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Get your caffeine fix while enjoying a sweet treat! This decadent 5-ingredient coffee mousse recipe is an incredibly easy dessert that’s great for serving a crowd.
We love our coffee infused desserts.
If you love affogato or tiramisu, this coffee mousse recioe will be a favorite!
Made with real coffee or espresso, this espresso mousse recipe is a decadent and elegant treat perfect for dinner parties or special events.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this coffee mousse recipe
This no-bake dessert is a favorite of mine. I’ll make mousse year-round with all kinds of flavors, like lemon, chocolate, and strawberry! It’s so fast and easy, and doesn’t require any eggs, gelatin, cream of tartar, or other complicated ingredients.
- Quick and easy. Making homemade mousse without eggs is surprisingly easy and only requires 5 simple ingredients!
- Crowd-pleasing! The rich, creamy bites and hint of caffeine will please everyone. Plus, it’s served in individual servings, so there’s no fighting (similar to a mango mousse).
- Better than a cup of coffee. Instead of serving coffee or tea after dinner, serve a cup of coffee mousse instead!
- Flexible. You can make coffee mousse with or without dairy, adjust the caffeine level exactly how you want it, and reduce the sugar for a less-sweet version.
Ingredients needed
This coffee mousse recipe uses 5 ingredients you might already have at home:
- Heavy cream. The cream is whipped until it’s light and fluffy. It’s the secret behind the light-as-air, yet rich and velvety dessert.
- Milk. This tempers the strong coffee flavors.
- Strong coffee or espresso. Freshly brewed, then cooled. You can use any kind of coffee or espresso you like, or substitute it for decaf to make a caffeine-free version.
- Powdered sugar. To sweeten the mousse. For a less-sweet or sugar free alternative, use my homemade sugar free powdered sugar.
- Dark chocolate. Melted dark chocolate balances the mousse with a more pleasantly sweet flavor. You can use milk chocolate instead, but it will make the mousse sweeter.
How to make coffee mousse
This will quickly become your new go-to dessert once you discover how easy it is! This is how you make coffee mousse from scratch:
- Whip the cream. In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Make the coffee mixture. Stir the milk, brewed and cooled coffee, powdered sugar, and melted chocolate in a separate bowl.
- Fold in the cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the coffee-chocolate mixture until it’s smooth and no white streaks remain.
- Chill, then serve. Divide the chocolate coffee mousse into individual serving glasses, then place them in the fridge to set. Let them chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Tips to make the best recipe
- Chill the cream AND the mixing bowl. The best and fastest way to make whipped cream is to whip cold heavy cream in a chilled metal or Pyrex mixing bowl. Remember to place the bowl in the fridge the night before making this recipe!
- Slowly incorporate the cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the coffee-chocolate mixture in batches to keep the mousse airy and light.
- Add salt. Just a pinch of salt will awaken the hidden flavors in the chocolate and coffee.
- Garnish. Either serve the mousse without a garnish or add some excitement to the experience with coffee beans, cocoa powder, and/or a dash of cinnamon on top.
- Serve in mugs. Replicate the classic coffee experience by serving the coffee mousse in mugs!
Storage instructions
To store: Cover the individual servings of mousse with plastic and store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Store the mousse in airtight containers and freeze for up to 6 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Recommended tools to make this recipe
- Electric mixer. To easily whip the cream to stiff peaks.
- Spatula. To fold the cream into the mousse seamlessly.
- Mixing bowls. You need at least 2 medium to large-sized mixing bowls to make the whipped cream and chocolate-coffee mixture.
- Serving glasses or bowls. While you could serve the mousse in one large bowl, individual dessert glasses, bowls, or even mugs are so much more elegant!
More coffee-flavored treats to try
- Coffee Mug Cake
- Tiramisu Cake
- Chocolate Espresso Cake
- Coffee Cake
- Keto Whipped Coffee
- No Bake Tiramisu Cookies
Frequently asked questions
I’ve only tested this recipe with heavy cream and whole milk, but it should still work with dairy free alternatives. Use a vegan whipped cream alternative and full-fat coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk instead of regular milk. Make sure the dark chocolate is dairy free as well, or melt dairy free chocolate chips instead.
Sort of. If anything, this mousse recipe tastes more like a mocha than strong black coffee! If you’re not a fan of the coffee flavor, reduce the coffee/espresso to 2 tablespoons and increase the melted chocolate by 1 or 2 ounces.
Coffee Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 4 ounces dark chocolate melted and cooled
Instructions
- Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, combine milk, cooled coffee, powdered sugar, and melted chocolate.
- Gently fold whipped cream into the coffee-chocolate mixture.
- Divide the mousse into serving glasses or bowls and refrigerate for at least two hours, or until set.
It is actually like coffee milkshake! I would love it so much.
I am addicted to coffee. That means this recipe is a must!
This is absolutely divine delicious. So light and flavorful!
Thanks, Stacey!
Amazing ❤️
Delicious and so easy to make. I had to use up my whipping cream that was expiring so that is why I wanted to make mousse. I used Hu chocolate chips and Swerve confectioners sugar sub. When I added melded chocolate into the milk mixture, my chocolate hardened so I nucted it for a few seconds and it melted again. I gave it a few minutes to cool and then added my whipping cream. Everything turned out perfect. Next time I’ll add more coffee for stronger coffee flavor. Thank you for this great recipe! My husband said that this is the best thing I’ve made!
Love this recipe
Great recipe! I used coconut cream instead of the milk, increased the coffee to 1/2 cup, and added 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, and it was fantastic!
Fabulous. I thought the coffee and chocolate flavours were more intense the next day. I used dark chocolate and espresso coffee so it needed more icing sugar. I started out trying to make this with coconut whipping cream and coconut milk. I didn’t think the coconut whipping cream was stiff or sturdy enough for the chocolate coffee mixture. I couldn’t taste the coconut milk.
Hi, would you please let us know how you topped the mousse in your photo? Is it just melted chocolate, a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder? Thank you!
YTes! It’s a thin layer of melted chocolate 🙂
This was delicious! Since I have to avoid sugar, I used allulose instead of sugar, and Lily’s dark chocolate chips. Very easy to make!
Thank you for all of the recipes you share with us. This was delicious and it is now on my monthly rotation list. I do have one issue and that is with your nutritional information. Something has to be wrong with the program you are using. For K Calories it says Calories: 271kcal for one serving. I am in the US and as you probably know we don’t use K Cals, but the conversion from K Cal to Calories is 1000 to 1, thus if correct a serving would be 271,000 calories. Am I missing something?
Does the dark chocolate need to be cooking chocolate or just off the shelf ready to eat chocolate?
Either works, as long as it melts 🙂
I want to make one-day it yummy
I’m in Australia- Is heavy cream thickened cream, pure cream or dollop cream?
Great recipe! I definitely will be making this soon.
How would you make this as a mint version please?
Add peppermint extract.
Can you use a confectioners sugar substitute trying to cut back on the sugar intake