This two ingredient, easy chocolate mousse can be whipped up in a matter of minutes, and it’s rich, smooth creaminess has made it a family favorite.
I have been making the same chocolate mousse recipe for years.
I don’t even remember how I came up with it. Maybe it was from eating some of my “batter” in my experiments in trying to make up a chocolate soufflé recipe; Maybe not. I think I actually sort of made it up when I was on a diet, years back. I was able to eat egg whites in the morning, but I don’t particularly like egg whites, so I would make them into merengues. Little by little, I added different flavorings to them. I added cocoa powder and artificial sweeteners to make a sort of chocolate mousse that had to be eaten immediately or it would separate.
Eventually, I ditched that lifestyle. I ditched artificial sweeteners and added the yolks back into my eggs. I added in some real, dark chocolate into the mix, to help stabilize the mousse and keep it from separating, and finally got a really great dessert that my husband always begs me to make.
I make this mousse or flan whenever I want to use up a bunch of my hens’ eggs.
Watch how easy it is to make this chocolate mousse
Gluten Free and Paleo Chocolate Mousse
I tagged this recipe as gluten free, dairy free, and paleo, but you should note that this depends on the chocolate that you use in the recipe (and how strict you are with your definition of “paleo,” of course). While I call this a 2-ingredient chocolate mousse, keep in mind that chocolate bars include a variety of ingredients themselves.
I usually choose a high-quality dark chocolate bar that is dairy free and gluten free when making this chocolate mousse. I don’t like desserts that are overly sweet, so I’m happy with the result of making this mousse with dark chocolate without adding any additional sweeteners.
If you have more of a sweet tooth and don’t follow any special diets, you can most certainly choose a milk chocolate bar instead. The resulting sweetness of the dessert will be affected by the sweetness of the chocolate bar you use.
Two Ingredient, Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Instructions
- Separate the eggs.
- Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.
- Meanwhile, in another bowl, melt the chocolate, either over a pot of boiling water or in the microwave, if you prefer.
- As soon as it is melted, pour the egg yolks into the chocolate, and immediately stir them into it.
- Don’t let the yolks sit on the hot chocolate without mixing, or they may begin to cook and not smoothly incorporate into it.
- Most people will say to gently fold the chocolate into the whites so that they don’t fall. That is the correct way of doing things, of course, but I have found that sometimes the chocolate and egg yolk mixture gets too stiff to incorporate it easily. I’ve found that this mousse turns out well when I use my electric beater to mix it all together, when needed. To prevent the whites from falling too much, do your best to mix as gently and for as little time as possible.
- As soon as the ingredients are well combined, pour the chocolate mousse into cups or small bowls. Cover the bowls, and place them in the refrigerator. The consistency improves as the mousse chills, so it’s best to make it at least a couple of hours before serving.
Notes
- You can add a little more cocoa powder if you want a stronger chocolate flavor. You can also add coffee powder or alcohol for different flavors. To make it sweeter you can add sugar or honey. The sweetness also depends on the chocolate that you use, so you can experiment with it to find the best combination for you. I normally make it just as written above: simple yet elegant.
- Since part of the eggs stay raw, I use my freshest eggs, just in case. That said, I’ve made this many times with supermarket eggs, before I had hens myself, and I’ve never had a problem. While the risk of contracting salmonella from eating raw eggs is very small, it is a risk that you should keep in mind. If you are concerned, it has been brought to my attention that may areas have pasteurized eggs available for use in these sorts of recipes. (I’ve never seen them here in Spain.)
Different, Two-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse Recipes
Before posting my chocolate mousse recipe, I did a quick search to see if anybody else was making something similar. Even though I didn’t follow a recipe that I’d seen elsewhere, I doubted that I was the only one who makes this type of chocolate mousse.
When searching for “two ingredient chocolate mousse,” though, I found something unexpected: people weren’t using eggs and chocolate, but rather were using chocolate and water!
I had heard about whipping up chocolate and water before.
A friend of mine makes a chocolate spread that she uses to cover her cakes much in the same way that I make a chocolate ganache. When she told me how she made her chocolate spread, though, I was shocked. They always tell you not to let water touch chocolate, but she was mixing them together!
People were claiming that the chocolate and water “mousse” was the easiest, best tasting chocolate mousse ever! I had my doubts, but I decided to give it a chance.
So, here is how it works:
Two Ingredient, Easy Chocolate Mousse – Version 2
Ingredients:
- 250g dark chocolate
- 1 cup water
Preparation:
1. Melt the chocolate in a large bowl with the water. Gently mix the chocolate and water together.
2. Place the bowl over another bowl filled with ice and water, and whisk the water and chocolate together. I tried using my electric mixer, as I do with my other recipe, and only managed to make a huge mess. So, I switched back to my egg beater.
3. As it cools, it begins to solidify a bit. Whisk lightly. You don’t want to whisk it too much or it will supposedly get grainy. I wanted to whisk mine more, though, because it didn’t seem to be getting the nice, fluffy air bubbles that I’m used to seeing in my other mousse. I refrained, though.
4. Once it solidified a bit more, I spooned it into containers, covered them, and put them into the fridge, just like I do with my usual mousse.
Which two-ingredient chocolate mousse was the best chocolate mousse?
Neither my husband nor I (nor my friend who makes it for cakes) considered this “mousse” to be very mousse-like. It doesn’t have the light, fluffy texture that one would expect in a mousse recipe.
I personally didn’t like the second version chocolate mousse at all! There was no complexity of flavors. It basically just tastes exactly like whatever chocolate you used, slightly watered down.
My husband said it wasn’t bad; it just tastes like a smooth chocolate dessert. He then tried my usual mousse again, and once he tried it, there was no going back. He wanted nothing to do with the water and chocolate version.
My two year old tried the second mousse and spit it out!
“Ese no!! Mommy, ese no es!!” (Not that one mommy!)
So, at our house, my favorite two-ingredient chocolate mousse made with eggs and chocolate was the universal winner!
I think the water “mousse” is OK, but think it is best suited for a cake filling or covering, and not as a stand-alone “mousse.” It is just too rich, and not fluffy enough.
Plus, making the first mousse helps me use up my extra eggs, gives us a little more protein, and uses less chocolate for the resulting amount of mousse. That means that our favorite chocolate mousse recipe is also a lot more inexpensive to make.
We finished our favorite chocolate mousse right away, and the other sat in the fridge untouched for weeks afterward until I sadly threw it out. I doubt I would ever make it again because I also prefer chocolate ganache for covering cakes.
So, I’m curious to hear comments from anybody who is in love with the two-ingredient, water and chocolate mousse floating around the internet.
Anybody?
Now I’m tempted to try making a chocolate mousse with only whipped cream and chocolate. Hmmm, I wonder if it would work.
What’s your favorite way to make chocolate mousse?
Of
have you tried the aqufaba version? from canned chickpeas/any beans? a bit of trial and error but it works. not magic but Gods Majesticness
Tracy Ariza, DDS
No. I did consider it years ago, but I don’t tolerate legumes much and that just seemed a bit “weird” to me- not that that has ever stopped me before! hahaha 😉
Graham
i love that you take credit for creating this recipe when it’s a well known mousse recipe published in Mrs Beetons cookbook.
nonetheless, a great recipe but you probably should include chilling time there too
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Graham,
I’m not familiar with Mrs. Beeton or her cookbook, but I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Most traditional recipes will have a lot of overlap. Each cook may find how to make something we like in different ways. I’m not surprised that there is a very similar recipe published elsewhere with this sort of recipe, but I can assure you that I didn’t copy that book as I’ve never seen it.
Karen
I learned to make this no cream mousse as a teenager. I beat the egg whites with a tablespoon of sugar to get stiff peaks, melted the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second intervals, whisked in the egg yolks, and then folded in the egg whites. I’m going to use it in a chocolate pavlova instead of cream. With raspberries.
Hafsa
Your mousse version looks pretty good but I’m not to keen on it as it requires raw eggs. I like the second version better
Mascha
I just made this! Only with 3 ingredients..
had the chocolate and the eggs already. But had also two beets leftover from my ‘organic bag’. And I didn’t know what to do with those.
Had made 3-ingredient fudge with pure chocolate, beets and maple syrop before but this time I really wanted to try chocolate mousse! So I just added the beets with the egg yolk and follow the rest of the recipe.
… I love this!!! Extra points on veggies AND proteine! And it tastes SOOO YUMMIE!
Thanks Tracy for your wonderfull website <3
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Interesting addition!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Mascha!
Caroline
This is the BEST chocolate mousse recipe in the world! And so easy! Beating the egg whites is very therapeutic. The end result is airy, chocolatey goodness! It is absolutely amazing. Other ones with cream, gelatine and sugar never end up as mousse like and airy as this one. They end up more like chocolate pudding. But not this one! THANK YOU SO MUCH Tracy for an amazing chocolate mousse recipe!!! Reader, stop reading this review and go make that mousse right now. It is pure heaven. Making it this weekend for guests. I hope there will be some leftover for me before the guests eat it all!! Thanks Tracy! Have a great summer.
Ps: Can this mousse be baked? Thank you!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Aww, Thanks, Caroline!
I’m so happy you liked it. It’s definitely my husband’s favorite dessert too.
As for baking it, I’ve never tried it, but it’s actually a great idea. I imagine it would turn souffle-like.
If you give it a shot, I’d love to hear how it goes. I may try in the winter. (Now, in summer, we prefer colder treats! Ha!)
Merry Dindia
My mom started making the egg version in the 50’s. She would line a big bowl with slices of angel food cake then she would pour in the eggy chocolate mousse. After about 4-5 hours in the fridge she would turn it out onto a serving plate. It was her igloo cake. Some of my fondest memories were helping mom make this cake.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Awww- I love having memories like that!
So sweet! (No pun intended.) 🙂
Mrs m Mountford
Thank you so much for this mousse it’s so easy and tastes yummy and low in calories I lost your ingredients but glad I found it again I have just made it for my daughter in law and her mum’s birthday I am from UK it’s the best so far I will always make this one cheers ? keep safe every one in 2021 God bless
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
ashok
My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Aww, thanks, Ashok!
I’m about to try adding some coffee to the chocolate mixture this week per a tip from a reader. I’ll update the post to let you know how it goes if I like it!