Chocolate Mousse (French Mousse au Chocolat) (2024)

FAQs

What is La mousse au chocolat made of? ›

What goes in chocolate mousse. Just FIVE ingredients, all good stuff we like: chocolate, cream, sugar, eggs and butter.

Originally known as mayonnaise de chocolat, mousse was actually invented not by a pastry chef, but by the French post-Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Its name means "foam" in French, in reference to its light, airy texture.

Mousse is the stuff of dessert dreams: incredibly light and also ridiculously rich. At its most basic, mousse is made by folding aerators into a base. These aerators can be whipped cream, meringue (egg whites + sugar), pâte à bombe (whole eggs and/or egg yolks + sugar), or a combination.

Chocolate mousse, as well as being delicious, also has a fascinating history. It was first discribed as "mayonnaise de chocolat" - and, more interesting, was invented by the French post-Impressionist painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, in the late 19th century.

Mousse originated in the 18th century in France, where the word mousse translates as “foam,” describing the airy texture of mousse.

While the ingredients are similar, chocolate pudding is cooked on the stove to activate the cornstarch or flour, depending on the recipe. Mousse is not cooked. It develops its airy texture just from whipped cream.

Pudding can be thickened by starch or gelatin. Mousse is a French word for "foam." It's a light and airy mixture of Cream, eggs, and sugar whipped together until it turns into foam. There are two types of Mousse: sweet and savory.

The word 'mousse' itself comes from French which means 'foam', due to its foamy and airy character. As we have learned, all the air that is trapped into the mixture makes for a cake that is very light and fluffy in texture. With its light texture, mousse is a perfect component to add into cakes.

In the United States, pudding means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, instant custards or a mousse, often commercially set using cornstarch, gelatin or similar coagulating agent such as Jell-O.

To take a step back, mousses generally comprise four components – the base, the egg foam, a setting agent and whipped cream.

What is the history of French mousse? ›

The History of French Mousse Cake

Mousse cake was first invented in France in the eighteenth century. Before the sweet mousse we commonly see today, it was the savoury type of mousse that was first created. It was Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, who was interestingly not a chef or a cook, but a bohemian painter.

The French, lovers of culinary wonder, were first to discover mousse. It is actually a French word meaning “froth” or “foam.” “Mousse au chocolat” is French for chocolate mousse. The United States first became acquainted with chocolate mousse at a Food Exposition held at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1892.

Valrhona Chocolate

This premium chocolate has been produced in the small village of Tain L'Hermitage, France since 1922. Albéric Guironnet, a pastry chef, founded the company with a commitment to creating beautifully complex yet balanced artisan chocolates.

Mousse is made by folding beaten egg whites or whipped cream into a cold milk and sugar base. Unlike pudding, mousse is not cooked and the addition of air to the mixture leads to a fluffier consistency and lighter texture. Mousse is typically served chilled or frozen.

Niacinamide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Chocolate (sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Leavening (water, Wheat Flour, Yeast, Rye Flour, Malted Wheat Flour), Water, Sugar, Eggs, Yeast, Mono- And Diglycerides, Salt, Nonfat Milk, Carob Germ Flour ...

Cake is a baked good made with leaveners, flour, fat, and sugar, and a pastry is a dough paste made primarily with flour and fat. A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture.