Raspberry Mousse – Fresh, Vibrant & Egg Free
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours
This Raspberry Mousse is fresh, vibrant, and full of pure berry flavour. It’s made without eggs, sets beautifully with gelatine, and has a gorgeous natural colour and tang from raspberries. Light yet satisfying, it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert — elegant enough for entertaining and simple enough for every day. The recipe comes from Practical Professional Cookery by H.L. Cracknell & R.J. Kaufmann (Third Edition, 1992), a timeless professional classic still used in kitchens today.
Ingredients
Full Batch – 10 small mousses (using 125 ml moulds)
- 1 kg raspberries (fresh or frozen; thaw and strain if frozen)
- 200 g icing sugar
- Juice of ½ to 1 lemon to taste
- 100 ml water
- 6 tsp powdered gelatine
- 6 Tbsp cold water for blooming gelatine
- 400 ml whipping cream lightly whipped
Half Batch – 5 small mousses (using 125 ml moulds)
- 500 g raspberries (fresh or frozen; thaw and strain if frozen)
- 100 g icing sugar
- Juice of ½ small lemon
- 50 ml water
- 3 tsp powdered gelatine
- 3 Tbsp cold water for blooming gelatine
- 200 ml whipping cream lightly whipped
Chantilly Cream
- 250 ml whipping cream
- 25 g caster sugar or icing sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Full Batch & Half Batch
- If using frozen raspberries, thaw overnight in a bowl. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly, discard seeds.
- If using fresh raspberries, remove any stalks, then pass through a fine sieve. Discard seeds left in sieve.
- Add icing sugar to the strained raspberries and whisk until dissolved.
- Bloom gelatine by sprinkling it over the cold water, stir, and leave 1 minute.
- In a small saucepan, combine lemon juice and water. Bring just to the boil, then remove from heat.
- Whisk bloomed gelatine into the hot lemon mixture until dissolved, then stir this into the sweetened raspberry purée.
- Leave the mixture to cool until it thickens slightly and just begins to set — it should lightly coat the back of a spoon (about 10–15 minutes).
- Lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Fold the cream into the raspberry base once it’s just at setting point, in two additions, until smooth and airy. You may need to use a whisk briefly to remove any lumps of cream.
- Spoon into lightly oiled dariole moulds or ramekins.
- Chill at least 4 hours until set.
- Unmould and serve with Chantilly cream (optional).
Chantilly Cream
- Place cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
- Whip until soft peaks form — light and smooth, not stiff.
- Serve alongside the mousse or pipe around the edges for decoration.
Notes
- Mike and I both enjoy this mousse best after it’s sat for about 30 minutes out of the fridge. I like to unmould it first, then let it rest for half an hour — the texture becomes beautifully smooth and creamy.
- You can easily use strawberries instead of raspberries. I’ve made this mousse with fresh strawberries, and it was delicious. I found that whizzing the strawberries first in a blender, then pressing them through a sieve, made the job much easier.
- This mousse will keep as long as the cream’s use-by date when stored airtight in the fridge.
- If using gelatine leaves instead of powder, use 3 gold-strength sheets (half batch) or 6 sheets (full batch). Soak 5–7 minutes in cold water, squeeze out excess, then stir into the hot lemon mixture until dissolved. Soak these sheets before heating up the liquid so the liquid stays hot when the soaked sheets have softened.
- Grease the moulds lightly with a neutral-flavoured oil (such as almond, vegetable, or coconut).
- When unmoulding, dip a knife in warm water and run around the inside edge to ease out the mousse. If needed, briefly dip each mould in warm water to loosen.
- You can adjust the lemon juice slightly to taste — raspberries vary in sweetness.