Mascarpone Chocolate Mousse (No Eggs or Gelatin)

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After making a no-bake cheesecake with mascarpone and strawberry mascarpone pie, I started dreaming up ways to pair mascarpone with chocolate. This recipe for mascarpone chocolate mousse is especially handy if you want to make mousse but don’t want to deal with raw eggs or gelatin. While traditional chocolate mousse may contain egg white or yolks, this one does not but recreates mousse’s soft texture. Using only four ingredients, these chocolate treats come together in less than an hour. Whether you’re planning a romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day or satisfying your sweet tooth on a regular weeknight, this decadent dessert is a chocolate lover’s dream.

Ingredients for this Easy Chocolate Mousse

ingredients for chocolate mascarpone mousse

With just four ingredients, the list of items you need to make this chocolate mousse recipe is short and easy to find.

Mascarpone cream cheese– This Italian cream cheese is high-fat, with a smooth, creamy texture. Although it’s somewhat similar to American cream cheese, it’s noticeably softer and less tangy. While it’s a key ingredient in this sweet recipe, mascarpone can play a role in savory dishes, too. It’s perhaps best known for being the creamy indulgence you find in classic tiramisu recipes.
Dark chocolate – Because it’s your main ingredient, buy a high-quality bar of baking chocolate or bittersweet chocolate. You’ll find it in the baking aisle of your grocery store. I often use Ghirardelli or Baker’s Chocolate. Look for a bar that has about 60% cacao to maintain a rich, deep chocolate flavor.
Heavy whipping cream – Combining this cream with the chocolate and mascarpone results in super creamy chocolate desserts.
Pinch of salt – Among other roles, salt can help reduce the perception of bitterness. We add it here to counterbalance some of the inherent bitterness of chocolate and also bring out its natural sweetness.

Tip for Working with Mascarpone

Mascarpone has a tendency to split when mixed with other ingredients that are different temperature. If your mascarpone is very cold and heavy cream is room temperature, or vice versa, your mixture could split.

I opted to use room temperature mascarpone and heavy cream here. They combined well.

I did test this recipe with cold mascarpone and cold heavy whipping cream. It worked fine. However, cold ingredients made the mascarpone slightly stiff and harder to scoop into my serving containers.

Easy Steps for Homemade Mousse

Bring mascarpone from refrigerator and set onto counter so it can warm to room temperature.

Make a double boiler over a stove top burner using a pot filled with a few cups of water and a heatproof bowl that can sit within the pot. Add chopped dark chocolate and heavy whipping cream to the small bowl in your pot. Once water is gently boiling in the pot, whisk the chocolate and heavy cream every minute or so until it’s smooth and all pieces of chocolate have melted into the mixture, 3-4 minutes.

homemade double boiler on a burner on the stove

melted chocolate inside a homemade double boiler on a burner on the stove

Turn off burner and carefully remove bowl from pot – it will be hot.

Cover bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Using an electric mixer and bowl or a stand mixer’s bowl and whisk attachment, place room temperature mascarpone cheese and cooled melted chocolate into a bowl.

process shot for making mascarpone mousse, mascarpone in a mixing bowl

process shot for making mascarpone mousse, mascarpone and melted chocolate in a mixing bowl

Note that the melted chocolate mixture should be close to room temperature now. You want it and the mascarpone to be similar in temperature so they combine without the mascarpone curdling.

Add salt and mix on low speed for a minute. If you like a sweeter chocolate, add a few drops of vanilla extract to your bowl here. I left that out so that the dark chocolate flavor could come through.

Scrape down the mixing bowl to ensure all ingredients are properly mixing together. Whip again for 30 seconds and then swipe your spatula around your bowl a few times to fully incorporate everything.

end result of whipping melted chocolate and mascarpone together

Divide mascarpone into separate small cups, jars, glasses – whatever you plan to use for serving them.

If desired, top mousse cups with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, fresh berries, or a dusting of espresso powder! The possibilities and ways you can dress this up or endless.

tall glasses with homemade chocolate mascarpone mousse in them

overhead image of chocolate mascarpone mousse in small glasses, topped with whipped cream and berries

Troubleshooting and FAQ for this Mascarpone Mousse Recipe

How do you make mascarpone chocolate mousse without lumps?

Lumps may result from melting your chocolate too quickly. Do this process slowly and carefully over a double boiler without raising the heat suddenly. You can use the microwave to warm the chocolate in short bursts, but it’s easier to overheat or burn it this way.

You also can’t have good chocolate mousse without using quality chocolate. Make sure you’re buying chocolate that has high cocoa and fat content. This results in lots of flavor and the best creamy texture.

Lastly, work with ingredients that are close to the same temperature. Room temperature ingredients combine more easily than cold ones do.

Can you use chocolate chips in this recipe?

While you can melt chocolate chips, use a chopped bar of chocolate instead. That will melt much more easily. Chips container emulsifiers that help them retain their shape, so melting them will be a longer process.

What causes mousse to become grainy?

Mascarpone can become grainy or split when mixed with other ingredients that are different temperatures.

Over-whipping these two ingredients can also cause your mousse to become grainy. Once you’ve formed soft peaks, stop whipping.

How to Store and Serve Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

Because this dessert is dairy-based, keep it in your refrigerator until serving time for best results.

And while it will still taste good if frozen, I personally prefer its soft texture when chilled in the refrigerator.

For serving, it tastes best and softer when it’s been out of the refrigerator for 15 or so minutes before eating it.

Use a Scale to Bake Like a Pro

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking. Weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency. You may use a set of measuring cups, but the problem is that yours and mine could be quite different. That can result in noticeable discrepancies in the end product between what each of us is baking.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

More Dessert Recipes

If you’re looking for more recipes like this creamy chocolate mousse, you’ve got to try my mango mousse cake. It also doesn’t require any egg whites, yolk, or gelatin.

Still craving a chocolate treat? Then I bet you’ll love these big batch chocolate chip cookies. Or check out this small batch chocolate chip muffin recipe for your next weekend brunch.