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S'mores Chocolate Mousse

This s'mores mousse features a brown sugar graham cracker crust, fluffy chocolate mousse, and a homemade marshmallow topping. It's so versatile in how it can be served and makes such a fun dessert!
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Author: Lori Vaughn

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 6 graham crackers
  • 2 TB brown sugar
  • 4 TB unsalted butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Mousse

  • 1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
  • 1 TB water
  • 1 ½ cup heavy cream, divided
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 200 grams high quality chocolate* (I used Ghirardelli fudge caramel squares)

Meringue/marshmallow topping

  • 3 egg whites
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Put graham crackers in a food processor and blend into fine crumbs.
  • Pour crumbs in a bowl, add remaining crust ingredients, and mix until combined.
  • Press tightly into greased mini ramekins or baking dish of choice. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden.

Mousse

  • Combine gelatin and water in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes to let it "bloom", or thicken. (Gelatin is optional but will help stabilize the mousse, especially if you are doing a naked mousse that will stand on its own.)
  • In a heat-proof bowl, heat 200g worth of chopped Ghirardelli fudge caramel squares (or other high quality chocolate of choice) over a double broiler or carefully in the microwave on 15-30 second bursts until melted. Set aside.
  • In a separate bowl whisk together 3 egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar. Set aside.
  • Over the stove, bring ½ cup of heavy cream to a simmer.
  • Pour a little bit of cream into the yolk mixture to temper (shock) the eggs and prevent them from cooking, then pour the egg mixture into the rest of the cream. Cook on stove on low for about 4-5 minutes until it thickens. Whisk continually so it doesn't scramble.
  • Pour chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Add bloomed gelatin. Whisk together well. Set aside to cool.
  • Using a hand or stand mixer, beat 1 cup heavy whipping cream on high till stiff peaks form. Gently fold cooled chocolate mixture and whipped cream together, being careful not to over mix which can deflate the mousse.
  • Pour the mousse mixture you just folded together over the graham cracker crust.
    To create the naked mousse look like you see in the picture, wrap acetate around the crust to create a mold.
  • Put in the fridge and let it set at least 2-3 hours. After set, you can remove the acetate.

Meringue

  • Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (just don't let the pan touch the water). Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl, and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
  • Place the eggs in a stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment and add the vanilla, tartar, and salt. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.
  • Spread or pipe onto mousse. Let set in fridge until ready to serve. If desired, just before serving use a torch to toast the meringue to create a crisped marshmallow-like effect.

Notes

*You can make ahead up to 1 day in advance. For best stability and freshness, add and toast the meringue just before serving. 
**You can use any sort of serving dish for this recipe. If you want to serve it in something that is not oven safe for the crust (like parfait glasses), simply crumble the baked crust in the bottom, and then layer the mousse and marshmallow topping. 
**You can use any kind of high quality chocolate. I used Ghirardelli fudge caramel squares to give it a hint of caramel in the chocolate, but a plain semi sweet or dark chocolate is still amazing.