Chocolate mousse without heavy cream

Chocolate mousse without heavy cream is one of the most delicious desserts. It's homemade, yet very easy to prepare. It’s rich and creamy, but still fluffy. So if you're looking for a special, flavorful sweet dessert for your next dinner party or Holiday dinner. This recipe is going to be a great choice.

Who doesn't love dark chocolate mousse? A great dessert with a WOW factor. Full of extra flavor because of the nutty bite of the hazelnuts and the warm touch from the brandy.

When I served this chocolate hazelnut mousse, it was gone in a wink. Not a smear was found in the bowls. Luckily I had made this picture before I called everyone 😉

The history of chocolate mousse

The first chocolate mousse is described around 1750 by Menon, a French culinary writer. He described it as a foam of chocolate. But in later centuries you can also find references to chocolate mousse. For example with Louis XVI where it was served at the French court. And today it is still a popular dessert in France.

• Hazelnuts. Hazelnuts and chocolate are a great combination. Think about Nutella paste! Use hazelnuts without skin for the best results (or remove the skin).

• Dark chocolate. Because the mousse got an intense chocolate flavor, use the best chocolate you can get. Use chocolate with a cocoa percentage of 70 % or higher. I personally like Valrhona chocolate which gives a great result.

• Sugar. Gives sweetness to the mousse. But not too much. If you do love dark chocolate a lot, as some people do, you can half the amount of sugar (or even omit it.)

• Bourbon. Chocolate and bourbon (or whiskey) are a terrific food combo. You’ll love this combination.

A recipe that can be printed can be found at the bottom of this blog in the recipe card.

Step 1 roasting your hazelnuts.

1. Chop the hazelnuts coarsely and put them on a baking plate that’s lined with parchment paper. Put that into a preheated oven of 400 °F (200 °C) for 5 minutes.
2. Take it out of the oven. Let it cool down slightly and grind the hazelnuts in a blender.

Step 2: beat the egg whites.

1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Make sure there is no trace of egg yolk in the egg whites bowl. Otherwise, you can’t stiffen them. Take a fat-free clean bowl (and mixer hooks) and add your egg whites to the bowl.
2. Take your mixer and mix at high speed until your egg whites become airy. Then add the sugar and mix further at high speed until the egg whites are just stiff. You can check that by taking the hooks out of the beaten egg whites. If the peek that's formed remains upright, you've mixed enough (don't mix anymore because you will "overmix" the egg whites and your mousse will become liquid instead of airy).

Step 3 Melt the chocolate carefully.

1. Take a pan with about 1 inch (2 cm) of boiling water and hang a heatproof bowl above the water. Add the chocolate cubes and the butter. Warm until the chocolate and butter melts.
2. Mix it well with a spatula and let it cool down for 15 minutes at room temperature. Then add the egg yolks, hazelnut crunch, and Bourbon and mix well.

Step 4: Prepare the dark chocolate mousse.

1. Take about ⅓ of the egg whites and swirl them gently through the chocolate mix. When combined add the remaining egg whites and carefully swirl them through the chocolate.
2. Make sure you do everything very gently as you want to keep as much air in the mousse as possible.

Step 5 Put the dark chocolate mousse into the glasses or bowls. Spoon the dark chocolate mousse into the glasses and put them into the refrigerator. Let them stiffen for at least 2 hours.

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Chocolate mousse without heavy cream

Author: Andréa

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

European Cuisine

5 of 22 votes

For 4 persons

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Chocolate mousse without heavy cream is one of the most delicious desserts. It's homemade, yet very easy to prepare. It’s rich and creamy, but still fluffy. So if you're looking for a special, flavorful sweet dessert for your next dinner party or Holiday dinner. This recipe is going to be a great choice.

Equipment

• Baking tray
• Hand Mixer
• Au bain Marie pot
• Food processor with knife

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ½ cup hazelnuts
• 15 oz. Milk Chocolate dark, minimum 70 % cacao
• 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
• ½ cup sugar
• 6 eggs size L
• 4 tablespoons brandy

US CustomaryMetric

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Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic

Instructions

Preparation

• Break the egg and separate the egg white and the yolk into separate bowls.
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F / 200 °C.
• Toast the hazelnuts for a short time, about 5 minutes, or until they smell nice.
• Grind the hazelnuts in a kitchen machine with a knife or blender until finely chopped.
• Get your au bain-marie pan ready or fill a pan with a little water and place a heatproof bowl in the pan which doesn't touch the water. Bring the water in the pan to a boil.
• Chop the chocolate coarsely.

Dark chocolate hazelnut mousse with brandy

• Beat the egg whites until it becomes airy, then add the sugar. Mix until the egg whites are stiff (see tips).
• Put the chocolate and butter in the heatproof bowl.
• When the chocolate is melted, stir the egg yolks, hazelnuts, and bourbon through.
• Then add about ⅓ of the egg whites and fold the egg whites through the chocolate. That way the chocolate will get used to the airy egg whites.
• With a spatula carefully fold the rest of the egg whites through the chocolate.
• Put the mousse in bowls or glasses.
• Let the mousse stiffen for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Notes

1 - Brandy: The brandy gives a wonderful flavor accent to this dark chocolate mousse with hazelnuts. But if children or pregnant women are joining for dessert don't add the liqueur. You can easily leave it behind. Add the bourbon when the chocolate mixture cooled down a bit, otherwise, you can get lumps.

2 - Melting chocolate: The technique where you melt the chocolate in a bowl that hangs above hot water is called au bain-marie. It is a very good method to heat something gradually or melt chocolate. You can also use an au bain-marie pan.

3 - Fat-free materials: Make sure that the bowl in which the egg whites are stiffened and the hooks of the electric mixer are fat-free. Therefore wash it with hot water and detergent before use and dry-clean it. If your bowl isn't fat-free the egg whites won't stiffen.

4 - Separate eggs: egg yolks and egg whites are best separated when the eggs are cold (refrigerator temperature). But if you want to stiffen your egg whites, room temperature is better. Start this recipe by separating the eggs (which are refrigerator temperature), and let the bowl with the egg whites stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before beating them.

5 - Whisking egg whites: Mix the egg whites so they will become stiff. They're done when you turn off your mixer and take the hooks out of the egg whites. The peek that is formed must remain upright. Then stop mixing. When you mix further the egg whites are mixed too much and the chocolate will liquify your egg whites when mixed.

6 - Storage: 

Refrigerator: You can store this dessert covered for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Freezer:You can store this dark chocolate mousse covered in the freezer for up to a month. Defrost the mousse the night before in the refrigerator. Make sure to eat your mousse within 24 hours. TIP: When it's hot outside, eat the mousse still (a bit) frozen. That way you've made your own chocolate mousse ice cream.

7 - Nutrition: The nutrition facts are for one dessert.

Indication Nutritional Value (Per Person / Portion):

Calories: 909kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 15gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 261mgSodium: 161mgFiber: 7gSugar: 81gVitamin A: 534IUVitamin C: 1mgIron: 5mg

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