This raspberry mousse is incredibly light & airy like a cloud with a burst of fresh raspberry flavor. It can hold its shape well despite the airy texture. Hands down the best raspberry mousse to complete authentic raspberry desserts. It will surely impress your family & guests!
📌 Why You'll Love This Raspberry Mousse
- The texture is very light & airy - it melts in your mouth!
- It can hold its shape well to complete whole cakes.
- It's "healthier": The mousse is made with just enough amount of sugar, without butter and flour. (gluten-free!) You'll feel less guilty eating it even after a heavy meal.
- It's made from fresh raspberries: No artificial flavors or colorings! It's amazing to see fresh raspberries can create such a beautiful pink color.
- You can enjoy it in many shapes and sizes.
- The elegant dessert is perfect for special occasions, such as Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, and dinner parties.
- I'm also sharing how to make a simple and delicious raspberry sauce to go with the mousse. The fluffy mousse tastes even more exceptional with the melty sauce!
I've gotta say, this is not the easiest raspberry mousse recipe. But it is so worth the time and effort! I didn't want to omit any steps to make it taste truly exceptional. Try this recipe and you may fall in love with it even if you are not the biggest mousse fan.
Go through each section in this post to fully understand the steps and tips to make it successful at home.
Let's get started.💪🏻
📌 2 Secrets To The Light & Airy Mousse
1. Less gelatin + Stiffer whipped cream
When using stiff and fluffy whipped cream like today, you will want slightly less gelatin to set your mousse. It creates a fluffier and less pudding-like texture.
On the contrary, you will need more gelatin to harden the mousse when using soft whipped cream. The difference is drastic.
2. Meringue
By adding meringue, the mousse gets a lot more light and airy. And you'll also need less gelatin to harden the mousse. Some recipes do not add meringue to fresh fruit mousse, but I highly recommend adding it for a better texture.
📌 Ingredients To Make Raspberry Mousse
Raspberry Mousse
- Raspberries (Pureed and strained): We are making raspberry purée from fresh raspberries. You can leave the raspberry seeds if you prefer. Discard them for a smoother texture.
- Unflavored gelatin: Use either gelatin powder or gelatin sheets. Today, I used Knox gelatin powder, which is Bloom 225. And this is my favorite gelatin sheet. (Bloom 230) You can use whichever you can get. (Bloom refers to the strength of gelatin. Read a FAQ section for more tips about it.)
- Lemon juice: It brightens the color more and enhances the tart raspberry flavor.
- Heavy cream: It helps to create a fluffy texture. You can also use heavy whipping cream.
- Egg white: We make Italian meringue with hot sugar syrup. Italian meringue is deal for mousse for its fluffy & light texture and stability. Save the egg yolks to make other desserts, such as French buttercream, pastry cream, New York cheesecake, lemon curd, etc.
- Granulated sugar for egg whites: Sugar helps to stabilize egg whites. It's not a must, but it has a slight effect. Use white sugar, such as granulated sugar or caster sugar.
- Granulated sugar for hot syrup
- Water
Raspberry Sauce
You can omit this sauce when you only need to make the mousse. But try it if you have time - it only takes a few minutes!
- Raspberry (Pureed, and strained): Puree it together with the fresh raspberries for mousse to save some time.
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice
📌 Step-By-Step Instructions To Make Raspberry Mousse
Hydrate gelatin in cold water.
This hydration process is very important for the mousse to set properly.
When using gelatin powder
- Add five times the amount of icy-cold water to gelatin powder and mix well to ensure that every piece of gelatin is hydrated.
- Set it aside for about 10 minutes. (Ideally in the fridge. The cold hydrated gelatin is firmer, and a lot easier to take all out at once.)
When using gelatin sheets
Dip them in icy water and wait for about 10 minutes. Squeeze them and remove the excess water before use.
Puree raspberries and strain them.
- Puree it well with a hand blender or food processor until smooth.
- Strain it with a fine mesh sieve to discard seeds.
Tip💡
In the pictures, I pureed fresh raspberries for both mousse and sauce at the same time to save some time.
Heat some of the raspberry puree and melt hydrated gelatin in it. Combine it with the rest of puree.
- Take about a quarter to one-third of the whole raspberry puree and heat it. (122 - 140ºF | 50 - 60ºC). It should feel very warm, almost hot.
- Add the hydrated gelatin and mix until it melts completely. Cut the gelatin into smaller pieces with a spatula so that it melts more easily.
- Pour some of the cold raspberry puree into the warm puree and mix.
- Pour it back into the rest of the cold raspberry puree and mix well.
Tips💡
- Avoid heating raspberry puree until it's boiling hot since it can weaken the strength of gelatin.
- Ensure it is hot enough to melt the gelatin completely. Check carefully to see if all the gelatin is melted in the puree for the mousse to set properly. When you see there are some pieces left, heat it slightly again and mix.
Add lemon juice.
Add lemon juice to the puree and mix. Set it aside at room temperature.
Whip heavy cream.
- Whip cream until it gets very stiff and fluffy.
- Set it aside in the fridge until right before using it.
Whip egg white and sugar.
- Whip egg white until it gets very fluffy.
- Add sugar once it looks bubbly like shampoo and continue whipping until it looks fluffy.
Tips💡
- Ensure that all the tools and ingredients are dried without oil, liquids, or chemicals such as soaps. - They prevent the egg white from getting whipped well to make stiff meringue. Egg yolks contain oil, so separate them carefully!
- We want a very fluffy meringue by the time the hot sugar syrup is ready. Adjust the timing so that the meringue won't be too loose or separated (over-mixed) by the time the syrup is ready.
Heat sugar and water at medium heat.
- Add sugar and water in a small saucepan. Brush the sides with water and ensure all the sugar is wet.
- Heat the pan at medium heat. Brush the sides of a pot with water a few times while heating to prevent sugar from crystallizing.
- Once it's reached 244 - 246ºF | 118 - 119ºC (I heated it to 246ºF this time), immediately remove it from the heat and use it right away.
Tips💡
- Do not mix syrup or shake the pot until the syrup starts thickening to prevent sugar from getting crystallized.
- Swirl the pod toward the end to make the temperature even and get the accurate temperature.
Add the hot syrup to the meringue.
- Add the hot syrup to the meringue slowly from the side of your bowl while mixing it at high speed. Continue whipping at high speed.
- Lower the speed to medium-low speed once the bowl or meringue feels slightly warm.
- Stop whipping when it doesn't feel anything. (Not warm or cold.) Use it right away once it's done.
Tips💡
- The meringue should be very fluffy before you add syrup to make a stiff meringue. The loose meringue leads to loose raspberry mousse.
- Adding the syrup slowly from the sides is very important for the whisk to pick it up easily. Check the video tutorial to see it visually.
Combine whipped cream and Italian meringue.
Add all the meringue to the whipped cream and fold them until about 50% is incorporated. We do not want to over-mix it to make a very airy mousse!
Tip💡
Whipped cream oftentimes gets looser as it sits in the fridge - Check the consistency before use and re-whip more if necessary. I recommend checking it while waiting for the meringue to cool down.
Add the raspberry puree and fold.
- Add half of the raspberry puree and fold with a whisk until about 50% is incorporated.
- Add the rest of the puree and fold until 80 - 90 % is blended.
- Switch to a spatula, clean the bottom and sides of the bowl, and fold until everything is evenly incorporated.
Tips💡
- Use gently cold puree left at room temperature. It makes a fluffy mousse that is pipeable. Whipped cream and meringue lose volume when combining them with warm puree, which leads to a loose mousse.
- If the puree starts thickening already because of the gelatin inside, heat it slightly again to loosen it.
- Whipped cream and Italian meringue are pretty stiff, and the puree is liquid. There are two different textures here. With the whisk, you can combine them faster and eliminate lumps of whipped cream much more easily. Watch the video tutorial to see how to fold it with a whisk. You can also use a spatula if it's easier for you.
Pipe the mousse and chill it in the fridge.
- Pipe it in glasses or cups immediately using a piping bag.
- Chill it in the fridge for at least a few hours until it's set completely.
- Once cooled, decorate it with any tipping you like, such as whipped cream, fresh raspberries, other fresh fruits, and herbs!
Make raspberry sauce.
Heat raspberry puree, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan until it starts boiling. Cool it in the fridge.
...And that's it! Enjoy. The raspberry sauce adds another layer of raspberry taste and a beautiful look.
Tip💡
I laid some genoise sponge cake on glasses and drizzled some of the raspberry sauce on top of it before piping the mousse on top. The sponge cake is fluffy and goes perfectly well with this light raspberry mousse.
📌 Uses For Raspberry Mousse
Enjoy the raspberry mousse in many shapes and sizes, such as:
- Raspberry Mousse Cups: Divide it into small glasses or cups. There is no need to slice and divide the mousse later with them. It makes the process much easier!
- Raspberry Mousse Cake: You can create a mousse cake such as Charlotte cake, mirror glaze entremets, and mini cakes. Customize the look for your special event.
- Raspberry Mousse Pie or Tart: Make a fancy dessert with a tart crust or pie crust. I recommend coating the crust with a thin layer of melted chocolate (dark or white) to prevent it from getting soggy after some time.
- Plated Desserts: Pour it into a silicone or stainless mold to create an elegant petit dessert.
I made this raspberry mousse cake for Rei's 6th birthday using my ladyfingers recipe.
📌 Tips for making a whole cake with the mousse
Tip 1:
Cover the sides of the cake ring with the mousse before pouring it into the ring. This prevents large gaps and holes on the sides after taking out the cake ring.
Tip 2:
This mousse sets after a few hours, but it gets slightly firmer and more stable after longer hours. You may want to make it ahead and chill it overnight to make it a little firmer.
I also recommend freezing it in many cases because you can remove the cake from a cake ring, or cake film with a much smoother surface. The difference is big, as shown in the comparison below. Always freeze the cake when using silicone molds. (Otherwise, the mousse will easily break!)
While the mousse is frozen:
Warm the sides with a kitchen torch to take off the ring.
While the mousse is not frozen:
Tip 3:
The mousse could get looser when using looser whipped cream and meringue, gelatin with much less bloom, etc. Follow all the tips in this post to avoid it, or you may want to increase the amount of gelatin slightly if you feel very worried about it.
📌 How To Store It
Cover the surface with plastic wrap and put it in an airtight container.
What's the shelf-life of raspberry mousse?
Store it in the fridge for up to a few days or a few weeks in the freezer. I recommend consuming it within 24 hours for the best taste.
Can I freeze raspberry mousse?
Yes. You can freeze it to remove it from molds easily.
📌 FAQ
What's "bloom" in gelatin?
"Bloom" refers to the strength of gelatin. When the bloom is higher, the moose gets firmer. And when the bloom is lower, the mousse gets softer. The bloom often ranges from 50 - 300 or 350. For this recipe, I used gelatin powder from Knox with Bloom 225 or PerfectaGel gelatin sheets with Bloom 230. If you have your favorite gelatin, check if the bloom is listed in the package. If it doesn't, see if their website mentions it. (They always should!) If you can't find it anywhere, I suggest making the mousse one time and seeing if you should reduce/increase the amount of gelatin next time.
Is the meringue cooked enough for salmonella?
Italian meringue is made by adding hot syrup, but the temperature is not hot enough to kill salmonella in case it's there. To resolve the issue, I have two choices for you to pick from:
- Use pasteurized eggs: They are already heated enough to kill salmonella or other bacteria. You can always find them at grocery stores (Many of the eggs in the states are pasteurized unless they are from the farms directly). But in case you cannot find them, I have a second option.
- Use Swiss meringue instead of Italian meringue and heat it to 160 F | 71 C, which is the temperature to kill salmonella. Compared to Italian meringue, Swiss meringue has less volume and is slightly denser. (The mousse gets slightly denser, although the difference is minor.) You can use the same amount of egg white and sugar from this recipe without the water. Read my Swiss meringue buttercream post to learn how to make it step by step.
📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
Watch this video to learn how to make the fresh raspberry mousse visually and have a deeper understanding of all.
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📌 More No-Bake Desserts
If you liked this raspberry mousse, also try other scrumptious no-bake desserts!
📌 Printable Recipe
💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family at home.
Fluffy Raspberry Mousse
Equipment
- Hand blender or food processor, juicer, etc.
- Sieve
- Bowl
- Stand mixer with a whisk attachment or hand blender and a bowl
- Small saucepan
- Pastry brush
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Piping bag optional
Ingredients
Raspberry Mousse
- 7.7 g (1 envelope of Knox gelatin powder (bloom: 225)) Unflavored gelatin - or 4.5 sheets of platinum gelatin sheets (bloom: 230).
- 40 g (2 ⅔ Tablespoons) Icy water for gelatin powder - When you use gelatin sheets: Soak them in plenty of icy water.
- 270 g (1 ⅙ cups) Raspberry puree, strained - Use about 330g of raspberries to get that amount.
- 15 g (1 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
- 320 g (1 ⅓ cups) Heavy cream
- 90 g (From 3 small eggs) Egg white
- 13 g (1 Tablespoon) Granulated sugar - for egg white
- 130 g (⅔ cup) Granulated sugar - for hot syrup
- 60 g (4 Tablespoons) Water
Raspberry Sauce (optional)
- 170 g (¾ cup) Raspberry puree, strained - Use about 210 g of raspberries to get that amount.
- 17 g (4 teaspoons) Granulated sugar
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) Lemon juice
NOTE: For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements (US customary units) are provided for your convenience.
Instructions
- Hydrate gelatin in cold water:When using gelatin powder1. Add five times the amount of icy-cold water to gelatin powder and mix well to ensure that every piece of gelatin is hydrated well. 2. Set it aside for about 10 minutes. (Ideally in the fridge. The cold hydrated gelatin is firmer, and a lot easier to take all out at once.)When using gelatin sheetsDip them in icy water and wait about 10 minutes.7.7 g Unflavored gelatin, 40 g Icy water for gelatin powder
- Puree raspberries and strain them:1. Puree it well with a hand blender or food processor until smooth.2. Strain it with a fine mesh sieve to discard seeds.Tip💡In the pictures, I pureed fresh raspberries for both mousse and sauce at the same time to save some time and divided them later.270 g Raspberry puree, strained
- Heat some of the raspberry puree and melt hydrated gelatin in it. Combine it with the rest of the puree: 1. Take about a quarter to one-third of the whole raspberry puree and heat it. (122 - 140ºF | 50 - 60ºC). 2. Add the hydrated gelatin and mix until it melts completely. Cut the gelatin into smaller pieces with a spatula so that it melts more easily. 3. Pour some of the cold raspberry puree into the warm puree and mix.4. Pour it back into the rest of the cold raspberry puree and mix well.Tips💡1. Avoid heating raspberry puree until it's boiling hot since it can weaken the strength of gelatin.2. Ensure it is hot enough to melt the gelatin completely. Check carefully to see if all the gelatin is melted in the puree for the mousse to set properly. When you see there are some pieces left, heat it slightly again and mix.
- Add lemon juice:Add lemon juice to the puree and mix. Set it aside at room temperature.15 g Lemon juice
- Whip heavy cream:1. Whip cream until it gets very stiff and fluffy.2. Set it aside in the fridge until right before using it.320 g Heavy cream
- Whip egg white and sugar:1. Whip egg white until it gets very fluffy. 2. Add sugar once it looks bubbly like shampoo and continue whipping until it looks fluffy.Tips💡1. Ensure that all the tools and ingredients are dried without oil, liquids, or chemicals such as soaps. - They prevent the egg white from getting whipped well to make stiff meringue. Egg yolks contain oil, so separate them carefully!2. We want a very fluffy meringue by the time the hot sugar syrup is ready. Adjust the timing so that the meringue won't be too loose or separated (over-mixed) by the time the syrup is ready.90 g Egg white, 13 g Granulated sugar
- Heat sugar and water at medium heat:1. Add sugar and water to a small saucepan. Brush the sides with water and ensure all the sugar is wet. 2. Heat the pan at medium heat. Brush the sides of a pot with water a few times while heating to prevent sugar from crystallizing.3. Once it's reached 244 - 246ºF | 118 - 119ºC (I heated it to 246ºF this time), immediately remove it from the heat and use it right away.Tips💡1. Do not mix syrup or shake the pot until the syrup starts thickening to prevent sugar from getting crystallized. 2. Swirl the pod toward the end to make the temperature even and get the accurate temperature.130 g Granulated sugar, 60 g Water
- Add the hot syrup to the meringue:1. Add the hot syrup to the meringue slowly from the side of your bowl while mixing it at high speed.2. Lower the speed to medium-low speed once the bowl or meringue feels slightly warm.3. Stop whipping when it doesn't feel anything. (Not warm or cold.) Use it right away once it's done.Tips💡1. The meringue should be very fluffy before you add syrup to make a stiff meringue. The loose meringue leads to loose raspberry mousse.2. Adding the syrup slowly from the sides is very important for the whisk to pick it up easily. Check the video tutorial to see it visually.
- Combine whipped cream and Italian meringue:Add all the meringue to the whipped cream and fold them until about 50% is incorporated. We do not want to over-mix it to make a very airy mousse!Tip💡Whipped cream oftentimes gets looser as it sits in the fridge - Check the consistency before use and re-whip more if necessary. I recommend checking it while waiting for the meringue to cool down.
- Add the raspberry puree and fold:1. Add half of the raspberry puree and fold with a whisk until about 50% is incorporated. 2. Add the rest of the puree and fold until 80 - 90 % is blended.3. Switch to a spatula, clean the bottom and sides of the bowl, and fold until everything is evenly incorporated.Tips💡1. Use gently cold puree left at room temperature. It makes a fluffy mousse that is pipeable. Whipped cream and meringue lose volume when combining them with warm puree, which leads to a loose mousse. 2. If the puree starts thickening already because of the gelatin inside, heat it slightly again to loosen it.3. Whipped cream and Italian meringue are pretty stiff, and the puree is liquid. There are two different textures here. With the whisk, you can combine them faster and eliminate lumps of whipped cream much more easily. Watch the video tutorial to see how to fold it with a whisk. You can also use a spatula if it's easier for you.
- Pipe the mousse and chill it in the fridge:1. Pipe it in glasses or cups immediately using a piping bag.2. Chill it in the fridge for at least a few hours until it's set completely.3. Once cooled, decorate it with any tipping you like, such as whipped cream, fresh raspberries, other fresh fruits, and herbs!
- Make the raspberry sauce: (optional)Heat raspberry puree, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan until it starts boiling. Cool it in the fridge....And that's it! Enjoy. The raspberry sauce adds another layer of raspberry taste and a beautiful look.Tip💡I put some genoise sponge cake on glasses this time and drizzled some of the raspberry sauce on top of it. The sponge cake is fluffy and goes perfectly well with this light raspberry mousse.170 g Raspberry puree, strained, 17 g Granulated sugar, 5 g Lemon juice
Video
Notes
How to store it:
Cover the surface with plastic wrap and put it in an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to a few days or a few weeks in the freezer. I recommend consuming it within 24 hours for the best taste.Nutrition
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Kim says
This is the most poorly written recipe I have ever come across. My bad for not reading it before I bought the ingredients and trying to make it. No Christmas dessert now
ayacaliva says
I'm sorry that happened. If you don't mind, would you share with me which part was confusing in the recipe? I would like to know to improve it.
Liyah says
How stable would you say this mixture is to pipe out a design before letting it set? Will it hold it's shape if I want to use something like a saint honore piping tip?
ayacaliva says
It should be stiff enough to pipe on glasses when made successfully, but not as stiff as a sharp decoration like that. I recommend using Swiss/Italian meringue, buttercream or whipped cream for that!
Stephany Brisco says
Wow, I will be making this for Easter and letting you know how it goes. Thank you for taking such care in showing and explaining everything.
ayacaliva says
Thank you, I hope it'll be a success!!