We are so in love with these brownies! I have a favorite brownie recipe that I make often, and I rarely come across one that I think rivals it, but this one does. The brownie itself is a deep, dark, dense chocolate brownie that I would totally eat just on its own, but then when you top it with light, fluffy, creamy chocolate mousse…. SO good.
This recipe was surprisingly easy to make. The brownie bottom only took a few minutes to mix up and after you bake it, you can cool it while you make the mousse. This is a chocolate/whipped cream/gelatin mousse, not a traditional egg mousse, so it is super simple and easy to make and difficult to mess up.
I used my favorite Lindt milk chocolate bars for this, but you could use dark chocolate also. Make sure to use high quality cocoa powder (I like this one), and good quality chocolate bars (not chips) for this. It makes a difference to the flavor, and also chocolate chips have stabilizers in them to prevent melting, so they are not a good choice for the mousse here.
Chocolate Mousse Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- bakers joy for greasing the pan or butter/flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 oz melted butter 2 sticks
- 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
For the mousse:
- 10 oz finely chopped milk chocolate use good chocolate
- 2 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 7 g gelatin 1 envelope powdered gelatin
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
For the brownies:
- Heat the oven to 325. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment so that it comes up the sides. Spray parchment and pan with baker's joy or grease and flour.
- In a mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until combined. Do a final mix with a baking spatula to make sure everything is mixed.
- Pour into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the center is barely set and a toothpick inserted comes out with no raw batter but just a few crumbs. Don't over bake. Remove and allow to cool fully on a cooling rack.
For the mousse:
- Melt the chocolate either in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring after each, or in a double boiler on the stove. Be careful not to overheat or you will seize the chocolate. Set aside.
- Pour the gelatin into the 2 tbsp water and mix. Allow to hydrate for a few minutes. Heat 1/2 cup of cream to steaming in microwave or a pan on the stove. Add the gelatin and whisk well. Pour about half of the mixture into the melted chocolate and whisk. Once it starts to mix, add the rest and whisk until it is smooth, thick and glossy. It may appear like it will split initially but it should smooth out with the full amount of warm cream.
- Whisk the other 2 cups of cream in a stand mixer to stiff peaks. When the chocolate mixture is room temp, carefully fold about 1/3 of the cream into it. Once it is mostly combined, gently fold in the rest of the cream until you have a nice chocolate mousse.
- Spread the mousse on the cooled brownies and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. After the pan has been in the fridge for a hour, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Sprinkle the top with cocoa powder and remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the parchment paper. Use a warmed knife to cut into even squares. Store in the fridge. You can also freeze the individual brownies and they defrost really well in the fridge.