The 3 Biggest Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Chocolate Mousse

Apart from its sweet taste and nearly universal appeal, one of the most impressive things about chocolate is its versatility. From rich and fluffy cakes to warm ganache to soft and light mousse, chocolate finds a way to work in just about anything and appeal to all of the senses in the process. Chocolate mousse has a rich history as a top-tier dessert, but making mousse with a perfect texture can be tricky without some patience and knowledge of the right steps. 

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That's true even for those who work with chocolate every day. Victoria Johnson — head chocolatier at Temper Chocolates inside Denver Central Market in Colorado — says that getting peak texture in chocolate mousse takes three important steps: perfectly whipping the cream, adding ingredients in the correct order and pace, and not overmixing the finished product. These three points can make a huge difference in getting a light, chocolatey mousse instead of one that's grainy and deflated.

Be careful how you whip

Making whipped cream (the correct way) adds sweetness and an airy texture to many dishes. But in chocolate mousse, it's important to get the whipping exactly right. In a dessert famed for its fluffy texture, heavy cream is a key ingredient because its high fat content allows it to take on an airy texture when it's whipped. "You want to make sure your cream isn't overwhipped," Johnson says. "Overwhipping can make your mousse grainy or cause it to break."

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When whipping cream, it's important to look for medium peaks, which are usually achieved after just a few minutes. This can easily be done by lifting up the beaters on an electric mixer to check for cream that's slightly curving over. If the beaters begin to leave a trail in the cream, it's time to slow down. Whipping beyond the point of medium peaks (a point which may be as quick as a few seconds) can eventually cause the cream to clump up or separate.

Take your time adding ingredients

The bane of so many tricky recipes are the intricate steps and careful timing they take to make. One of the reasons chocolate mousse can be so difficult to make is that, despite a relatively short list of ingredients, it can be hard to know the right time to add the ingredients together. "Avoid adding your ingredients too quickly, as this can cook the egg yolks, resulting in an unpleasant texture and sometimes taste," Johnson says.

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Many of the ingredients in mousse are temperature-sensitive, so cooks have to work deliberately to add everything in the right order. Egg yolks are one of several ingredients — along with egg whites and whipped cream — that are aerators, which add air pockets to give mousse its signature texture. Since yolks are the most stable aerator, those are added first, followed by whipped cream, and then egg whites. The aerators should be added one after the other and folded in before being added to the mousse base to chill — using chocolate as a base is a bonus because it doesn't require extra thickeners and sets in the fridge.

Avoid overmixing your mousse

With any recipe, it can be tempting to mix and mix and mix again. But with mousse, less is always more. "Be careful not to overmix your mousse, as overmixing can deflate it, preventing the light and fluffy texture you're aiming for," Johnson says. There are quite a few ingredients to mix for the perfect mousse, but having patience will ultimately result in the light, fluffy treat that you're after.

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When it comes to combining mousse ingredients, the mixing isn't actually mixing in the traditional sense. Instead, folding is recommended, where a spatula can be used to mix without stirring. If chocolate is used as the base, then aerators are folded in one at a time starting with the most stable (egg yolks).

Time is of the essence, since overmixing will deflate the aerators and rob the mousse of its lightness. To make things easier, cooks are advised to add each aerator in parts rather than all at once. Adding a small portion of an aerator to start allows for slightly more vigorous mixing to get the ingredients incorporated. Mousse may not be the easiest dessert to make but, with some patience and proper mixing, it's all worth it once you take the first bite.

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