Chocolate mousse | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the four basic components of a mousse? ›

Four basic components of a Mousse

Mousse is a light and airy dessert made with eggs, sugar, heavy cream, and flavoring. All mousses have four basic components: aerated egg yolks, whipped egg whites, whipped cream, and a flavoring base.

Unlike pudding, mousse is not cooked and the addition of air to the mixture leads to a fluffier consistency and lighter texture. Mousse is typically served chilled or frozen.

The thickener:

Traditionally, mousse is made with gelatin. The gelatin should be bloomed in cool water or 5 minutes, then melted before adding to the base.

Temperature is one of the most important factors to consider when making chocolate mousse. If your chocolate becomes grainy when you add the whipped egg whites or cream, it has cooled too much and hardened into small grains.

Not fluffy enough, not chocolatey enough, too sweet, grainy, etc etc. Many “easy” chocolate mousse recipes tend to use too much cream so the end result is more like custard, rather than aerated like real chocolate mousse should be.

This depends on the consistency of the whipped cream as well as the other ingredients used. Indeed, a small mistake can completely make or break your mousse as the light and creamy texture is the most important thing about a mousse. If your mousse feels grainy, it's because you have overwhipped your cream.

Mousse recipes that use raw eggs should be modified by heating the milk, eggs and sugar to 160 degrees F. Hillers recommends any recipe calling for raw eggs should be modified to either heat the eggs or to substitute a modified egg product. If your recipe can't be modified, Hillers advises finding a substitute recipe.

Bavarian creams differ from mousses in that they are usually made by thickening a custard sauce with gelatin, then folding in whipped cream (not whipped egg whites). Mousses can be served “standalone” in a dessert cup or used as filling for cakes and Charlottes.

Chocolate mousse and mocha are a match made in heaven.

Chocolate mousse is creamy because it is made with whipped egg whites and heavy cream. The whipped egg whites provide a light and airy texture, while the heavy cream adds richness and creaminess to the dessert.

What is black pudding mousse? ›

Mousse of black pudding. The black pudding, skinless of course, is mixed with grated speculoos, soaked gelatine leaves dissolved in veal stock and a few spoonfuls of whipped cream.

Try adding a small amount of cornstarch to a little water, and add it to the mousse a little at a time and see how it thickens the texture. You can also beat some egg yolks in a separate bowl over low heat until they increase in volume and slowly add them to the mousse mixture.

Nothing thickens mousse as gently as a liaison. Made with egg yolk and cream, the liaison does not add anything to mousse that isn't already there -- it just changes the ratio a bit in favor of thickness.

If thickening chocolate, add the cornstarch slurry to the melted chocolate. For other types of souffle, add the cornstarch slurry to the main ingredient; then heat it until it thickens. Then, allow the main ingredient to cool to room temperature before adding the souffle.

Chocolate mousse recipe overview

Melt heavy cream and chocolate chips until sooth and combined. Cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes). Whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate.

The mousse can be stored in the fridge for up to four days, though is at its best within the first two days. We would suggest covering the tops of the glasses or ramekins tightly with food wrap, so that the surface of the mousse doesn't dry out too much.

Gelatin forms a gel to stabilize air bubbles.

In a chocolate mousse, this gel-like texture helps to stabilize the mousse. The gel is more solid than a liquid would be. As such, it again is better at holding onto air bubbles and preventing them from escaping.