Valentine’s Day Chocolate Mousse

If your sweetie has a sweet tooth and loves chocolate, then today’s recipe is the one that will steal their heart and seal the deal. It’s actually a recipe I shared last Valentine’s Day, but it’s so delicious it bears a repeat. If you need a quick and easy dessert for your Valentine’s Day weekend celebration, this recipe for chocolate mousse is sure to please. And, it’s so easy you can make it with your kids. Valentine’s Day aside, it’s one I love to make with my 5-year-old niece Emory Parks. The recipe is perfect for any dessert-eating occasion – as are the Anything Goes Chocolate Chip Cookies Emory is balancing in this fun photo .

You can find the recipe for Emory’s Anything Goes Cookies here, in a 2024 cooking with Kids column I wrote for Charlotte Parent online.

And, here’s a fun fact. If you click on my name in red at the byline of the article – it links back to a bunch of recipes I wrote for Charlotte Parent way back in 2014! The Worthwhile Chocolate Cake came to me from my dear friend Pamela Harris and her family and the recipe is great one for Valentine’s Day, too. In fact, you can make the cake then top it with a dollop of chocolate mousse for a double dose of a special Valentine’s Day Chocolate Treat!

But now, back to the recipe for the Chocolate Mousse, itself…

It’s All About the Chocolate

The most important ingredient in any chocolate mousse recipe is, of course, the chocolate. I like to make this recipe with semi sweet chocolate and then I don’t add any sugar to the base. Depending on your personal tastes, you can use bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate as well.

Personally, I’ve found milk chocolate and white chocolate both too sweet; but they both will work well, so it’s up to your own individual tastes. If you are feeling like making a couple of batches, then do a recipe with white chocolate and another with semi sweet and then layer the two in tall shot classes for a fun striped shooter; or in wine glasses for a more substantial Valentines’ dessert.

The recipe also works with dairy-free chocolate, and in fact, it works with any sort of flavored chocolate bar. Just go with what you love.

Melting Chocolate for Chocolate Mousse

When it comes to melting chocolate, you can, of course, go old school and melt it in a double boiler or a make-shift double boiler. Simply set the chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl and situate it over a small pot of simmering water. Stir gently as the bowl warms to melt the butter and chocolate.

Stay away from melting the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over direct heat. It just gets too hot, too fast and will burn. Once chocolate burns, you’ve got to toss it – there is no going back.

For my money and time, the easiest way to melt chocolate is the microwave. Place the chips or chunks of chocolate with the butter called for in the recipe here, in a glass bowl. and microwave on high for 1 minute.

Teach Your Children Well

Here’s the fun science of it all – and a good learning moment for your kids as well. When you melt chocolate in the microwave, it will hold its original shape – even when its completely melted.

So, no matter what it looks like after a minute in the microwave, give it a stir. If it stirs into a smooth mix, then you can proceed with the recipe. If it still has solid chocolate chips in the mix, then microwave on high for another 15 seconds. And then, stir again. Keep this up until it’s all melted and stirs into a smooth mix.

After you make the mousse, be sure to take time to lick the bowl.

Egg Yolks and Whites in Your Chocolate Mousse

This recipe calls for 4 eggs, when Emory and I make chocolate mousse for the whole family at the holidays we use a dozen eggs. A dozen eggs makes for a fun time cracking and separating, and I am here to tell you, it might be messy but its tons of fun and your little ones can do it all by themselves. No separation anxiety here…

First, make sure everyone has clean hands. and have some damp paper towels on hand to help clean up any messes.

Then, simply, crack one egg at a time into a bowl. Use your hands to lift out the yolk and put the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another. If you happen to get some egg yolk in the whites, just put that aside and use it for another recipe calling for whole eggs or enjoy an omelette for two for your Valentine’s Day or morning after brunch or breakfast.

You can read more about separating eggs and making meringues in these back to back pair of blog post on cooking with eggs I wrote back in 2019 – all still good info to use as a guide.

Any way you crack it

Any way you choose to separate your eggs, know that when you are only cooking with egg yolks, its okay to have a bit of the white in there. If the recipe calls for egg whites, to make a meringue or to beat the whites to stiff peaks for a souffle for example, you can’t have any sort of fat in the mixing bowl. That includes even the tiniest bit of egg yolk.

For the best results, separate each individual egg between two small bowls and then transfer the egg whites and yolks to larger bowls to use in the recipe. In the case of our chocolate mousse, put your egg yolks into a bowl to add to the chocolate and butter and place the egg white in the bowl of a mixer for your meringue.

Flavorings and Final Touches

If you use vanilla in this chocolate mousse recipe or any recipe with chocolate, it will make it taste all the more chocolate-y. I make my own homemade vanilla and you can, too.

Make your own homemade vanilla use a pint of your favorite local vodka, gin, rum or bourbon and 2 split vanilla beans. Place the beans in the vodka in a decorative jar or bottle and all it to sit for 2 weeks. As you use your hand crafted vanilla, add more vodka, gin, run or bourbon to top off the bottle. As the color begins to lighten, add another split bean.

Tips from Heidi Billotto, HeidiBillottoFood.com

If you’d like to add a hint of coffee, mint, berry or orange, instead of vanilla; you can substitute in any fruity cognac or liqueur; or use a splash of your favorite flavored simple syrup.

In the end, when your chocolate mousse has had at least an hour or so in the fridge, make it even more special with a dusting of edible glitter.

I first learned about edible glitter from pastry chef Savanna Broder. Savanna was the 2024 Pastry Chef of the Year at the NCRLA Chef Showdown and works amazing magic into all of her desserts. Savanna wowed the crowd a couple of years ago at the NC Mountain State Fair with handpies dusted with edible glitter – they were fabulous! You can find the recipe for her handpies and her amazing chocolate dipped oatmeal cookie sandwiches, here.

The edible glitter is easy to use and comes in a bunch of colors. Simply use a little brush or put a bit in a small wire mesh strainer and dust it on the top of your chocolate mousse. A word of caution here – know that a little goes a long way.