Coffee Mousse Recipe (2024)

Coffee Mousse Recipe, At a Glance

Texture

This mousse is light and airy. It’s rich, thanks to the egg yolks and heavy cream, but it’s lighter in texture than chocolate mousse because it doesn’t have solid chocolate in it.

Here’s a closeup of the texture. It reminds me a bit of those whipped yogurts you can buy at the grocery store. But better!

Why Make This Recipe

In looking up recipes for coffee mousse, I was met with mostly “mocha mousse” recipes.

Mocha is a great flavor if that’s what you want, but for lovers of truly coffee-flavored desserts, you might not want to let chocolate get in the way of the coffee flavor.

This recipe uses excellent quality instant coffee (or you could use espresso powder) to add a big punch of coffee flavor without diluting the custard with actual brewed coffee.

The result is a creamy, deeply coffee-flavored mousse that is silky, rich, and delightful.

If this sounds like your idea of the perfect coffee mousse, I have a favor to ask:

If you already know this has your name written all over it, jump straight to the recipe.

How to Make Coffee Mousse

There are three components you need to make to make coffee mousse:

• starch-thickened coffee custard
• Swiss meringue
• whipped cream

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here are the ingredients you’ll need.

• egg yolks: provides richness as well as emulsifiers to keep the mousse from weeping
• brown sugar: provides sweetness to both the custard and the Swiss meringue. You may substitute an equal amount of plain, granulated sugar if you prefer
• half and half: this is the liquid in the custard. You can substitute whole milk if you would like a slightly less-rich mousse
• cornstarch: thickens and gives body to the custard. It also prevents the mousse from weeping by binding liquid
• instant coffee: provides the coffee flavor without diluting the mousse. Use a high-quality instant coffee
• kosher salt: brings the flavors into focus and counteracts any bitterness from the coffee
• vanilla extract: rounds out the flavors, providing woody and floral notes
• egg whites: for the Swiss meringue. Lightens the texture of the custard considerably
• heavy cream: whipped to medium peaks, heavy cream further lightens the texture, and the dairy also helps to counteract any bitterness from the coffee. You may substitute regular whipping cream for the heavy cream

Procedure

In a nutshell, this is how to make coffee mousse:

1. Make the coffee custard and set aside
2. Make Swiss meringue and fold into the custard.
3. Whip the heavy cream and fold it in last.

If that’s enough instruction for you, feel free to jump straight to the recipe.

In this next section, we’ll take a closer look at each step:

For the custard

1. Put all the ingredients for the custard except for the vanilla in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Whisk everything together.
3. Whisk continuously over medium-high heat. The custard will get foamy.
4. As it thickens and begins to boil, the foam will dissipate. Don’t stop whisking and lower the heat to keep the bubbles from erupting and burning you
5. Press the finished custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl with the vanilla in it.
6. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and let it cool to room temperature while you make the Swiss meringue

For the Swiss meringue

To make a Swiss meringue, you heat the whites and sugar together in a double boiler until the temperature reaches 165F. This ensures that your whites are cooked and are safe to eat, even after a couple of days in the fridge.

Here’s my setup:

Jenni Says: I used the same pan I made the custard in as the base of my double boiler. No need to wash it–just rinse it out.

1. With the water in the pan below at a high simmer, whisk together the egg whites, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Continue cooking and whipping constantly, checking the temperature occasionally, until the mixture reaches 165F.
3. Either place the bowl on your stand mixer or use a hand mixer to whip the whites until they increase in volume and hold medium-stiff peaks.
4. Tada!

For the Whipped Cream

Whip the cream to medium peaks. You can do this by hand with a whisk, in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer.

It is fine to use the same bowl you used to make the Swiss meringue. You can see in the photo above that a little of my meringue is still clinging to the sides of the bowl. No worries, it’s all going in the same place!

Store the filled biscuits back in the wrapper the rolls came in. They’ll be fine in the fridge for up to a week.

Putting it All Together

Take about 1/3 of your meringue and whisk it into the custard to lighten the texture and make it easier to fold in the rest.

Fold in the rest of the meringue. Then add the whipped cream and fold it all together.

The mixture is very thick, so you can either spoon it into individual servings or pipe it.

Equipment You May Need

As long as you have a good whisk and a strong arm, you can make this mousse.

You can also use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer to do a lot of the work for you.

Make sure to strain your custard to get rid of any stray bits of egg.

Serve the mousse in anything from coffee cups to espresso cups, wine glasses, custard cups, ramekins, wine glasses, etc.

Coffee Mousse Q & A

Serving Suggestions

I recommend serving your mousse topped with some whipped cream. I made a chocolate whipped cream, because while I didn’t want to make a mocha mousse, I still love the flavors of chocolate and coffee together.

Also feel free to use coffee mousse as a filling for chocolate cake or even to ice some cupcakes with.

For some crunch, consider serving it with some spiced nuts chopped up on top, or maybe with some shortbread or pecan sandies.

And to drink? Why, whipped (beaten) coffee, of course. Or maybe some Irish coffee.

Other Recipes Featuring Coffee

If you love a good coffee dessert, try my no-bake whipped coffee cheesecake bars or my smooth and creamy coffee panna cotta.

Or try my friend Denise’s coffee zucchini bread.

Questions?

A Note About Measurements

It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.

You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.

See Also

18 Swanky Recipes to Throw the Most Epic Vegetarian Dinner Party on Meatless Monday

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Thanks so much for spending some time with me today.

I hope you enjoy the coffee mousse.

Take care, and have a lovely day.