Cool, creamy and full of rich chocolate flavor, you won’t miss the added fat and calories in this lightened up chocolate mousse recipe. Perfect for Valentine’s Day but healthy enough to eat any day of the year.



When it comes to dessert, I almost always gravitate towards chocolate. In fact, my daily splurge is usually a square or two (or three) of high quality, dark chocolate. Despite the name of this blog, I’m actually not a huge fan of lemony desserts and I rarely make crisps, cobblers or crumbles unless I have a bunch of fruit to use up after apple picking or a day at the blueberry patch.

That being said, when my friends at Circulon challenged me to create a healthy and delicious dessert for Valentine’s Day, I knew immediately that I was going to create a lighter version of the classic chocolate mousse. In fact, just recently I splurged and made Bobby Flay’s Dark Chocolate Mousse for New Year’s Eve. While completely delicious and decadent, my body is not used to such rich, heavy sweets so I was eager to make a healthier version.

My chocolate espresso mousse is a nod to my mother who always adds espresso powder to chocolate desserts. Every year on our birthdays she bakes a giant yellow duck cake topped with a chocolate espresso frosting. It is to die for and coffee simply heightens the natural chocolate flavors.

This version also happens to be naturally gluten free and can easily be made dairy free by using Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips.

How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?? Are you hitting the town or making a cozy meal at home?

Your loved ones are waiting.