Before researching this post, the only mousse recipe I knew was the common chocolate version using a chocolate ganache folded into whipped cream. My vague understanding of mousse as a mid-20th century dessert was expanded with a little research starting with The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. I was surprised to find that to find recipes as early as the mid-18th century. François Menon’s 1750 recipe for Mousse à la crème calls for beaten whipped cream reinforced with beaten egg whites. The Oxford Companion defines mousse as:
“…chilled airy confections made from one of four bases: whipped cream; beaten egg whites; gelatin (in combination with one of the first two); or sugar syrup meringue (also called Italian meringue) combined with whipped cream.”
Below are several historical recipes for mousse, most using either gelatin or egg whites. If you are unsure of the health risks of eating raw eggs, pasteurized egg whites are available.
James, Alice L. Catering for Two, 1898
Caramel Sea Foam Cream Mousse
Sea-foam cream is made of whipped cream and whipped gelatin, and it cannot be a success unless both will whip perfectly. The cream must be stiff, and the gelatine a solid froth before they are put together.
Put one cupful of ice-cold cream and two teaspoonfuls of caramel into a cold bowl set in another of cracked ice and salt.
Whip until stiff; then add three tablespoonfuls of confectioner’s sugar, a few drops of extract of vanilla, and a few grains of salt.
Soak four level teaspoonfuls of gelatine in twenty teaspoonfuls of cold water ten minutes.
Then melt over the teakettle, and when a little cook whip until it is a solid froth, which will take about ten minutes.
Add this to the cream, and whip all together thoroughly; turn into a cold mould, and pack in ice and salt for three hours.
When ready to serve, turn out on a cold dish, and serve with any seasonal fruit, such as berries, or oranges cut in slices. Ripe peaches may be peeled and halved, the stone-cavities filled with cracked ice, and covered with sugar; half a fine peach is a portion. The fruit should be chilled. Care should be taken to have all utensils perfectly dry and clean, as gelatine will not whip to a froth if salt, cream, white of egg, or any foreign substance touches it before frothing.
Cream sold in half-pint glass jars is reliable for whipping.
Lowney's Cook Book, 1908
Chocolate Mousse
3 ounces Lowney’s Premium Chocolate 1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup thin cream 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated gelatine Whip from 3 cups cream
Melt chocolate; add sugar and one cup cream; boil one minute. Mix gelatine
with cold water, add to boiling mixture; when cool, add flavoring, salt and whip
from cream. Pour into omld, pack in equal parts of ice and salt, let stand four hours. See colored illustration, Plate XVIII.
Modern Priscilla Cook Book, 1924
Coffee Mousse
1 1/4 tablespoons granulated gelatine 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold water 1 quart cream, whipped
1 cup hot coffee 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Soak gelatine in water, add coffee and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, and cool until it begins to harden. Fold in cream to which vanilla has been added. Pack in ice and salt, and let stand for four hours. Servings, 8.
Maple Mousse
2 egg yolks 1 pint cream
1 cup maple syrup (hot)
Beat egg yolks and pour maple syrup over them stirring all the time. Cook mixture in a double boiler until it thickens, and cool. Whip cream, and fold into the mixture. Turn into mold and pack in ice and salt for three hours. Servings, 6.
Frigidaire Recipes 1928
Banana Mousse
2 Cups XX cream Pinch of salt
1/2 Cup confectioners sugar 2 Egg whites
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla 1 Cup bananas (sliced very thin)
Whip cream, add sugar and vanilla, fold in bananas which have been sliced very thin, and add stiffly beaten egg whites to which salt has been added. Pour into tray or individual cups. Allow to freeze by Method I for setting Cold Control or Method 1 for freezing desserts. [These methods include manual adjustments to the temperature controls primitive refrigerators. Just freeze until time to unmold and serve.]
This can be served with a small portion of whipped cream garnished with cherry or banana slices.
During the Eisenhower administration three kinds of mousse were found on the dessert menu for events held at the White House: strawberry, frozen honey, banana rum. In his book White House Chef François Rysavy listed the menu for a May 17, 1955 luncheon hosted by Mamie Eisenhower for the wives of Eisenhower’s Cabinet secretaries. Dessert at the event included frosted strawberry mousse with cookies. French-trained, Rysavy would undoubtedly have the classic method for mousse, including the use of beaten egg white.
The scaled-down recipe for strawberry mousse in his book is much simpler. He calls for two packages of frozen and sweetened strawberries or one quart of fresh strawberries crushed and strained to remove the seeds. Zest from one lemon was added and the fruit was folded into two cups of heavy cream beaten until stiff. In testing the recipe in mid-winter, I tried using the frozen-sweetened berries and found the end result disappointing. Fresh berries would undoubted have more flavor. In either case, I’d recommend draining the pureed berries to remove excess moisture.
“…chilled airy confections made from one of four bases: whipped cream; beaten egg whites; gelatin (in combination with one of the first two); or sugar syrup meringue (also called Italian meringue) combined with whipped cream.”
Below are several historical recipes for mousse, most using either gelatin or egg whites. If you are unsure of the health risks of eating raw eggs, pasteurized egg whites are available.
James, Alice L. Catering for Two, 1898
Caramel Sea Foam Cream Mousse
Sea-foam cream is made of whipped cream and whipped gelatin, and it cannot be a success unless both will whip perfectly. The cream must be stiff, and the gelatine a solid froth before they are put together.
Put one cupful of ice-cold cream and two teaspoonfuls of caramel into a cold bowl set in another of cracked ice and salt.
Whip until stiff; then add three tablespoonfuls of confectioner’s sugar, a few drops of extract of vanilla, and a few grains of salt.
Soak four level teaspoonfuls of gelatine in twenty teaspoonfuls of cold water ten minutes.
Then melt over the teakettle, and when a little cook whip until it is a solid froth, which will take about ten minutes.
Add this to the cream, and whip all together thoroughly; turn into a cold mould, and pack in ice and salt for three hours.
When ready to serve, turn out on a cold dish, and serve with any seasonal fruit, such as berries, or oranges cut in slices. Ripe peaches may be peeled and halved, the stone-cavities filled with cracked ice, and covered with sugar; half a fine peach is a portion. The fruit should be chilled. Care should be taken to have all utensils perfectly dry and clean, as gelatine will not whip to a froth if salt, cream, white of egg, or any foreign substance touches it before frothing.
Cream sold in half-pint glass jars is reliable for whipping.
Lowney's Cook Book, 1908
Chocolate Mousse
3 ounces Lowney’s Premium Chocolate 1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup thin cream 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated gelatine Whip from 3 cups cream
Melt chocolate; add sugar and one cup cream; boil one minute. Mix gelatine
Modern Priscilla Cook Book, 1924
Coffee Mousse
1 1/4 tablespoons granulated gelatine 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold water 1 quart cream, whipped
1 cup hot coffee 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Soak gelatine in water, add coffee and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, and cool until it begins to harden. Fold in cream to which vanilla has been added. Pack in ice and salt, and let stand for four hours. Servings, 8.
Maple Mousse
2 egg yolks 1 pint cream
1 cup maple syrup (hot)
Beat egg yolks and pour maple syrup over them stirring all the time. Cook mixture in a double boiler until it thickens, and cool. Whip cream, and fold into the mixture. Turn into mold and pack in ice and salt for three hours. Servings, 6.
Frigidaire Recipes 1928
Banana Mousse
2 Cups XX cream Pinch of salt
1/2 Cup confectioners sugar 2 Egg whites
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla 1 Cup bananas (sliced very thin)
Whip cream, add sugar and vanilla, fold in bananas which have been sliced very thin, and add stiffly beaten egg whites to which salt has been added. Pour into tray or individual cups. Allow to freeze by Method I for setting Cold Control or Method 1 for freezing desserts. [These methods include manual adjustments to the temperature controls primitive refrigerators. Just freeze until time to unmold and serve.]
This can be served with a small portion of whipped cream garnished with cherry or banana slices.
During the Eisenhower administration three kinds of mousse were found on the dessert menu for events held at the White House: strawberry, frozen honey, banana rum. In his book White House Chef François Rysavy listed the menu for a May 17, 1955 luncheon hosted by Mamie Eisenhower for the wives of Eisenhower’s Cabinet secretaries. Dessert at the event included frosted strawberry mousse with cookies. French-trained, Rysavy would undoubtedly have the classic method for mousse, including the use of beaten egg white.
The scaled-down recipe for strawberry mousse in his book is much simpler. He calls for two packages of frozen and sweetened strawberries or one quart of fresh strawberries crushed and strained to remove the seeds. Zest from one lemon was added and the fruit was folded into two cups of heavy cream beaten until stiff. In testing the recipe in mid-winter, I tried using the frozen-sweetened berries and found the end result disappointing. Fresh berries would undoubted have more flavor. In either case, I’d recommend draining the pureed berries to remove excess moisture.
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