Chocolate Mousse Cups
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Decadent chocolate mousse cups are light and fluffy with a luscious mouthfeel. We take 2 easy recipes (chocolate ganache and whipped cream) and merge them together for this 1 delicious chocolate dessert.
👩🏻🍳 why this recipe works
- No Raw Eggs: Many recipes use raw eggs (both yolks and whites) to make chocolate mousse. With this eggless recipe there’s no concern about salmonella bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
- 4 Simple Ingredients: Together, for both the whipped cream and chocolate ganache, all you need are 4 refrigerator and pantry staples.
- Quick Easy Recipe: Make the homemade whipped cream in 5 minutes. Make then chocolate ganache in 15 minutes then cool. Then fold these 2 recipes together and chill. It’s that simple.
- Light Airy Texture: This decadent dessert has a rich chocolaty taste. It’s ideal after dinner when you want something sweet and light, not heavy.
- Make-Ahead Dessert: For holidays and parties, make this chocolate mousse cups 1 day in advance and refrigerate until serving time.
🛒 INGREDIENTS
We combine 2 recipes together – chocolate ganache and whipped cream – to make these easy chocolate mousse cups. Here’s what you’ll need.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heavy whipping cream
- Premium chocolate baking bars (like Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate)
Whipped Cream
- Heavy whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
📖 RECIPE STEPS
RECIPE PREP: Make the chocolate ganache. Let it cool completely. Make the whipped cream in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- STEP 1: Reserve 1/4 of the whipped cream. Transfer it to a bowl and put it in the fridge. (It will be used for topping the chocolate mousse cups.)
- STEP 2: Add cooled chocolate ganache to the bowl of whipped cream.
OPTIONAL: Use the entire batch of whipped cream for the chocolate mousse. The texture will be lighter, creamier, fluffier. It won’t be stiff enough to pipe into dessert cups, but you can spoon it into the cups instead.
- STEP 3: With a rubber spatula and a light hand, gently fold the chocolate ganache and whipped cream together.
- STEP 4: Stick the (freezer-safe) mixing bowl of chocolate mousse into the freezer for 20 minutes to thicken. Don’t allow the mousse to freeze.
- STEP 5: Spoon the mixture into small dessert cups. Or for piping, transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a metal tip. Stick the piping bag into the freezer for 5 minutes to re-chill before piping.
- STEP 6: Refrigerate chocolate mousse cups for 2 hours or until set. Garnish with whipped cream or as desired.
BEST GARNISHES FOR CHOCOLATE MOUSSE cups
Keep it light and simple. Don’t use heavy toppings like pieces of fruit that are juicy and will sink into this airy fluffy dessert. Here are some of the best garnishes for chocolate mousse cups.
- Whipped Cream
- Shaved Chocolate
- Grated Chocolate
- Chocolate Sprinkles (Jimmies)
- Fresh Mint Leaves
- Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
🤔 RECIPE FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST chocolate mousse cups, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
It’s important to use high-quality chocolate. I recommend Ghirardelli premium baking bars, semi-sweet chocolate. But you can also use bittersweet chocolate for a dark chocolate flavor. However, the higher the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate bar, the less sweet it is.
Use small dessert cups, champagne flutes, coupe cocktail glasses, martini glasses, small juice glasses, mini cocottes, or ramekins.
You can make these desserts 1 day in advance and keep them chilled in the fridge. Instead of piping the dessert into cups, spoon it into the cups below the rim line. Cover tightly with plastic and store in the fridge.
RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers gave this easy dessert the highest marks! They said these are the BEST chocolate mousse cups. They’re light and airy just like those served at fancy restaurants. And the delicious mixture is simple to make.
If you agree this chocolaty dessert is drool-worthy, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Pin it to Pinterest.
Chocolate Mousse Cups
- Total Time: 2 Hours 40 Minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
These decadent chocolate mousse cups are super easy to make. They’re light and airy with a delicious mouthfeel. Ideal for dinner parties and the holiday season.
Ingredients
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 4-ounce semi-sweet premium chocolate baking bars (like Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars)
Whipped Cream
- 4 cups (1 quart) heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Mousse Cups
- Chocolate ganache (above), cooled then slightly chilled
- Whipped cream (above)
- Optional garnishes: chocolate shavings, grated chocolate, chocolate jimmies (sprinkles), fresh mint leaves or rosemary sprigs.
Instructions
Directions for Chocolate Ganache
Get the recipe here 👉🏻 Ganache
Directions for Whipped Cream
Get the recipe here 👉🏻 Whipped Cream
Assemble Chocolate Mousse Cups
- Reserve 1/4 of the whipped cream for later. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate. It will be used later to garnish the chocolate mousse cups.
- With a spatula, gently fold the chilled ganache into remaining whipped cream until combined.
- Put the (freezer-safe) bowl of chocolate mousse into the freezer for 20 minutes to chill and thicken, or refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- Spoon the chocolate mousse into small dessert cups (keeping the mixture below the rim of the cup) and cover with plastic wrap. (Or transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a metal tip. Chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes before piping.) Refrigerate the chocolate mousse cups for 2 hours, or until set.
- Garnish the desserts with reserved whipped cream and serve immediately, or return them to the fridge until serving time.
Notes
Make-Ahead Instructions: Prep chocolate mousse cups 1 day in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. A few hours before serving add whipped cream and garnishes, then return to the fridge to chill.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 0 Minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
👉🏻 CHOCOLATE MOUSSE Cups – JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Are you a huge fan of chocolate desserts? What do you think of these easy chocolate mousse cups? Will you serve them in small bowls, ramekins, or champagne flutes? Share your thoughts below.
This is one of my favorite chocolate desserts. My aunt has been making your recipe for some time now, and she finally shared the link to this page. I made the chocolate mousse cups this morning for an evening get-together with my husband’s family. Everyone loved them!
This looks so delightful and tasty
Chocolate mousse is so yummy! Probably my favorite chocolate dessert. Your presentation was gorgeous too.
Thank you so much!
I tried this recipe and it turned out spectacular. I had little bits of chocolate in between bites of the mousse which were scrumptious to bite into – I ended up digging around to find more as I enjoyed the entire thing. I did pair this with tacos, which wasn’t the most ideal of pairing. However, I would totally do this one again. It has a lot of great potential for pairings with actual dessert foods, and best of all, is an easy homemade dessert.
im glad you enjoyed it.
This mousse looks so tasty! I’d love to give this a try!
You are in for a treat.
Mmm I love mousse I need to make this!
Lauren
You will love it. Enjoy
Oh, my! This could be quite a dangerous recipe for me to have on hand ???? I’m a chocoholic and this recipe looks delicious, let alone so easy to make! Love it!
Lol. Hope you enjoy it.
This looks so yummy and so easy! Thank you!!
You are so welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
Yummy! Can’t wait to try this out on my cheat day.
You will love it. Its a good cheat day food.
These turned out so pretty! It looks pretty easy to make which is awesome! I love chocolate mousse!
xoxo
Annie
Im glad you like it.
Alright, so you just totally made my marriage better, because my husband absolutely loves Chocolate Mousse. I’m going to have to save this to make for him! Hehe
Lol. Im glad I could help.
YUMMY! Your pictures are beautiful… as always! :)
Thank you. Your comment made my day.
I love when dishes like this come together so quickly and easy. It makes it so much more tempting to make them when I have a craving for something sweet. Your recipe looks lovely!
Thank you so much. Hope you have fun making them.