Raspberry Mousse Recipe: How to Make Raspberry Mousse

Raspberry mousse is a gluten-free dessert featuring fresh raspberry purée folded into whipped cream, often stabilized with gelatin. Many fruit mousse recipes use gelatin, but if you’re uncomfortable using it or can’t find it in stores, you can easily make mousse with a host of thickening alternatives. Alternatively, you can use whipped cream alone—you’ll just have to eat the mousse immediately after chilling, or it will deflate.

Raspberry mousse is infinitely adaptable. Use these four methods to get creative with your raspberry mousse:

1. 1. Add chocolate. Mousse and chocolate go hand in hand. Elevate the raspberry flavor with dark chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, or even melted milk chocolate that’ll flavor each bite.
2. 2. Incorporate the mousse into other desserts. Use raspberry mousse as a cheesecake topper, a frosting alternative for chocolate cake, or even a topping for cupcakes. It’s also incredible atop a meringue, à la pavlova.
3. 3. Make a trifle. Adding lots of fresh berries, whipped cream, and ladyfingers or pound cake turns a simple mousse into a celebratory trifle. Use this strawberry trifle recipe as a guide.
4. 4. Use different thickeners. Unflavored gelatin sheets or gelatine powder are the most popular thickeners for mousse. You can add a slurry of cornstarch and water to your fruit purée, but keep in mind that it has to boil for the starch to activate and thicken the mousse. Other options are agar, eggs or egg yolks, or xanthan gum. Expect subtle differences in flavor depending on the thickener you use. Learn more about agar vs. gelatin.

Making mousse is relatively straightforward. Follow these tips for surefire success.

1. 1. Keep the mixture chilled. As it warms, whipped cream begins to weep, as the air suspended within the cream gets released. Cold whipped cream keeps its shape and will stay set when chilled.
2. 2. Run the mixture through a strainer. An errant whole raspberry or raspberry seed can throw off an otherwise perfectly smooth mousse. Be sure to strain the raspberry purée numerous times throughout the cooking process for an exceptionally silky final product.
3. 3. Use frozen raspberries. If you cannot get your hands on fresh berries, just swap in frozen ones. Frozen berries often get frozen at the peak of their freshness, so the mousse’s flavor might be even more robust. It’s a convenience win-win.