowly whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.

    What’s the secret to making Whipped Cream?

    The mistake that everyone makes when whipping cream is doing it too quickly. The secret to whipped cream that will last for days is doing it slowly.

    Start out at a low setting and gradually turn up the speed of the mixer over 10 minutes. Don’t over whip the cream or you’ll get butter!

    Chef Dennis Tip:

    I prefer using heavy whipping cream vs. whipping cream. It holds its shape longer and produces a creamier result. Most heavy cream in grocery stores is 36% but if you can find 40% cream go for it.

    mixer bowl with whipped cream folding into chocolate mixture

    Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.

    large bowl of chocolate mousse with a blue rubber spatula

    After you’ve folded the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, you’re done.

    The chocolate will firm up the colder it gets. It’s best to place the Chocolate Mousse into the serving dishes before it fully sets up.

    **The chocolate mousse can be rewhipped if necessary.

    four white ramekins of chocolate mousse

    The chocolate mousse is perfect by itself, or served with berries. But you can also use the mousse to make other desserts:

    • Chocolate mousse pie (pie shell or springform pan)
    • Second layer on a cheesecake
    • Used between layers of a cake

    Recipe FAQ’s

    What is chocolate mousse made of?

    Pudding is usually made with milk and cooked. It’s thickened with cornstarch which activates when heated with the milk. Mousse is not cooked and is thickened by adding whipped heavy cream to the mixture. As the melted chocolate cools, it thickens the mousse and gives you that rich silky texture which is due to the cooked egg sabayon, which is folded into the mousse. Pudding is semisolid and dense, while chocolate mousse is lighter and much richer.

    What should I do if the mousse is to thick to serve?

    If you want to make the mousse look lighter and airier after being refrigerated, simply re-whip the mousse. that will fluff it up a bit and make it easier to serve and more visually appealing.

    What kind of chocolate can I use to make mousse?

    Traditionally mousse is made with dark chocolate to give it that rich taste that only dark chocolate can give. You can, of course, use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate to make the mousse. Just don’t use baking chips! Baking chips will work, but they have ingredients added to keep them solid. Use the best bar chocolate you can find.

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    large bowl of chocolate mousse with a blue rubber spatula
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    4.82 from 79 votes

    Chocolate Mousse

    For a truly decadent dessert try my Chocolate Mousse.  This is the real deal, a classic chocolate mousse recipe that will rival the best restaurants in France.  
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time35 minutes mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: French
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 511kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    • 13 oz semisweet chocolate finely cut (milk or bittersweet chocolate can be used)
    • 6 tbsp butter softened 3 oz
    • ½ cup sugar
    • 6 egg yolks
    • ¼ cup strong black coffee or espresso
    • ¼ cup Kahlua **If you can't use alcohol, substitute with black coffee or espresso
    • 3 cups heavy cream
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Chocolate

    • Place the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl, over a pot of simmering water, stir with a rubber spatula as the chocolate melts, if the pan starts to get too hot, remove it from the heat.
    • Continue to stir the chocolate until it has melted completely, then remove from the heat.
    • Cut the butter into 8 pieces and mix it into the melted chocolate until it has been completely absorbed by the chocolate.
    • Set the chocolate aside to cool to room temperature

    Sabayon

    • Add the egg yolks to the bowl of your mixer and begin to whip them until doubled in size, then begin to slowly pour the sugar in a steady stream into the yolks. Continue to whip for another minute.
    • Add the coffee and Kahlua to the egg yolk mixture and place your mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk the yolk mixture until it becomes very thick.
    • When the egg yolks have thickened, continue to whip in your stand mixer until the mixture has cooled.

    Combining

    • When the sabayon has cooled, fold it into the chocolate mixture until well blended.
    • Whip the cream in your stand mixer until it holds its shape, then fold it into the chocolate mixture.
      The secret to making perfect whipped cream is to do it slowly. Start at a low speed and increase the speed over 10 minutes until firm peaks have formed.
    • The chocolate mousse will set as it gets colder. Place the mouse in serving dishes berfore it completely chills.
      The chocolate mousse can be re-whipped if it sets before you put it into serving dishes.

    Notes

    * for an even more intense chocolate flavor, reduce the heavy cream by half, to 1 ½ cups.
    For a lighter chocolate flavor use milk chocolate.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 196mg | Sodium: 81mg | Potassium: 229mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 1195IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
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    About Chef Dennis

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    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

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    1. Adele

      November 17, 2021 at 1:45 pm

      5 stars
      Outstanding chocolate mousse!! Rich, smooth and the perfect ending to great meal.
      Next time I would love to make a white chocolate mousse with a cranberry sauce. Would the recipe stay the same when substituting white chocolate for the dark chocolate? Do I need to change the amount of white chocolate?

      Reply
    2. TC

      June 11, 2021 at 12:03 am

      5 stars
      Absolutely my favorite mousse recipe I have found. There’s simply no comparison to the versions that only use whipped cream, powdered gelatin, or heaven forbitd, cool whip (*shudder*) for the “mousse”. The sabayon is really key. I made this for my girlfriend on our first date. 4 course dinner topped with this? Yeah, I won the evening 🙂
      Going to try to adapt into a peanut butter version and incorporate into a pie for her birthday next.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        June 11, 2021 at 9:02 am

        I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed my chocolate mousse and it helped you win the evening!! I hope you find more recipes to try on my site. Thanks for the idea on the peanut butter mousse, I’ll put that on my list.
        If your GF likes tiramisu I have the best recipe for that.

        Reply
        • TC

          June 14, 2021 at 9:56 pm

          5 stars
          I did that for our second date 🙂 It was absolutely divine. I think I’ve earned “keeper” status pretty early by proving the best food comes from my kitchen and my heart, not any restaurant at any price. I also do windows.

    3. Ann

      February 19, 2021 at 2:54 pm

      Will this mousse hold up at room temperature for a wedding cake?

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        February 19, 2021 at 2:56 pm

        It does hold up well, but this is something you would want to test ahead of time. I would think it would need to be refrigerated until the last minute

        Reply
        • TC

          November 23, 2021 at 11:21 am

          5 stars
          I’m going to use the base recipe for a punkin mousse at Thanksgiving. I’m hoping the pumpkin puree won’t weigh the whipped cream down too much, but pumpkin pie mousse on a golden Oreo crust? THAT is something to be thankful for!

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          November 23, 2021 at 4:13 pm

          let me know how it turns out

    4. Dawn L Reed

      December 26, 2020 at 11:18 am

      5 stars
      My husband has (had) throat cancer and is relearning to swallow. He asked for pudding and I wanted to go the extra mile and make a mousse. He hasn’t eaten in 6 months so really sweet is not his thing. This mousse was decadent! a bit labor intense but so good. He loved it and so did I. Thank you for the recipe! I will definitely make this again.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 26, 2020 at 1:34 pm

        Thank you for letting me know your husband enjoyed the chocolate mousse. He might also enjoy my tiramisu cream, you can make it like a pudding and leave out the ladyfingers if you don’t think your husband would have problems with them.

        Reply
      • Trout

        March 19, 2021 at 2:15 pm

        5 stars
        I’ve made traditional French style mousse before. I wanted to make again, and had trouble finding a recipe using Sabayon until I found this one. I believe in traditional style cooking whenever possible. It turned out fabulous! My girlfriend thinks I’m the greatest chef ever. Doesn’t hurt I paired it with my traditional mushroom risotto. Learned that one in Italy. A note to beginners about the desired consistency for the Sabayon while hand whipping over the double boiler would be helpful. I know what I’m looking for, but it’s the only fine detail missing in your otherwise flawless explanation.

        Reply
    5. jennie phoenix

      December 11, 2020 at 4:06 pm

      i imagine chocolate mousse doesn’t have to wait around, it gets gobbled up – but – how long will this last in the fridge? is it really best to make it the day you’ll serve it?

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 11, 2020 at 5:26 pm

        it will hold up 5 days or more. The only problem you run into is it stiffens up. Just rewhip it a little to soften it up and you’re good to go. Too much left, fill a pie shell and freeze it.

        Reply
    6. Meg

      December 10, 2020 at 12:28 am

      5 stars
      Love love love this recipe.
      Really, not hard to do at all, but the result is just simply fabulous, each and every time.
      Makes an EXCELLENT filling for swiss roll cakes, or even, yule log filling and coating with chocolate ‘bark’ set in on the outside – divine

      Reply
    7. Jackie

      December 07, 2020 at 1:11 pm

      5 stars
      I made this over the weekend and used it to fill a chocolate cake. It is over-the-top delicious, so smooth and creamy. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I have a lot of chocolate lovers in my family, so I’m sure I will be making it often!!

      Reply
    8. Deanna

      December 06, 2020 at 3:26 am

      Hello,

      If I wanted to reduce the sugar, what amount could I use? Your recipe looks sensational and I cannot wait to make it.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 06, 2020 at 8:37 am

        you could probably reduce the amount to 1/3 cup but the sugar does balance the chocolate since the recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate. You don’t want to go to all that work and have the mousse be bitter. So I personally wouldn’t reduce the sugar.

        Reply
    9. Parker

      November 23, 2020 at 11:00 am

      I loved this recipe! Is there a way to make this mint chocolate? If so, how? I considered adding peppermint extract. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        November 23, 2020 at 11:12 am

        you can definitely add peppermint extract to the recipe and you can also swap out the Kahlua for your favorite peppermint liquor.

        Reply
      • Parker

        November 23, 2020 at 11:44 am

        5 stars
        If there isn’t a way for mint, what about some sort of peanut butter flavor? I suppose the larger question at hand is, how can someone play with the flavor in a mousse?

        Reply
        • TC

          July 01, 2021 at 3:07 pm

          5 stars
          I tried using this precise recipe with peanut butter. I tried creamy peanut butter whipped with the cream. It turned into a lumpy mess immediately. I then tried to whip it into the sabayon. Pretty much the same. I ended up using powdered peanut butter and whipping that into the cream. It’s more dense than regular whipped cream, but it worked. I put this into an Oreo cookie crust in a spring form pan with a layer of thick ganache between the crust and peanut butter. Absolutely fantastic. Three tries? Yup. Was my GF’s birthday, and I was not going to fail.

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          July 01, 2021 at 4:08 pm

          when all else fails remember you can freeze it. One of my best desserts came from a failed chocolate tiramisu.

    10. Elly

      November 14, 2020 at 9:39 pm

      5 stars
      Chocolate mousse i like it….
      Delicious

      Reply
    11. Christine Wallace

      November 02, 2020 at 3:31 pm

      I’m making this with students. I need to leave out the Kahlua. What should I substitute?

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        November 02, 2020 at 3:35 pm

        You can sub coffee for the Kahlua.

        Reply
    12. Charles Alan Clemens

      September 25, 2020 at 7:18 am

      5 stars
      This looks wonderful and I am anxious to make it. Yesterday I made chocolate mousse using raw eggs & I was concerned about salmonella & the recipe made a godawful mess of my blender. Your recipe looks wonderful, safer, and easy to make. The mousse I made, yesterday was delicious & I like the addition of coffee. I’ll never buy the faux mousse sold in the grocery store again.

      Reply
    13. Debra

      August 10, 2020 at 8:48 pm

      5 stars
      Mmm…nice tip on the patience for the whipping cream! Thanks.

      Reply
    14. Robyn

      August 09, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      5 stars
      I love the addition of coffee and Kahlua in this chocolate mousse – can’t wait to make this!

      Reply
    15. Leslie

      August 08, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      Fantastic chocolate mousse recipe! Love the tip about the whipping cream!

      Reply
    16. Amy

      August 08, 2020 at 2:21 am

      5 stars
      My partner LOVES chocolate mousse! Will definitely be making them this weekend!

      Reply
    17. Alexandra

      August 07, 2020 at 8:46 pm

      5 stars
      The name is accurate – this really is the best chocolate mousse!

      Reply
    18. Arlene Alonso

      August 07, 2020 at 7:11 pm

      5 stars
      love it

      Reply
    19. Sue

      August 07, 2020 at 4:41 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Chocolate mousse is the best!

      Reply
    20. Linda

      August 07, 2020 at 2:42 pm

      5 stars
      It’s really hard to say no to chocolate especially after a long hot summer day. You surely know how to make this chocolate mousse looks so easy to make and I can’t wait to try this.

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or “Chef Dennis” as I’m known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

    More about me →

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