Cheater’s Chocolate Mousse (+ Easy Chocolate Garnishes)

This creamy, decadent chocolate mousse is a snap to make! Its chocolaty, luscious, silky smooth texture is divine, but not overly sweet! Great for Valentine’s Day or any day!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Total Time 27

Servings

Author Voula

Ingredients

For the mousse

¾ cup (200 ml / 6 fl oz) heavy cream
¼ cup (25 g / 0.9 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (60g / 2.1 oz) powdered sugar
100 g (3.5 oz) cream cheese
2 chocolate cookies, crushed
a pastry bag & tip (optional)

For the Two-toned Chocolate Hearts

125 g / 4.4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
125 g / 4.4 oz white chocolate, chopped

For the Chocolate Shards/Cutouts

50g / 2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
50g / 2 oz white chocolate, chopped

Instructions

Make the Garnishes

For the Two-toned Chocolate Hearts
Place the chopped white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, preferably glass, and place it over a pot of just simmering water. Make sure the bowl DOES NOT TOUCH the water or it may burn the chocolate! Pour into silicone molds halfway, and tap gently to even out the mixture, and let it cool until chocolate is set. Melt the semisweet chocolate the same way and pour on top of the white chocolate. Tap gently and allow it to cool completely. Gently remove the hearts from the mold. Refrigerate until you’re ready to garnish.
For the Chocolate Shards/Cutouts
Melt the bittersweet chocolate as mentioned above and pour it on a large sheet of parchment paper. Evenly spread it out using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Let it cool until chocolate is set. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle it over the bittersweet chocolate. When it cools completely and has set, cut out chocolate hearts using a heart-shaped cookie cutter or break it into shards.
Refrigerate until you’re ready to garnish.

Make the mousse

Using an electric hand mixer, whip together the heavy cream, unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
Add the cream cheese and beat until thoroughly combined.
Transfer to a pastry bag, fitted with a Wilton 2D tip, and pipe the mousse into serving glasses.
Top with crushed chocolate cookies and chocolate garnishes.
Enjoy!

Notes

Melting the chocolate: By melting the chocolate over barely simmering water, you prevent the chocolate from burning, which tastes awful. This is another reason why I usually don’t melt chocolate in the microwave, either. It’s best to use a heat-proof glass bowl that fits nicely over a pot of simmering water so that you can see how the chocolate changes as it melts. This is really a fool-proof way of melting chocolate because you have better control over the heat. It’s worth the extra time and effort!

Baking Measurements: I have used weight measurements for all the recipes on this website. Even though I have also included American volume measurements for convenience, I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to weigh all ingredients for the most accurate measurements. Digital kitchen scales are more precise than cups, which is so important in baking, and they give the most accurate, consistent results. Happy baking!

Recipe adapted from https://entertainingwithbeth.com/no-bake-chocolate-mousse/