Coffee mousse is an easy and quick recipe that you can prepare in very little time. It’s made with real, strong black coffee – best if you have espresso – and whipping cream.
This simple, 4-ingredients dessert almost taste like a tiramisù, without the biscuit, but is a lot easier to make. It’s creamy, soft, light, and sweet, but with an irresistible coffee aroma.
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What is a coffee mousse?
If you’ve ever been to Italy you know that over here we really love coffee, and we use it in many sweet preparations.
Coffee mousse, also known in Italian as “crema al caffè” is a very simple dessert made by mixing very cold espresso coffee with whipped cream and sugar, and with a sprinkle of unsweetened cacao powder on top.
If you’ve never tried coffee mousse, you’ll be surprised by how delicious this simple treat is.
Ps. We like to make this with a soy-based, dairy-free, and vegan whipping cream to keep this recipe free from dairy, and the taste is delicious.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Coffee: we use a really strong espresso coffee made with an old Italian moka. You can use any strong black coffee. I’d say, if you are a coffee lover, the stronger the coffee the better for this recipe. You can use instant coffee in the same quantities.
- Whipping cream: there are so many whipping creams out there. We like to use a soy-based, dairy-free and vegan whipping cream that is already a little sweet. But there are many others you can choose from.
- Sugar: regular white sugar.
- Cacao powder: we like to use unsweetened dutch-processed cacao powder, but any other will be good too.
- Coffee beans: we like to add a few coffee beans on top of the coffee mousse for both decoration and crunch. I personally like to eat the toasted coffee bean, but some people might not like that. This is optional of course.
How to make coffee mousse
Start by making the coffee. It needs to be strong. We like to make it in an Italian Moka to make it extra strong.
Let it cool down, then put it in the refrigerator until it’s cold. You can do this step the night before and let it cool overnight. It’s important the coffee is very cold, or it will melt the whipping cream.
In a bowl, whip the whipping cream, then when it’s firm, add the sugar, a little at a time, while whipping. Make sure your whipping cream is very cold before whipping it.
Now add the coffee, a little at a time, while whipping. Your mousse is ready, store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.
It’s good to let it set in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
To serve it, scoop the coffee mousse into single portion glasses or cups, sprinkle with cacao powder after each scoop of mousse. Add some coffee beans on top as decoration.
Tips
Strong coffee: the stronger the coffee, the more coffee flavor you’ll have in the mousse. We recommend getting the strongest coffee you can because the whipped cream will soften the coffee flavor a lot. Try espresso, or even better, ristretto coffee.
Cold Coffee: the coffee must be completely cold before adding it to the whipped cream, or the cream will deflate and melt.
Cold whipping cream: the cream should also be very cold before whipping it. My advice is to put both the coffee and the cream in the refrigerator overnight.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, make a strong one, in the same quantities as we have in the recipe box.
This coffee mouse is not thick enough to use in cakes. Use this coffee cream instead.
Dinner ideas
Did you know that we develop our recipes to go together for a complete dinner meal plan? Serve this easy coffee mousse as a dessert, with:
Oven roasted broccoli with lemon chili garlic dressing
For many more easy dessert ideas, check out our desserts category page.
Coffee mousse
Equipment
- electric whisk
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coffee strong
- 1 cup whipping cream we use vegan whipping cream that is already sweetened*
- 2 tablespoons sugar optional
- 1 tablespoom cacao powder dutch processed
Instructions
- Make the coffee. It needs to be very strong. We make it in an Italian moka to make it extra strong. Let it cool down, then put in in the refrigerator till cold. You can do this step the night before. It's important the coffee is very cold, or it will melt the whipping cream.
- In a bowl, whip the whipping cream, then when it's firm, add the sugar, a little at a time, while whipping. Make sure your whipping cream is very cold before whipping it.
- Now add the coffee, a little at a time, while whipping. Now store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. It's good to let it set in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Scoop the coffee mousse into single portion glasses or cups, sprinkle with cacao powder after each scoop of cream, and on top, as a final layer.Then add some coffee beans on top as decoration.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I put this in a silicone mold ?? Will it set enough so I can put a mirror glaze over the top ??
Hi Lori,
Thanks for your message!
I don’t think the coffee mousse will set enough for glazing.
You could try adding agar agar to it for a firmer texture.
Hope this helps 🙂
Nico
You tell us the ingredients but not the measurements
Hi there,
If you click “jump to recipe” or scroll all the way down the page, you will find the recipe box with all the measurements.
I hope that helps. Kindest,
Louise
The recipe seems quite easy and simple using everyday ingredients. I will definitely prepare this . Thank you for posting this plantbasedschool 😊
Hi Teri, I’m happy you like the look of it, you’re very welcome. Have a great day, cheers Nico