Mousses and Creams
Cooking Skills: Chocolate 2
Chapter 5 · Mousses and Creams
Skill goal
Make four light chocolate desserts, with no raw egg, by folding air into chocolate.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A mousse is chocolate lightened with air: cream, or meringue, or both, folded into melted chocolate. It needs no oven and no raw egg in these recipes, but it needs care: the chocolate must be cool enough not to melt the cream, and the folding must be gentle enough not to knock the air out. This chapter builds from a simple cream to a baked custard.
The method
- Cool the chocolate until just warm before it meets cream or meringue.
- Loosen first: fold a spoonful of the light mixture into the chocolate, then fold in the rest.
- Whip cream only to soft peaks. Stiff cream goes grainy when folded.
- Fold, don't stir, and stop as soon as the streaks vanish.
- Chill for the full time, and cover it.
| Dessert | Lightened with | Texture | Chill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggless chocolate cream | Whipped cream | Soft, creamy | 2 hours |
| Meringue mousse | Cream and cooked meringue | Light, airy | 3 hours |
| Pots de crème | Baked egg yolks | Dense, silky | 4 hours |
| Trifle glass | Layers with chocolate cream | Soft, fruity, crunchy | 2 hours |
Cooked meringue, hot cream and chilling
Cooked meringue: raw egg white is not used. Whisk the whites and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water) until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches about 71°C on a thermometer (general guidance), then whisk off the heat until stiff and cool. Use Lion-marked eggs and a spotlessly clean bowl, and keep steam away from your hands.Hot cream: cream heated to steaming is hotter than it looks and burns skin. Heat it in a small pan over a medium heat until it just starts to steam at the edges, don't let it boil over, keep the handle turned in and pour with care.
Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Eggless chocolate cream
The simplest mousse-style dessert: melted chocolate loosened with hot milk, cooled, and folded into whipped cream. No egg and no raw ingredients. The chocolate base must be cool, or it melts the cream and the mousse will be thin.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 100 g dark chocolate (about 70%), finely chopped
- 100 ml whole milk
- 200 ml double cream, well chilled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 small glasses or pots
- Heat the milk until steaming, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute and stir smooth. Add the vanilla and cool until just warm (not hot).
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. Fold a spoonful into the chocolate to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently until no streaks remain.
- Spoon into the glasses and chill for at least 2 hours.
Hot milk, folding and chilling
Hot cream: cream heated to steaming is hotter than it looks and burns skin. Heat it in a small pan over a medium heat until it just starts to steam at the edges, don't let it boil over, keep the handle turned in and pour with care.Folding: use a large metal spoon or spatula and cut down through the middle, sweep round the bowl and turn the mixture over. Stop as soon as there are no streaks: stirring knocks out the air.
Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Allergens: chocolate contains milk (except some dark), and often soy (lecithin) and sometimes nuts or traces of them: check the label and the 'may contain' line. Cream, butter and many coatings are dairy, and cookies and biscuits contain wheat and often egg. Dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut cream can replace the dairy in many recipes, but the texture changes.
Level 2 · Meringue
Cooked-meringue chocolate mousse
A lighter, airier mousse than the eggless cream, made with a cooked meringue so there is no raw egg. Three things are folded together, so go gently and in stages.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 150 g dark chocolate (about 70%), chopped
- 2 Lion-marked egg whites
- 50 g caster sugar
- 200 ml double cream, well chilled
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 small glasses or ramekins
- Melt the chocolate gently and cool until just warm. Make a cooked meringue from the whites and sugar (see the box) and whisk off the heat until stiff and cool.
- Whip the cream and salt to soft peaks. Fold a third of the cream into the chocolate to loosen it, then fold in the rest of the cream, then the meringue, in two additions.
- Spoon into the glasses and chill for at least 3 hours.
Cooked meringue, folding and chilling
Cooked meringue: raw egg white is not used. Whisk the whites and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water) until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches about 71°C on a thermometer (general guidance), then whisk off the heat until stiff and cool. Use Lion-marked eggs and a spotlessly clean bowl, and keep steam away from your hands.Folding: use a large metal spoon or spatula and cut down through the middle, sweep round the bowl and turn the mixture over. Stop as soon as there are no streaks: stirring knocks out the air.
Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Eggs: use eggs with the British Lion mark and wash your hands after handling raw egg. Recipes in this course never serve raw egg: yolks and whites are baked, or cooked as described. Pregnant women, babies, older people and anyone unwell should check current FSA advice before eating egg dishes, even cooked ones.
Level 2 · Baked
Pots de crème
A dense, silky, spoonable baked chocolate custard. The egg yolks are baked until just set, so the custard is cooked and not raw. Bake gently in a water bath: too hot and it scrambles at the edges.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 200 ml double cream
- 100 ml whole milk
- 100 g dark chocolate (about 70%), chopped
- 3 Lion-marked egg yolks
- 30 g caster sugar
- 6 ramekins or small pots (about 100 ml)
- Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan). Heat the cream and milk until steaming, pour over the chocolate, wait 1 minute and stir smooth.
- Whisk the yolks and sugar until just combined, then whisk in the warm chocolate cream slowly. Strain into a jug and pour into the ramekins.
- Stand the ramekins in a roasting tin and pour hot water to halfway up. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set round the edges with a slight wobble in the middle. Cool, then chill for at least 4 hours.
Hot cream, water bath, eggs and chilling
Hot cream: cream heated to steaming is hotter than it looks and burns skin. Heat it in a small pan over a medium heat until it just starts to steam at the edges, don't let it boil over, keep the handle turned in and pour with care.Water bath: a roasting tin of hot water round the dishes keeps the custard gentle, but it is heavy and hot. Pour the hot water in after the tin is on the oven shelf, use oven gloves, and lift the dishes out with tongs or a cloth, not bare fingers.
Eggs: use eggs with the British Lion mark and wash your hands after handling raw egg. Recipes in this course never serve raw egg: yolks and whites are baked, or cooked as described. Pregnant women, babies, older people and anyone unwell should check current FSA advice before eating egg dishes, even cooked ones.
Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Level 3 · Layers
A chocolate trifle glass
A layered dessert in a glass: brownie, berries, chocolate cream and whipped cream. It puts the mousse to use and shows how contrast makes a dessert, with soft, fruity, creamy and crunchy in every spoonful.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch eggless chocolate cream (above)
- 150 g brownie or chocolate cake, in small pieces (Cooking Skills: Chocolate 1, chapter 5)
- 150 g berries, washed
- 100 ml double cream, softly whipped
- 1 tbsp grated or shaved chocolate, to finish
- 4 tall glasses
- Put a layer of brownie pieces in the bottom of each glass, then a layer of berries.
- Spoon in the chocolate cream, tapping the glass to settle it. Chill for 1 hour if you want clean layers.
- Top with whipped cream and a few berries and finish with grated chocolate. Chill for another hour before serving.
Fruit, allergens, small children and chilling
Fruit: wash fresh fruit before use. If you use frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute before using them cold, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).Allergens: chocolate contains milk (except some dark), and often soy (lecithin) and sometimes nuts or traces of them: check the label and the 'may contain' line. Cream, butter and many coatings are dairy, and cookies and biscuits contain wheat and often egg. Dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut cream can replace the dairy in many recipes, but the texture changes.
Small children: whole nuts, hard lumps and frozen pieces can be a choking risk for very young children, so keep pieces small and sit with them while they eat.
Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Experiments
Experiment
Chocolate percentage
50% and 70%.
- Make two small batches of the eggless cream, one with plain (about 50 to 60%) and one with dark (about 70%) chocolate.
Look for: The plain chocolate gives a sweeter, softer, milder cream; the dark gives a firmer, more intense one. Dark sets firmer because it has more cocoa solids.
Experiment
Folding speed
Gentle or hard.
- Fold one batch gently and stir another quickly.
Look for: The gently folded one is tall and airy; the stirred one is flat and dense. Fold, don't stir.
Experiment
Chilling time
1, 3 and 6 hours.
- Taste a small spoonful of the mousse after 1, 3 and 6 hours.
Look for: At 1 hour it is soft and loose; at 3 hours it is set; at 6 hours it is firm and rich. Plan to make it ahead.
Experiment
Serving temperature
Straight from the fridge or after standing.
- Serve the same mousse straight from the fridge and after 15 minutes at room temperature.
Look for: Straight from the fridge it is dense and muted; after standing it is silkier and tastes of chocolate. Take it out 10 to 15 minutes ahead.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eggless chocolate cream | ||||
| Meringue mousse | ||||
| Pots de crème | ||||
| Trifle glass | ||||
| Chocolate percentage | ||||
| Folding speed | ||||
| Chilling time | ||||
| Serving temperature |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Thin, runny mousse | Chocolate too warm, or over-folded | Cool the chocolate; fold gently; chill longer |
| Grainy, streaky mousse | Cream over-whipped, or chocolate seized | Whip to soft peaks only; keep water away |
| Flat mousse | Meringue deflated | Fold the meringue in last and gently |
| Scrambled pots de crème | Oven too hot or no water bath | Bake at 150°C in a water bath; strain |
| Pots de crème not set | Underbaked | Bake a few minutes longer; chill overnight |
| Mousse tastes weak | Cold from the fridge | Stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving |
Eggs, chilling and allergens
Eggs: use eggs with the British Lion mark and wash your hands after handling raw egg. Recipes in this course never serve raw egg: yolks and whites are baked, or cooked as described. Pregnant women, babies, older people and anyone unwell should check current FSA advice before eating egg dishes, even cooked ones.Chilled desserts: keep mousses, creams and pots covered in the fridge and eat them within about 2 days (general guidance). Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the flavour comes through. Don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours.
Allergens: chocolate contains milk (except some dark), and often soy (lecithin) and sometimes nuts or traces of them: check the label and the 'may contain' line. Cream, butter and many coatings are dairy, and cookies and biscuits contain wheat and often egg. Dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut cream can replace the dairy in many recipes, but the texture changes.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can cool chocolate before folding it into cream.
- I can fold a mousse without knocking the air out.
- I can make a cooked meringue with no raw egg.
- I can bake a custard in a water bath safely.
- I chill desserts for the full time.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Chocolate 2, chapter 6 is Flourless and Layered Cakes: advanced chocolate cakes.