This 3 ingredient chocolate mousse is rich, silky, and incredibly easy to make—perfect for a quick dessert fix or a fancy dinner finale. Our decadent mousse recipe can be served in elegant cups, layered into parfaits, or used as a luscious topping for cakes, brownies, or fruit cobblers. Ready in just 10 minutes, it’s the ultimate last-minute dessert.
This simple chocolate mousse recipe is all about letting quality ingredients shine. With just chocolate, cream, and a touch of sweetness, you’ll get a velvety mousse that feels indulgent but takes barely any effort. No eggs, no complicated steps—just melt, whip, and chill! You can also make this fun and easy sweet treat recipe with kids or whenever you have a sudden craving for something sweet.
Serve the mousse in individual chocolate mousse cups for an elegant dessert presentation. Add whipped cream, berries, chocolate shavings, or even a sprinkle of sea salt to elevate the presentation. These mousse cups are not only delicious, they’re also versatile—perfect for dinner parties, romantic date nights, or even holidays when oven space is limited!
Content Covered Here
Why We Love These Chocolate Mousse Cups
- It only takes 10 minutes to prepare.
It doesn’t get much quicker than that! And as long as it’s refrigerated, you could even make it a couple of days in advance. This quick chocolate dessert is ideal for saving time. - It only requires 3 ingredients.
Using so few ingredients leaves plenty of room for customization — or keeps things sweet and simple! - It’s a delicious alternative to whipped cream!
Occasionally you want something denser and richer than regular whipped cream. You could technically call this variant a stabilized chocolate whipped cream, perfect for topping off our double chocolate pudding or seasonal pumpkin pie!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Heavy whipping cream: A full-fat cream is ideal for a firm, stable result. Half and half will still work, and full-fat milk will lead to a runnier — but still stable — result. However, avoid 2%, skim, or alternative milk options.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder: This is a unique cocoa powder made with specially prepared cocoa beans for a rich flavor, dark color, and fine texture with minimal clumping. Any other cocoa powder is suitable, too, as long as it’s unsweetened.
- Powdered sugar: Did you know this ingredient actually contains cornstarch? This is what makes our 3 ingredient chocolate mousse similar to a homemade stabilized whipped cream! Do not substitute this with granule or liquid sweeteners! The consistency will be way off.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Dutch-process cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans washed in an alkaline potassium carbonate solution. This results in cocoa powder with a darker color, less clumping, and a richer chocolate flavor than natural cocoa powder.
Recipe Variations
- Spiked chocolate mousse cups: Kahlua, Irish Cream (we recommend Baileys!), Amaretto, and rum all have fantastic flavors that meld with this cocoa cream dessert in the most whimsical way!
- Coffee chocolate whipped cream: Rather than adding liquid, replace some of the cocoa powder with instant coffee for a slightly bitter mocha mousse!
- Berry good mousse options: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and fresh raspberries are best for this. Mash the fruit in a bowl and stir them into the mousse at the end — not too soon, or else it’ll weigh down the cream!
Why Is It Important to Sift Powdered Ingredients?
Chocolate mousse cups are smooth and silky. The last thing you want is a dry clump of sugar or cocoa!
Sifting powdered ingredients removes any and all outstanding lumps. Not only that, but it improves accuracy while measuring as those dense, packed-together clumps are broken down.
Next time you make a cake, sift all of the dry ingredients! This includes both baking powder and flour and even moist brown sugar.
Even boxed mixes benefit from this practice! Those boxes have been in the store and your pantry for who knows how long.
Craving chocolate treats? This mousse is just the beginning! Refer to our peppermint mocha cupcakes and white chocolate cookie recipes!
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Electric stand or hand mixer
- Medium-sized stainless steel mixing bowl
- Bowl
- Ramekins
- Pastry bags
How to Make 3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
- Chill the bowl for fast and fluffy chocolate mousse cups.
Just 20 or 30 minutes in the freezer will get your bowl nice and chilled. In fact, chill the mixer beaters or whisk attachment while you’re at it!
The colder the equipment, the faster the cream will firm up! Additionally, colder ingredients whip better, resulting in a pillowy, fluffy texture you won’t achieve otherwise.
- Stir the powder slightly before whipping.
Here’s a tip to help you avoid an extremely common first-time mousse-making mistake!
Once you add the powdered ingredients to the bowl, stir into the cream just slightly so that the powder isn’t sitting on the surface. This way, the powder won’t go flying into the air once the mixer starts!
- Whip gradually for a stiff, solid mousse.
Start whisking at a low speed using your stand mixer. Once the ingredients are just combined, gradually increase the speed until you’re whipping at high speed.
Continue for 2 or 3 minutes until stiff peaks form–being careful not to overwhip–and you’re done!
- Avoid large, hard garnishes.
Chocolate mousse cups are extremely lightweight and smooth — you don’t want a hard, crunchy garnish to ruin the texture!
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Top this recipe with chocolate shavings for a pro look! We recommend chilling a candy bar (dark or semi-sweet are best) and chopping finely with a sharp knife or even running it over a grater for a lightweight topping.
Serving Suggestions
The easiest way to transfer this recipe to serving cups is with a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip–this is also the most visually pleasing method for a uniform, smooth finish!
You could also simply spoon the creamy mousse into the cups or mini jars as well. Either way, be sure to keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve!
Top it with chocolate chips or melted chocolate sauce for an extra chocolatey taste, or some nuts are good too.
Recipe FAQs
If you look at them side by side, you’ll see that pudding is thick, solid, and dense. It also has a richer flavor, and heavier texture, and is cooked.
Mousses, on the other hand, do not involve cooking at all! They are aerated for a cloud-like consistency and have a less intense flavor.
This chocolate mixture recipe includes heavy cream, so it is not vegan. However, there are several plant-based heavy whipping cream alternatives if you need to make it so.
There are a couple of reasons why! If you use low-fat cream or milk, then the resulting mixture will be flat and runny. Additionally, if the cream is warm, then it will not whip properly.
It’s also possible that it was over-whipped — and you absolutely can whip this for too long!
To store your 3-ingredient chocolate mousse, keep it in an airtight container or cover individual servings with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3–4 days. If you’d like to make it ahead or save leftovers longer, you can also freeze it for up to 2 months—just note the texture may become slightly denser once thawed. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight and enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream or your favorite topping!
More Easy Desserts To Love…
If you tried this 3 ingredient chocolate mousse cups recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse
Equipment
- electric stand or hand mixer
- medium-sized stainless steel mixing bowl
- bowl
- ramekins or small baking cups
- pastry bags
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream *see notes
- 6 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
For Serving (Optional)
- dark chocolate grated or finely chopped
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Place the beaters of an electric hand mixer and a medium-sized stainless steel mixing bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes before making the mousse. *This shortens the whipping time and results in fluffier whipped cream.
- Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and attach beaters to the electric mixer. Whip the cream on high speed for about 2 minutes, until it is frothy and just beginning to thicken.
- Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar into the bowl, then use a spoon to stir them in slightly. *This prevents the dry powders from flying out of the bowl when you turn on the mixer.
- Whip the cream starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed, for another 2-3 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.
- Add the chocolate mousse to serving cups piped through a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Or, if you prefer, you can spoon it in. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, garnish each chocolate mousse cup with chocolate shavings and a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
- Half and half will still work, and full-fat milk will lead to a runnier — but still stable — result. However, avoid 2%, skim, or alternative milk options.
- Do not substitute this with granule or liquid sweeteners! The consistency will be way off.
- Spiked chocolate mousse cups: Kahlua, Irish Cream (we recommend Baileys!), Amaretto, and rum all have fantastic flavors that meld with this cocoa cream dessert in the most whimsical way!
- Coffee chocolate whipped cream: Rather than adding liquid, replace some of the cocoa powder with instant coffee for a slightly bitter mocha mousse!
- Berry good mousse options: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and fresh raspberries are best for this. Mash the fruit in a bowl and stir them into the mousse at the end — not too soon, or else it’ll weigh down the cream!
- Top this recipe with chocolate shavings for a pro look! We recommend chilling a candy bar (dark or semi-sweet are best) and chopping finely with a sharp knife or even running it over a grater for a lightweight topping.
- Cover it well: Store the mousse in an airtight container or cover individual servings with plastic wrap.
- Chill it: Keep it in the fridge for up to 3–4 days.
- Pro tip: If you’re storing it in individual cups or jars, leave a little room at the top in case you want to add whipped cream or toppings before serving.
- You can freeze chocolate mousse for up to 2 months, but the texture may change slightly once thawed (it might become denser).
- To serve from frozen, thaw it in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
Save This Recipe!
Enter your email below, and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox.
Previous
Toni says
This is totally irresistible! Everyone at my house loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
Paula says
Woahhhh I’m so amazed these only have three ingredients! The flavor was so rich and delightful! Loved them!
Tara says
Oh yum! Such a wonderful treat! The texture sounds absolutely fantastic and I love how the mousse comes together with only three ingredients.
TAYLER ROSS says
I made this mousse after dinner last night and it was incredible! Perfectly silky and decadent!
Mahy says
I’ve got to tell you, this is my favorite dessert. So easy to make and just perfect!