Simple yet decadent, these mousse cups are easy to make yet quick to impress.

Ingredients

Mousse

  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (Baker’s – see Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks)
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp espresso powder (optional but highly recommended)
  • ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold

Ganache Glaze

  • 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate (Baker’s – see Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks)
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup (optional: use 2 Tbsp of Orange Syrup and 2 Tbsp of corn syrup)
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Tools & Timing

  • Cute serving jars – depending on the size of your jars, this recipe will yield a different number of cups. I encourage you to play around with your fancy glasses and jars (I’ve also served these in jam jars which was nice because that made the dessert portable).
  • Pot and bowl that fits inside to make double-boiler (I use one with handles, but I’ve also set a glass bowl on a smaller pot and it worked well)
  • Heatproof whisk
  • Cutting board
  • Butcher knife (for cutting chocolate)
  • Wax paper and plastic wrap
  • Total time: about 80-95 minutes (depending on if you add the raspberry coulis)

Background

This recipe is combination of pieces of other recipes: the mousse is originally a part of a mousse cake from Tartelette Blog. I loved the idea of having a mousse that didn’t included egg whites, so when I read this recipe, I knew I need to try it. This mousse has a light, fluffy texture without the work of whipping egg whites…Hooray!

The ganache comes from a recipe called “American Beauty Cake” from the Brewer & the Baker The original cake is SO YUMMY (I’d recommend trying it); the ganache has a fudgier component because it’s a bit more complex than a simple ganache recipe. After first making this cake, I knew I’d use the ganache component for other recipes!

Add these two together, and voila! You get a simple yet rich recipe for mousse complemented with a  sinful, fudgy ganache…and my Simply Sinful Rich Chocolate Mousse Cups were born.

Step by Step Mousse Recipe

  1. Separate egg yolk and set aside (this allows the yolk to come to room temperature).
  2. Fill the bottom of a pot with about an inch of water.
  3. Set bowl into pot – the water should not touch the bottom (check by lifting the bowl out to see if the bottom is wet – if it is, dump out a little water and try again)
  4. Remove the bowl and turn heat to medium-high to bring water to a boil.
  5. As the water is heating, prep and measure the chocolate, milk, espresso powder, and butter into the bowl.
  6. As soon as water boils, turn the heat down to medium and set bowl into pot. Whisking constantly, melt ingredients together.
  7. As soon as the ingredients are blended smoothly, remove the bowl and set on cooling rack. *Allow to cool 15-20 minutes.
  8. After the mixture has been cooled for at least 15 minutes, start whipping the cream. Place the cold cream into a separate bowl and whip on medium-high speed until medium peaks form (this means that the whipped cream is starting to take shape…but looks like you put whipped cream on a piece of pie then left it for 5 minutes so it’s slightly melted!)
  9. Whisk the egg yolk into your chocolate mixture.
  10. Scoop out 1/3 of your whipped cream and fold into chocolate mixture.
  11. Once folded, add the chocolate into the remaining whipped cream and fold until combined.
  12. Fill glass container of your choice – think about how much mousse you put in (if you’re adding other layers, leave room!)
  13. Place in refrigerator
Here, you can see I used glass jam jars…so I used a lot more mousse than the beer taster glasses above…and thus the mousse to ganache ratio was different. This option is fun because then the dessert is portable!

Step by Step Ganache Glaze

  1. Chop the chocolate into chunks (think chocolate chip sized); this will help them melt quickly so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
  2. Measure corn syrup and cream into a small sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
  3. When the mixture starts to boil, turn off heat and add vanilla and chopped chocolate.
  4. Whisk until smooth and then let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove cups from refrigerator and spoon ganache on top (I like to put a layer of Raspberry Coulis in between the mousse and the glaze – it such a pretty contrast and SO YUMMY). Return to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  

Serve and Enjoy

Optional: Garnish with a fresh raspberry and Raspberry Coulis.

Other Options

If you’d like to get fancy, check out my Dark Chocolate Mousse Domes!Or for a fruity rendition, try my Simply Sinful Chocolate Raspberry Mousse.

Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks

The first ingredient in Baker’s chocolate bars is semi-sweet chocolate while most semisweet chocolate chips list a form of sugar as their first ingredient…so, choosing Baker’s when creating a mousse results in a richer, less sugary dessert!