I’m hardly an expert on mousse — my most vivid memories of it include repeatedly sampling it at Notre Dame’s dining hall’s “fancy” dinners on the nights of home football games. Even though I kept trying it, I was always disappointed. My husband, completely independent of me, had the exact same experience. (We also independently concluded that ND’s (south) dining hall serves the only pizza *anywhere* that we don’t like. It’s strange, really, because the Notre Dame dining halls are generally fantastic.)
This recipe, the one I used for a French baby shower, was a mousse I really liked! It was also extremely easy to make, especially compared to recipes that require making a custard. It was less easy to put in the glasses, as it’s too thick to pour nice and evenly into small vessels.
The mousse is lighter on day one, then a bit stiffer after. It doesn’t change in consistency between day two and seven, so feel free to make it several days in advance if you aren’t able to make it just before serving.
I added chopped chocolate chips and cherries as garnish, but you can skip the topping or add whipped cream (as called for in the recipe) instead!