We’ve all been there. You have to make dinner AND dessert for a group of people. Where can you begin? When it comes to dessert, this easy chocolate mousse recipe will have you covered. I prepared it the other day for a family dinner and it was rapidly devoured. Even the pickiest of kids requested more. If you need a culinary win for your next family gathering, then look no further. This recipe will have your back!
What I Loved
There was so much to love about this recipe. When I made it originally, I knew I was going to be cooking a big dinner. That in and of itself can be incredibly difficult. I had to make sure my timing was perfect. Dessert was one more timing variable that I needed to worry about.
Luckily for me, I was able to make this easy chocolate mousse recipe in advance. This meant that there was one less thing I needed to worry about the next day. The chocolate mousse was crazy easy to whip up. However, it was still a very rich and luxurious result. The chocolate mousse was creamy and chocolatey with just enough sugar to bring it all together. It had a smooth consistency and left a smile on everyone’s face.
Original Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
- 1/2 envelope Knox sparkling gelatin
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoonful vanilla
Soak gelatin in cold water five minutes. Melt chocolate in boiling water and add soaked gelatin: then add sugar and vanilla. Cool and add cream, beaten stiff. Fill a chilled mold with mixture, having mixture overflow mold, adjust cover, pack in rock salt and finely crushed ice, using equal parts, ad let stand four hours.
Updated Recipe
Some of the recipes I do from the 1800s can require a few updates to make them easily prepared in today’s world. However, I didn’t need to do any updates to this easy chocolate mousse recipe. Even though the recipe is from 1915, it aged very well and didn’t give me any major difficulties. I mixed the ingredients together as directed and then refrigerated overnight. Make sure you use unsweetened chocolate baking chocolate. Using anything else will cause the chocolate mousse to be too sweet.
However, there is no need to pack it in rock salt and ice. The standard refrigeration we have today should be just fine. Finally, be sure to let this chocolate mousse set up for 4 hours. That will allow it to form that light and airy mousse texture we all love and enjoy. Simple as that!
What I Learned
With the raspberry mousse I made last week, I learned that mousse is actually an incredibly simple, yet impressive dessert. I used to think it took a lot of time and fancy ingredients to make. When I cook, I do so because I love to eat amazing food. I don’t always have the best technique or methods to my madness. If it tastes good, then I’m game. This easy chocolate mousse recipe really hit the spot. It allowed me to make something fancy and elevated that the family loved.
I knew that I was going to be cooking for a lot of picky kids, and I was nervous about how they would handle it. We had to put the remaining chocolate mousse away because they kept going back for more and more. We were afraid they’d make themselves sick. Everyone loved the recipe and raved about it for the rest of the day.
Recipe Reference For This Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Dainty Desserts for Dainty People, 1915, Knox Gelatin Company
If you want to learn more about gelatin and different desserts and techniques, Knox has some great information on their website.