Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse Without Eggs

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – About Calorie-Rich Desserts and Choosing the Right Chocolate

We practice “moderation in all things” at Andersen casa. While we eat healthy, un-processed, vegetable-centric food ninety percent of the time, we do relish an occasional decadent dessert. I feel like every calorie has to count when consuming so many at one sitting. With this approach in mind, I started working on this chocolate mascarpone mousse. The mousse definitely has calories!🙃

Being the dark chocolate lover that I am, I decided to go with a very dark, bittersweet chocolate (74%) that I’ve used often in cooking in recipes like this Mexican chocolate ice cream and these chocolate covered goldenberries. I always use a good quality baking chocolate that has no stabilizers (no chocolate chips), and contains cocoa butter (for better melting and consistency) rather than vegetable oil (yuck!). For more information see The Difference Between Good Chocolate and Bad Chocolate, and Are You Baking with the Right Type of Chocolate?

I do feel it is important to mention that good chocolate mousse requires patience and practice. I don’t make it often, but I have been successful. My Mexican chocolate mousse is one of my most popular holiday recipes.

📋 Ingredients Notes

• chocolate – My “go to” chocolate for desserts is Guittard 74% dark chocolate wafers.
• heavy whipping cream – Use heavy whipping cream for your mousse. Yes, it’s high in fats and calories, but the mouthfeel!
• mascarpone cheese – Mascarpone cheese is a double or triple Italian cream cheese. It is an essential ingredient in this mascarpone mousse, but you can substitute cream cheese if you must.
• sugar – I use plain old granulated sugar, and I can’t speak to whether another sugar (such as turbinado) will work.
• orange bitters – Orange bitters are optional. Feel free to omit them, or substitute with orange extract or orange liqueur.
• toppings – This luscious dessert stands alone with just a dollop of reserved whipped cream. On photo day, I topped the mascarpone mousse with a spoonful of my spiced kumquat confit – fresh kumquats simmered about 15 minutes in simple syrup with cinnamon, cloves, and fresh ginger. It’s scrumptious! It’s lovely with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkling of pomegranate arils, and a few shavings of dark chocolate. This takes only a minute or two. You might also serve it with candied oranges or a chiffonade of fresh mint or basil.

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

• Melt the chocolate – Using a double-boiler, gently melt the chocolate. Melt the chocolate and leave it to cool but not to solidify. When thoroughly melted, add the bitters if using. Allow mixture to cool slightly (but not to solidify) before tempering it with the cream and mascarpone mixture. If it cools until it’s too thick to fold in the cream, gently reheat.

• NOTE: Do not follow my example with a makeshift double-boiler. It was very difficult to work with. Your bowl needs to sit securely on top of the pan of simmering water. I was thinking “bain marie,” which I do when I make flan. This is the double-boiler I’m getting before the next time!

• Whip the cream – Add the full 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream and sugar to a mixing bowl. Continue mixing until soft but obvious peaks form. Set aside about 1/2 cup to top the mousse later.

• Add the mascarpone cheese – Add the softened mascarpone to the whipped cream. Mix on low speed until it is combined. It will be quite thick.

• Temper the chocolate – Gently fold in mascarpone cream a scoop at a time, and continue folding until mixture is smooth. I intentionally used a rough photo to show how the cold mascarpone cream affects the chocolate initially.

• Finish the mousse – When the chocolate mascarpone cream is smooth, fold it into the bowl with the remainder of the mascarpone cream. Be gentle as you work it.
• Serve – Either serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve. As it chills, it will get more firm (almost like ice cream). If you want it softer, bring it to room temperature. The process of tempering the chocolate will keep it firm even as it comes to room temperature.

❓ FAQ

Given the fact that we rarely eat sweets, I love to “pull out all the stops” when I do make a holiday dessert. This chocolate mascarpone mousse definitely qualifies, and if I can get kumquats, the confit is a perfect topping! I hope you’ll consider this decadent chocolate mousse, and if you do, please leave any questions in the comment box below.