Can I Make The Instant Chocolate Mousse With White Chocolate?

Our answer

Nigella's Instant Chocolate Mousse (from NIGELLA EXPRESS) is made with melted dark (bittersweet) chocolate, melted marshmallows and whipped cream. The mousse sets very quickly, hence the "instant", due to the marshmallows and the high level of cocoa solids in the chocolate.

White chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids. It is made from cocoa butter, milk, sugar and vegetable fats and flavoured with vanilla. White chocolate can also vary a lot in quality, with some bars having a high proportion of vegetable fat. The lack of cocoa solids means that it is less likely that the mousse will set quickly. You may find that if you use a chocolate with a high proportion of cocoa butter and also refrigerate the mousse overnight then it will set, but will be slightly softer than the dark chocolate mousse and will need to be served straight from the fridge. The other thing to bear in mind is that white chocolate is much sweeter than dark chocolate and combined with the sweetness of the marshmallows it could be too sweet and a little cloying. We would suggest trying Nigella's White Chocolate And Passionfruit Mousse instead, as this is also easy to make and the sharp passionfruit is a good balance to the sweet white chocolate.