salted caramel & chocolate mousse

Our salted caramel and chocolate mousse is easy to prepare and can be made ahead, ready to serve your guests straight from the fridge.

Salted caramel and chocolate mousse is the dessert that my family request me to make more than any other. It’s made for Birthdays, Christmas, family parties, when I have friends round for dinner. I have yet to find anyone who doesn’t love this rich chocolate mousse.

This easy chocolate mousse is my all time favourite make ahead dessert. All the better that this salted caramel and chocolate mousse can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

The salted caramel adds wonderful sweetness to the bitter dark chocolate. However, the entire dessert is well balanced and the caramel gives the mousse an almost molten texture.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• The perfect balance of flavours as the bitter chocolate balances out the sweet and slightly salty caramel.
• Make ahead the day before and leave it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Uses only 6 simple ingredients most of us will have in our store cupboards and fridges.
• A great gluten free dessert but just make sure you check the ingredients label on the chocolate before you start as some chocolate does contain allergens.

Best chocolate for salted caramel & chocolate mousse?

The best chocolate for making this easy chocolate mousse is a bitter dark chocolate. I have used an 85% dark chocolate but anything over 60% works well in this dessert.

The bitter dark chocolate is balanced out by the rich double cream and the sweetness of the salted caramel. If you were to use milk chocolate in this dessert I think it would be too sweet.

How to make chocolate mousse with salted caramel:

How to make salted caramel:

The tricky part of this recipe is making the caramel, the rest of it is really very straight forward. The trick with melting sugar to make caramel is to take your time!

Do not rush and put the heat up too high. Instead place the sugar over a low heat and gently melt the sugar and take it to the point where it is golden, but not too far otherwise you risk the caramel burning.

With a few simple steps, and a little patience, we show you how to make salted caramel.

• To make the caramel place the sugar in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar over a low heat. Bring to a slow simmer but do not stir as this will cause the sugar to crystallise. This step takes time so don’t rush it or you risk burning the sugar and will only have to start again. I know as I’ve done this in the past!
• When the syrup starts to colour around the edges, give the caramel a gentle swirl around the pan as this will allow the caramel to cook through – but do not stir.
• Once the caramel has reached a deep colour – take care not to take it too far as you don’t want the caramel to burn. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and salt.

How to make Chocolate Mousse:

• In a separate pan bring the double cream up to just boiling point and add this to the caramel, continue to stir until smooth, ensuring that all the caramel has dissolved in the warm cream.
• Break the chocolate up into small pieces and add to the pan. Mix it through until completely melted.

• Now add the egg yolks and give the mixture a good stir to incorporate everything together.
• Finally whisk up the egg whites in a clean bowl until they have formed firm but not stiff peaks.

• Fold the egg whites gently through the chocolate to form a smooth mousse like texture.
• DO NOT be tempted to rush this and beat the egg whites into the chocolate or you will loose all the air in the mousse.
• Once the egg whites have been incorporated into the chocolate caramel, divide into six serving dishes.
• Refrigerate for 5 hours before serving.

Recipe substitutions and variations:

• Granulated sugar is melted to liquid to form the base of the salted caramel. You can also replace the granulated sugar with caster sugar.
• Butter is added to the molten sugar to make the salted caramel and the butter also stops the mousse from setting too firm. You can use either salted or unsalted butter, whichever you prefer.
• Sea salt is added to the caramel to make a salted caramel which balances out the sweetness.
• Double cream (heavy cream) is added to the mousse to give it richness and texture. Double cream thickens the mousse so do not substitute with single cream as it is too thin and you won’t achieve the same texture.
• 85% Dark chocolate is used to flavour the chocolate mousse. You can use any flavour or variety of chocolate, however, I find that milk chocolate is too sweet alongside the caramel. Instead I like to use a bitter dark chocolate as it balances out the sweetness of the caramel. That said this is a lovely sweet dessert, just not overly so.
• Egg yolks are added to the chocolate caramel giving the mousse a rich and creamy texture.
• Egg whites are whipped to firm peaks and folded through the chocolate caramel mixture. The egg whites add air, giving this easy chocolate mousse the light and airy texture.

How to serve easy chocolate mousse?

I usually serve this classic chocolate mousse just as it is. The mousse has been set in ramekins, but you could also use glasses or even china tea cups to serve the mousse in.

However, if you want to pretty it up you can add some whipped cream or fresh berries (raspberries and strawberries would work a treat) alongside.

Can I make ahead salted caramel & chocolate mousse?

This is a great make ahead recipe as the chocolate mousse needs 5 hours to set. I like to prepare this the day before I need to serve it, although you can make it in the morning, ready to serve later in the day. Simply cover the pots of chocolate mousse and place in the fridge. Remove from fridge when ready to serve.

As this classic chocolate mousse contains raw egg it should be stored in the the fridge. I recommend eating the mousse within 2-3 days of making it.

Using raw eggs in a dessert

Please note that the eggs in this mousse are not cooked and for most people this will not be an issue. However, as the egg yolk and whites remain raw we do not recommend serving this dessert to very young children, pregnant women, old people or anyone with an impaired immune system.

Useful hints and tips:

1. Measure out all your ingredients ready to start as once the caramel is made this is a quick dessert to pull together.
2. Take your time when making the caramel! There are occasions when I have rushed this and it never works! Take your time to melt the sugar slowly, that means you will only have to do the job once!
3. Fold the egg whites gently into the mousse do not be tempted to beat the eggs through or you will loose all the air and lightness in the mousse.
4. Allergy advice: gluten free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

For simple make ahead no bake desserts try these recipes:

• No Bake Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
• No Bake Lime & Ginger Cheesecake
• Simple Lemon Posset
• Easy Lemon Tiramisu with Limoncello
• Nutella Mousse
• Traditional Scottish Cranachan with Scottish Raspberries
• Individual Trifles with Sherry, Figs & Vanilla
• Strawberry Eton Mess with Scottish Strawberries

For more inspiration have a read of our No Bake Desserts post which contains helpful hints and tips as well as a great selection of our favourite no bake dessert recipe.

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Mousse

Our salted caramel and chocolate mousse is easy to prepare and can be made ahead, ready to serve your guests straight from the fridge.

5 from 16 votes

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Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Resting TIme: 5 hrs

Total Time: 30 mins

Servings: 6

Calories: 346kcal

Author: Lesley Garden

Ingredients

• ▢ 100 g granulated sugar
• ▢ 30 g butter
• ▢ 1 pinch sea salt
• ▢ 200 ml double cream
• ▢ 100 g dark chocolate
• ▢ 3 large eggs (yolk & white separated)

Instructions

• To make the caramel place the sugar in a saucepan and dissolve the sugar over a low heat. Bring to a slow simmer but do not stir as this will cause the sugar to crystallise. This step takes time so don't rush it or you risk burning the sugar.
• When the syrup starts to colour round the edge, give the syrup a gentle swirl around the pan as this will allow the caramel to cook through – but do not stir.
• Once the caramel has reached a deep colour – take care not to take it too far as you don't want the caramel to burn. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and salt.
• In a separate pan bring the double cream up to boiling point and add this to the caramel, continue to stir until smooth, ensuring that all the caramel is dissolved in the warm cream.
• Break the chocolate up into small pieces and add to the pan. Mix it through until completely melted before adding the egg yolks and giving the mixture a good stir to incorporate everything together.
• Finally whisk up the egg whites in a clean bowl until they have formed firm but not stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites gently through the chocolate before dividing into six serving dishes. Refrigerate for 5 hours before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Mousse

Amount Per Serving

Calories 346 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 8g

Cholesterol 139mg46%

Sodium 90mg4%

Potassium 176mg5%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 740IU15%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 48mg5%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : British

Keyword : Quick, Simple, vegetarian

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