This creamy Ricotta Coffee Mousse is an easy-to-make dessert with rich flavours of coffee and sweet cream. Add chocolate shavings to get the flavour of a coffee mocha mousse! Gluten-free and keto-friendly.
If you love your morning latte, you'll love this ricotta coffee mousse for dessert! It's rich and creamy with that sweet and bitter contrast we love in our gourmet coffee drinks.
Best of all, this is an easy make-ahead dessert that can be prepared the day before you need it.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
While this dreamy creamy ricotta mousse is delicious as served in the photo above, it would also be ideal to serve it in mini dessert glasses for a light dessert. Tiny desserts like this Mini No-bake Cranberry Orange Cheesecake or 10-Minute Creamy Lemon Ricotta Cherry Parfait are often what your friends want after a big meal.
This ricotta coffee mousse is gluten-free and suitable for those on a keto diet when you use zero-calorie sweetener. It can also be made with granulated sugar for those not on a special diet.
Easy coffee-flavoured desserts like an Italian Affogato top my list of favourites. This mousse recipe was inspired by Saveur's Ricotta Coffee Mousse. I changed the recipe considerably as I found the mousse tasted slightly bitter on its own.
Once I added the sweetened whipped cream with hints of orange on top, the combination was perfect! Sweet fluffy cream and mellow smoky coffee together in one seemingly sinfully rich spoonful make a spectacular dessert!
And when you add a dusting of shaved chocolate on top, this coffee mousse is almost transformed into a mocha coffee mousse!
🛒 Ingredients
Ready to make this easy, make-ahead coffee mousse? Here's what you'll need.
- ricotta cheese
- heavy cream: (whipping cream) for both the mousse and the whipped topping
- sweetener: Monkfruit sweetener or erythritol or granulated sugar
- instant espresso powder
- powdered gelatin: you'll use gelatin in both the mousse and the whipped topping
- garnishes: orange zest and shaved chocolate
🥄 Equipment
- a blender
- an electric mixer
- 2 large bowls
- 2 very small bowls
- measuring cups and spoons
- spatula
- microplane or fine grater
- piping bag with a star tip
- sundae glasses or other dessert glasses (I used Margarita glasses)
🔪 Instructions
- First, blend the ricotta cheese until very smooth to remove its grainy texture.
- Next, whip the cream with sweetener, then set aside while you prepare the espresso mixture and the gelatin.
- Combine the powdered instant espresso with water to dissolve.
- Next, whisk the gelatin in boiling water, stirring quickly and consistently until it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain.
- Stir the espresso mixture into the ricotta, then add the gelatin mixture and finally fold in the whipped cream. Pour into dessert glasses and chill.
- Meanwhile, whip the cream for the topping. For a smoother texture, use powdered 0-calorie sweetener or powdered sugar. If desired, add 1 teaspoon of dissolved gelatin to help the cream hold its shape.
- Gently fold in finely grated orange zest. Don't leave out this ingredient! It adds amazing flavour.
- Pipe whipped cream on top of each filled dessert glass. Garnish with finely grated chocolate or chocolate curls.
- Refrigerate until serving time.
⏰ Make ahead!
This coffee mousse can be made a full day before you plan to serve it! Keep it refrigerated.
Store any leftover mousse in the fridge. It will stay fresh for a few days.
👍🏼 Expert Tip: How to make whipped cream hold its shape
If you want to pipe whipped cream so it looks like buttercream frosting, add 1 teaspoon of gelatin dissolved in 1 tablespoon of boiling water to the bowl as you are whipping it. It will make it a little more firm and will hold its shape when you pipe it.
Enjoy every last delicious spoonful!
When you make this coffee mousse, please leave a comment and a rating below. Thanks in advance! Subscribe to my weekly newsletter and have new recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
🗒 More delicious mousse recipes
- Double Chocolate Mousse Torte
- Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
- Light Lemon Mousse with Greek Yogurt
- Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse
This coffee mousse recipe was originally published in 2018. It has been updated with extra information to make it more helpful!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Ricotta Coffee Mousse
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled (whipping cream)
- ⅓ cup Monkfruit sweetener with erythritol, or granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
For whipped cream topping
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled, (heavy cream)
- ⅓ cup Monkfruit sweetener with erythritol, or powdered Swerve (or powdered sugar)
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, finely grated
- shaved chocolate, for garnish
Instructions
- Purée ricotta in a blender until very smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
- Whip 1 cup heavy cream with ⅓ cup granulated sweetener until soft peaks form. Set aside.
- Boil ¼ cup water on stove top or in microwave. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the water with espresso powder in a small bowl. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons of water with gelatin in another small bowl until completely dissolved. If it doesn't dissolve completely, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Stir espresso mixture into ricotta, then stir in gelatin mixture. Fold in the whipped cream in three stages. Divide evenly among 6 dessert glasses (or 10 - 12 mini dessert glasses) and chill in refrigerator until set.
- Meanwhile, whip 1 cup whipping cream with ⅓ cup granulated sweetener. Mix 1 teaspoon gelatin with 2 tablespoons water, heat to boiling in the microwave until, stirring until completely dissolved. Add to whipped cream mixture and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold in orange zest.
- Transfer whipped cream mixture to a piping bag and pipe on top of the chilled coffee mousse desserts. Garnish with shaved chocolate and refrigerate until serving time.
Carolyn
Those hints of espresso are amazing in this dessert. I'm going to make it again for New Year's!
Elaine
Thanks Carolyn! And thanks for the 5 stars!
Lana
Rich and delish! Tried this out last weekend. I'm going to make it my holiday party coming up. Thanks for making me look good lol.
Elaine
Happy to hear you like it as much as I do! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Diana
OMG. This is SO delicious. I made it for my friends last weekend and everyone loved it. It will be great for a holiday dessert, too. Thank you!!
Denise from Urb’n’Spice
Your Creamy Ricotta Coffee Mousse sounds so yummy, Elaine. I love individual desserts, (and also mini ones as you mentioned) especially at this time of year. I look forward to trying this! Thanks for the tip on stabilizing the whip cream - that is brilliant!
Kristen
This dessert is so decadent, love the addition of espresso and it's even more perfect because it can be made ahead of time.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks so much Kristen!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
These look so elegant Elaine! Perfect dessert for a holiday dinner party! Or breakfast, right?! There's coffee in there so I think they are fair game for breakfast! 😉
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Leanne, I'm a coffee lover, but even I would stop at this for breakfast! 🙂
Ayngelina
Wow I never thought keto desserts would look this good.
Flavour & Savour
Surprised me too! The Monkfruit sweetener works just like granulated sugar in some recipes like this one.
Bernice Hill
I don't know what Keto is but these look delicious to me! The photos just really make me want to dive right in. I'd be happy to serve those to my guests.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Bernice! I made this dessert with 0-calorie sugar so my hubby (who is on a sugar-free diet) could enjoy it, but you can easily make it with regular granulated sugar. It's SO good!
Colleen
Mmm, I love coffee anything, anytime, so this dessert is right up my alley. Pinning to try.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Colleen! Hope you get a chance to make it soon.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I absolutely LOVE the espresso powder in here! Coffee flavour in desserts is so good! This looks unbelievably creamy and I bet would be so lovely for entertaining. The presentation is beautiful 🙂 Pinned and trying soon!
Joanne
This looks so delicious and I plan on making this soon.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks Joanne! Let me know if you do!