These mini chocolate mousse tarts are the perfect sharable bite-sized dessert! They have a crunchy oreo crust, silky chocolate mousse filling, and are topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!
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What is Chocolate Mousse?
Chocolate mousse is a bit of a catchall term that doesn't have one set definition. "Mousse", which is French for "foam", is simply a sweet or savory dish that incorporates air to give it a super light and airy texture.
For these mini chocolate mousse tarts, I prefer a French silk style chocolate mousse made from chocolate, sugar, and eggs -- then topped with whipped cream! It has the most silky melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich chocolate flavor!
You might also like these mini chocolate lava cakes or my classic French silk pie!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make these mini chocolate mousse tarts!
Oreo Crust - For the Oreo cookie crust you just need Oreo's and melted butter! You could also substitute with chocolate graham crackers.
Eggs - The real secret to the this silky chocolate pie filling is the eggs!! Since this is a no-bake pie filling, the eggs are raw, which of course does carry some risk. You can specifically buy pasteurized eggs if you can find them, but I've personally never had a problem using regular eggs. You can also pasteurize them yourself at home using a sous vide!
Unsweetened Chocolate - This recipe calls for melted unsweetened baking chocolate which I always keep in my pantry but I know a lot of people don't. The good news is that you can find it in the baking aisle at any grocery store.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
What's the best chocolate to use for this pie?
Since unsweetened chocolate is the primary ingredient in the filling, it's important to use high quality chocolate!
Some of my favorite baking chocolate bars are:
- Guittard - This is my number one choice! It's super high quality, affordable, and pretty easy to find. You can usually get it at Whole Foods or Target.
- Vahlrona - This is the chocolate that a lot of pastry chefs swear by! It's usually hard to find in stores, but comes in a ton of different forms.
- Callebaut - This is amazing chocolate that comes in block form, but is usually much harder to find but Whole Foods and Costco usually have it, as do specialty stores.
- Scharffen Berger - I've never actually tried this brand but I've heard a lot of great things about it.
- Ghirardelli - The most affordable and widely available baking bars that are still high quality! I always have either their semi-sweet or bittersweet baking bars on hand!
I'm just going to emphasize it one more time for good measure, you need to use unsweetened baking chocolate for this pie. Otherwise you'll end up with a sickeningly sweet filling.
Special Equipment
This recipe can be used to make a few different sizes of tart!
- 12 - mini 3 inch tarts
- 2 - 7 inch tarts
- 1 - 9.5 inch tart
How to Make Chocolate Mousse Tarts
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Pulse the Oreo cookies (filling and all) in a food processor until you have about 2 cups of finely ground crumbs.
In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix until it resembles wet sand.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the mini tart pans and slightly up the sides. Make sure it is tight and compact! You can use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help pack down the crust.
Bake the crusts at 350°F for 8-12 minutes or until they're dried out.
Let cool completely before filling.
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the unsweetened chocolate in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes or until cool to the touch but still melted.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in the cooled, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.
It should be a thick, grainy paste.
Add in 1 egg and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add in the second egg and beat for 5 more minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
You'll notice that filling continues to get smoother and fluffier the longer you beat the eggs. [Photo 10 is after one egg, photo 11 is after two eggs, and photo 12 is after three eggs.]
Add in the third egg and beat for 5 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 5 more minutes. The filling should be incredibly smooth and silky and significantly paler in color than before. If you rub a bit of filling between your fingers, you shouldn't feel any sugar granules. If you do, continue to beat until it's fully smooth and all the sugar is dissolved.
Spoon the filling into the fully cooled tart crusts, then chill in the fridge overnight (minimum 2 hours).
Before serving, top the chocolate mousse tarts with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings!
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep the tarts refrigerated because they will begin to melt at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Whipping each egg separately for 5 full minutes might sound unnecessary, I get it. But the difference in texture in INSANE. If you skimp out on the whipping, the pie will still taste fine but the texture will be dense and grainy. Whipping the eggs into the filling is what makes this french silk style chocolate peppermint pie truly silky.
Warning (kidding but not really): Do not attempt without a stand mixer. Unless you have arms of steel, but even then you'll be in pain. This requires 20 straight minutes of vigorous whipping which makes your arm hurt even if you're using a handheld mixer (but it will do in a pinch).
Recipe FAQ's
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes! Just be sure to freeze before adding the whipped cream. Freeze the tarts on a tray for at least 2 hours, then wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then top with whipped cream before serving.
You can purchase pasteurized eggs at some grocery stores but you can also pasteurize them yourself at home using a sous vide!
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of a chocolate bar for narrow curls or the side of a chocolate bar for wider curls. I like to store chocolate curls in a container in the freezer so that they stay fresh and don't melt!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Chocolate Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Mini Chocolate Mousse Tarts
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 24 oreo cookies
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Mousse
- 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Whipped Cream
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Oreo Crusts
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Pulse the Oreo cookies (filling and all) in a food processor until you have about 2 cups of finely ground crumbs.
- In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix until it resembles wet sand.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the mini tart pans and slightly up the sides. Make sure it is tight and compact! You can use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help pack down the crust.
- Bake the crusts at 350°F for 8-12 minutes or until they're dried out.
- Let cool completely before filling.
Chocolate Mousse
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the unsweetened chocolate in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes or until cool to the touch but still melted.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the cooled, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.
- It should be a thick, grainy paste.
- Add in 1 egg and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the second egg and beat for 5 more minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the third egg and beat for 5 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 5 more minutes. The filling should be incredibly smooth and silky and significantly paler in color than before. If you rub a bit of filling between your fingers, you shouldn't feel any sugar granules. If you do, continue to beat until it's fully smooth and all the sugar is dissolved.
- Spoon the filling into the fully cooled tart crusts, then chill in the fridge overnight (minimum 2 hours).
Whipped Cream
- Add whipping cream and vanilla extract to a large chilled mixing bowl.
- Use a stand mixer with whisk attachment or hand mixer on a medium to high speed to beat the whipped cream until it starts to get a little thick.
- Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
- Before serving, top the chocolate mousse tarts with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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