Easy Baileys Mousse

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This Baileys chocolate mousse is made with just three ingredients – chocolate, cream and a generous nip of Baileys Irish Cream. With no eggs and no gelatine, it’s the easiest Baileys mousse you’ll ever make!

It’s no secret that I love a good easy mousse recipe. I have half a dozen of them on this website already. Each one I come up with is my new favourite, which means it’ll be no surprise when I say “This easy Baileys chocolate mousse recipe is my new favourite!”

And what’s not to love? It’s easy to make, it only has three ingredients, and it tastes like a cocktail, but in rich, creamy mousse form.

It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, or St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

I decorated the serving glasses with a little bit of Baileys chocolate ganache, which makes for a more impressive dessert, but you can skip that step, or even just squiggle ganache on top.

This variation is a little softer than some of my other mousse recipes and has more of a creamy texture rather than being a super fluffy chocolate mousse, due to the fact we’re adding Baileys in place of some of the cream, but I have no problems with that trade-off considering how delightful it tastes.

It still has a great texture, classic chocolate mousse flavour in the background with that unmistakable Baileys flavour.

Close up of a spoonful of mousse resting on the edge of a martini glass.

Let’s get on and talk about those few ingredients you’ll need, and how to make the mousse…

Ingredients

Milk Chocolate – Use a good quality milk chocolate. Blocks of chocolate are best – many chocolate chips have a coating to stop them melting when baked into cookies etc. so they don’t work well in recipes like this where the chocolate needs to be melted smoothly. I used my favourite Whittaker’s milk chocolate, as usual. You could use dark chocolate instead, for a less sweet dessert.
Whipping Cream – The type of cream you need for this recipe is known by different names in different places. Here in NZ, it’s usually called standard cream or whipping cream, in other countries, it may be known as full cream, heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Double cream is generally too thick for this recipe as it contains a lot more fat (although the fat content can vary by country.) Lite cream or low-fat cream will not work. For the best results, choose a pourable cream that is around 35% fat. Make sure that it says on the bottle/carton that it is suitable for whipping.
Baileys Irish Cream – If you’re not familiar with Baileys, it’s a sweet, cream-based liqueur made with Irish whiskey. You could also use a different brand of Irish cream, or other cream-based liqueur of any flavour.
Extras – I used some more extra chocolate, cream and Baileys to make a quick ganache, and piped it into the glasses for a bit of extra interest. You could add a splash of vanilla extract to the mousse if you like, but despite my love of vanilla, I don’t find that this mousse really needs it.

Baileys Mousse Without Eggs or Gelatine?

As I mentioned up the top, this recipe doesn’t use gelatine, and there are no eggs, so you don’t have to worry about consuming raw eggs if that’s a concern for you, and there’s no fussing about separating egg whites and egg yolks, folding in beaten eggs whites and accidentally deflating your mousse and all that palaver that comes with making an egg-based mousse.

How to Make Baileys Mousse

As with all my other easy mousse recipes, this is simple to make.

Chopped milk chocolate in a large glass mixing bowl, on a grey marble background.

You’ll start by chopping the chocolate. The smaller the better, as it will melt faster.

Cream in a small stainless steel saucepan with a black handle.

Then heat half of the whipping cream until just beginning to bubble and boil around the edges.

The hot cream poured over the chocolate in the glass bowl.

Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl and leave it to melt for a couple of minutes.

The Baileys Irish Cream being whisked into the chocolate and cream mixture.

Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Then whisk in the other half of the cream (this helps to cool the mixture faster) and the Baileys.

Now it just needs to chill for at least a few hours (overnight is better) until it’s completely chilled. You can pop it into the freezer for an hour to chill it faster, just be sure to check and stir it often, so it doesn’t actually freeze.

This next bit is optional, skip past if you’re wanting to keep this even more simple.

To make a pattern on the glasses with ganache, I just made a simple ganache with a little more milk choc, cream and a splash more Baileys (because, why not) in a small bowl and piped it into a pattern in the glasses. I used a small squeezy bottle with a piping tip, but if you don’t have one of those you could use a small plastic bag with the corner cut off. Pop the glasses in the fridge for the ganache to firm up while you whip the mousse.

Collage of 4 images showing the ganache being piped into martini glasses with a squeeze bottle.

The mousse mixture being whipped with an electric hand mixer.

When the mousse mixture is chilled, all that’s left to do is to whip it with an electric mixer just until medium-stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip it or the mixture will go grainy and start to separate.

It’s a good idea to whip it on medium speed until it starts to form soft peaks, and then reduce to low speed and keep beating until peaks form. Then give it a last stir with a rubber spatula to make sure the texture is even throughout (sometimes we don’t whip the areas at the edges of the bowl as much).

Spoon the Baileys mousse evenly between your serving glasses or dishes. Alternatively, you could transfer the mousse to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip, and pipe it into the glasses.

For a soft creamy mousse, you can serve it straight away, or for a fluffier mousse, pop it into the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.

Close up of a glass of mousse showing the ganache decoration.

Serving Sizes

This recipe makes about 4 cups of mousse. For these photos, I used 4 martini glasses and used about 3/4 cup of mousse in each. But because it’s rich, a little bit can go a long way, and you could do 8 smaller servings or even 10 in small glasses as part of a dessert table.

You can also easily double the recipe if you need to make dessert for a crowd.

Other Serving Suggestions

You could also decorate the top of this mousse if you like. It’s great with a dollop of whipped cream, or Chantilly cream (aka. whipped cream with vanilla) if you want to be fancy. You could also make chocolate shavings with a vegetable peeler or box grater and sprinkle those on top. Or drizzle over some extra melted chocolate or ganache. A fine dusting of cocoa powder would look great, too.

As far as serving dishes go, you can use any kind of glasses – I used martini glasses here, but any kind of glass will do the trick, as will any small bowls or ramekins.

For a St Patricks Day party, this would be cute in little shot glasses as Bailey’s mousse shots.

If you want to serve it family-style, just pile it all into one large serving bowl, as I did with some of this peppermint mousse.

How to Store the Mousse

You can make the Baileys chocolate mousse mixture 1-2 days in advance, and store it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to whip it.

The whipped mousse can be stored in the fridge for several days. Cover individual glasses or dishes with plastic wrap, or place them into an airtight container.

Troubleshooting

Over-whipped/grainy – If you whip the mousse too much and it turns grainy, you can save it by whisking it in a saucepan over low heat, until it remelts and becomes smooth again. Then chill it again and whip (a bit less than you did last time 😉).

Mixture split when whipped – This is usually because the mousse mixture wasn’t chilled enough. Next time, make sure the mixture is completely chilled before whipping it. To save it, remelt the mousse mixture as described above, and chill it again.

Splitting can also happen because the fat content in your cream was too high. A cream with around 35% fat works best.

Mixture is too thin and doesn’t whip – This can happen if you use a type of cream that was too low in fat, or not suitable to whip. Make sure the cream you use says that it is suitable or whipping (it will say on the bottle/carton), and that it has at least 35% fat.

Bailey’s Mousse Quick Q&A

I get this question often – it’s inconceivable to some people that you can make mousse without eggs. But you can, “mousse” is defined as a dessert that is made with whipped cream, whipped eggs, or both, and in this recipe, we’re using whipped cream. If you’re still doubting that the texture will be good, all I can say is – try it, you may be surprised. I sure was when I first accidentally came up with my original chocolate mousse recipe. While this may not be a traditional chocolate mousse or a classic French chocolate mousse, it’s the perfect dessert for first-time mousse-makers or anyone who just wants an easy chocolatey dessert.

All you need is an electric hand mixer, (or a balloon whisk and a strong arm!) You don’t need a stand mixer, double boiler, or any other kind of fancy equipment.

I used the traditional Bailey’s Irish Cream to make my mousse, but Baileys make an array of different flavours, including limited edition ones (the Irish Post has ranked 8 of the options from “least best” to “best”, here 😂) You could really use any of the Baileys flavours you like in this recipe. You can also use any other Irish cream liqueur or other cream-based liqueur.

There is 1/2 a cup of Bailey’s in the recipe, which, when split between 6-8 servings, makes for what is most definitely Bailey’s mousse but without making you tipsy. If you really want to make a less boozy chocolate mousse, you can reduce the Baileys and increase the cream by the same amount.
I wouldn’t recommend increasing the amount of Baileys, as the mousse may not set properly. If you want to add more Irish cream flavour, then I would make a bit of extra Baileys ganache and do a layer of that on top of the mousse.

Baileys Mousse

This Baileys chocolate mousse is made with just three ingredients – chocolate, cream and a generous nip of Baileys Irish Cream. With no eggs and no gelatine, it's the easiest Baileys mousse you'll ever make!

4.77 from 30 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 3

Chilling Time: 1 30

Total Time: 1 43

Cuisine: American

Category: Desserts

Author: Natalie | Sweetness & Bite

Makes: 6 ½-cup servings

Ingredients

For the Mousse:

300 g milk chocolate
375 ml whipping cream see notes
125 ml Baileys Irish Cream

For the Ganache:

90 g milk chocolate
30 g whipping cream
1 teaspoon Baileys Irish Cream

Instructions

Make the Mousse

Chop the milk chocolate into small pieces, place in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
Measure out the cream, and pour roughly half of it into a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate.
Stir with a whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is combined. Whisk in the remaining cream, and then the Baileys.
Cover the bowl, and chill the mixture until very well chilled (at least several hours, overnight is better). If you're in a hurry you can chill it faster by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so. Make sure you stir it regularly and be careful not to let it actually freeze.

To Decorate the Glasses

If you want to decorate the glasses with a ganache, do this half an hour or so before you are ready to whip the mousse.
Chop the 90g of milk chocolate, and place it, along with the 30ml of cream and 1 teaspoon of Baileys, into a small heatproof jug. Microwave on medium power in 30-second bursts, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. If it's too thick, add a little more cream.
Pour into a small squeeze bottle, or into a small resealable plastic bag and cut the corner off.
Pipe a pattern into your serving glasses. I did a loopy pattern inspired by the pattern on the Baileys bottle, but swirls or squiggles would also look great. Pop the glasses into the fridge for the ganache to firm up while you whip the mousse.

To Serve

Whip the mousse mixture until stiff peaks are just beginning to form. Be careful not to overwhip it or it will become grainy – it's better to under-whip than over-whip.
Spoon the mousse into your serving glasses or bowls.
Serve immediately for a softer, creamier mousse or chill for a firmer, more set mousse.
The mousse will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Cover individual glasses or dishes with plastic wrap, or place them all into a large airtight container.

Notes

Chocolate – For best results, use a good quality block of chocolate. Do not use chocolate baking chips, as they have a coating that will stop them from melting properly.

Cream – The cream you need for this recipe is known by different names in different countries. Here in NZ it’s usually called standard cream or whipping cream, in other countries, it may also be known as full cream, heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream). Double cream may be too thick for this recipe as they contain a lot more fat (although the fat content can vary by country.) Long story short: for best results, choose a pourable, un-whipped cream that is around 35% fat. It should say on the bottle/carton that it is suitable for whipping.

If you overwhip the mousse or it becomes grainy, see the troubleshooting tips in the post for more info.