Ingredients
Scale
- ½ cup of Nutella* (6 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon of instant espresso, optional
- ¼ cup of sour cream or crème fraîche (2.5 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon or a healthy pinch of fine sea salt or kosher salt (table salt is also fine)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, optional
- 3 tablespoons of granulated or caster sugar (optional to sweeten whipped cream)
- 1½ cups of heavy whipping cream (a little over 12 ounces)
Optional Garnishes
- toasted, chopped hazelnuts
- Ferrero Rocher candies
- chopped or shaved dark chocolate
- sweetened, whipped cream or crème fraîche
- fresh berries
Instructions
- Mise en place. French for get it all in place. Professional cooks don't lift a spatula until they have everything they need in place. Wash your hands, gather your equipment, and measure out all of your ingredients.
- Mix the base for the mousse. In a small bowl, stir a half teaspoon of hot water into the instant espresso, if using. Then in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Nutella or your preferred spread, sour cream or crème fraîche, dissolved espresso, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Whip and fold in the cream. In a mixing bowl, whip the cream on medium speed with the granulated sugar (if using) until it reaches soft peaks, about three to five minutes. Mix in a third of the whipped cream to the Nutella base with a bit of force to lighten and smooth it out. Then gently fold the remaining whipped cream into the mixture in two or three additions. Use gentle, circular strokes scraping from underneath the mixture, around the sides of the bowl, and carefully over the top. The mousse will lighten in color and increase in volume.
- Portion and chill. Divide the mousse among four to six serving bowls and place them in the refrigerator to set for 24 hours (if you can).
- Garnish and serve. Garnish the mousse with chocolate shavings, toasted hazelnuts, fresh berries, dollops of sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche, or halved Ferrero Rocher candies.
Notes
Chef's Tips
- Whip the cream slower and longer. It can be tempting to crank the mixer up to high to whip it quick. But whipped cream is more stable when beaten at a slower speed. This allows a larger amount of smaller air bubbles to become trapped between the fat molecules.
- Always fold the whipped cream into the base mixture. Not the other way around. There are Nutella mousse recipes that tell you to add Nutella to the whipped cream. Please don't do that, it's entirely backward. You always want to fold the lighter or foamed ingredient into the thicker base mixture.
On the Nutrition
The amounts below are based on the recipe as written with Nutella. If you add in meringue and/or substitute a different chocolate spread, the nutrient amounts will be different.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 to 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup of Nutella Mousse
- Calories: 328
- Sugar: 18.3 g
- Sodium: 214.2 mg
- Fat: 25.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 14.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.7 g
- Protein: 5.4 g
- Cholesterol: 59 mg
Keywords: Nutella mousse, chocolate hazelnut mousse, Nutella recipe