Easy Chocolate Mousse with Cocoa Powder

Craving a chocolate fix? You’re just 5 minutes and 4 ingredients away from this decadently Easy Chocolate Mousse with cocoa powder. No stress, no mess, just light and fluffy dessert goodness!

Why We Love This

There’s so many reasons why we love this recipe!

• It’s egg-free – no need to worry about raw eggs or egg allergies. No need to separate whites and yolks. No need to whip them or ever-so-carefully fold them in! 
• It’s made without gelatin – so no need to worry about it clumping up your mousse mix or waiting for it to set. 
• No need to grate or melt chocolate – we’ll be using cocoa powder (or hot chocolate powder) which blends through the cream super easily.
• It’s dangerously easy – Just like mochi rice cakes, you can whip this up in minutes for a sweet treat after dinner with (almost) zero effort. 

We’ve taken out all the messy, stressy, delicate steps to leave you with the EASIEST no-fuss chocolate mousse you can whip up when your next chocolate craving strikes. 

It’s lusciously thick, yet deliciously light and chocolatey mousse guaranteed to be super tasty and impossible to stop eating until your bowl is well and truly licked clean.

Why not double the recipe and enjoy more tomorrow night, or freeze to make homemade ice cream?

What is Chocolate Mousse? 

Mousse means ‘foam’ in French and usually refers to light and fluffy desserts made with cream or egg whites. 

The traditional French-meringue method is similar to desserts like pavlova or tres leches milk cake, where egg whites are whipped until they’re light and fluffy, then carefully folded into the rest of the ingredients. 

Today’s method is ultra-simplified, using cocoa powder and thickened cream / heavy cream as the base. We’ve skipped the whipping, melting and fiddly folding techniques so you can make it in minutes for a quick and easy dessert. Now you can enjoy the smooth and fluffy mousse-like texture with just a fraction of the ingredients, time and stress of making “real” chocolate mousse. 

Incidentally, being eggless it’s suitable for vegetarian diets. (Check out the Variations section for how to make it vegan friendly too.)

So while today’s recipe could humbly be called “chocolate whipped cream”, we still call it chocolate mousse because it has the fluffy, bubbly texture we know and love.

What You’ll Need

• Cream – Always use thickened cream / heavy cream / double cream (it goes by lots of different names depending on where you live). It should have a higher fat content than regular cream, which will give your mousse a firmer whippy texture. 
• Sugar – We usually use raw sugar but you can use any kind of sugar you have on hand. You could even swap for a sweetener such as stevia to make it diabetic friendly. 
• Cocoa Powder – Use a high quality, unsweetened, powder with a high percentage of cocoa for rich chocolate flavour. 
• Desiccated Coconut (Optional) – This adds an extra subtle flavour and texture to the mousse. You can whip it into the mousse itself, or sprinkle it over the top as garnish.

Wandercook’s Tips

• Choose Quality – Quality ingredients will always give you better flavour and texture, especially in such a simple recipe. For example, any cocoa powder with less than 50% cocoa is basically chocolate flavoured sugar. 
• Avoid Bitterness – Always use high quality cocoa powder for the best flavour. Sometimes dark chocolate or dark cocoa powder can be overly bitter, so use a brand you trust or go for a sweetened cocoa powder to avoid this if you’re unsure. 
• Chill The Mixing Bowl – Pop it in the freezer for 15-30 mins before you whip for better texture in the whipped cream. 
• Sift the Cocoa Powder – For a smoother, more even end result. It’s not essential, but will help distribute the cocoa more evenly and avoid little clumps of chocolate powder through your mousse. 
• Stir Cocoa Through – Give it a quick stir before blending so it doesn’t flick up in your face!
• Don’t Over-Whip – Look for stiff peaks when you’re whipping the cream (where the mixture holds its shape and doesn’t collapse in on itself). If you keep going after this point, you’ll just end up with chocolate flavoured butter!
• Extra cocoa? Make our Australian Lamingtons or English Chocolate Concrete cake next!

FAQs

Variations

• Extra Intense Dark Chocolate – Look for a dark Belgian chocolate powder with a high percentage of cocoa (70% will give you a rich bittersweet flavour).
• White Chocolate Mousse – Swap the cocoa powder for white chocolate powder. 
• Decadent Dessert – Serve with fresh berries and regular whipped cream, garnished with cocoa powder, for the ultimate decadent treat. 
• Garnish Ideas – Top with fresh mint leaves, grated orange peel, chocolate chips, strawberries crushed biscuits or homemade crumble topping. 
• Add Flavour – Add a nip of your favourite liqueur or essence – hazelnut, almond, coconut, vanilla, instant coffee, rum or Baileys would all be amazing!
• Make it Vegan – Swap the cream for an equal amount of coconut cream. Make sure to use the solid part at the top, not the liquid. 
• Presentation – Use a piping bag (or a homemade version from a plastic ziplock bag with the corner snipped off) to pipe the mousse into individual pots or glasses for serving. You could use glass jars, cups, ramekins or simple dessert bowls, or just leave it all in one big bowl and scoop out portions as you need. It’s up to you!
• Leftover cream? Make it into matchsticks or a ripple log!

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