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This raspberry mousse is smooth, fruity, and surprisingly sturdy. It’s the kind of filling that holds its shape in a layer cake but still feels light and luscious on the spoon. Made with real raspberries and rich mascarpone, it brings bold flavor without getting bogged down in heaviness.
You can swirl it into a trifle, spoon it into tart shells, or serve it solo in a pretty glass.
The recipe begins with a jam made from fresh raspberries that will leave you with plenty of extra for swirling onto the mousse or serving alongside another dessert, like this lemon raspberry parfait or our flourless chocolate cake.
Here’s Why This Raspberry Mousse Recipe Works
Real raspberries, no seeds: Cook down fresh or frozen berries, then strain out the seeds for a smooth texture.
Mascarpone for structure: Creamy and slightly tangy, it balances the fruit and helps the mousse hold its shape without feeling heavy.
A touch of gelatin: Just enough to keep things stable between cake layers. No rubbery texture here.
Whipped cream = airiness: Folding in whipped cream keeps it light and mousse-y instead of dense or stiff.
This raspberry mousse sets up firmly and is similar to our white chocolate mousse filling in that it’s perfect to pipe or spread between two fluffy cake layers.
We also have a raspberry white chocolate mousse recipe, but this recipe uses more raspberries and you can drizzle it with extra puree
Recipe Tips
Chill your tools: Cold cream, cold bowl, cold beaters. Whipped cream comes together faster and holds its peaks better when everything’s nice and chilly.
Gently dissolve the gelatin: Heat it in short bursts and stir often. If you overheat it, you’ll kill its thickening power.
Fold, don’t stir: Use a spatula and a light hand to fold the whipped cream into the mixture. Stirring deflates all that lovely air.
Strain the jam: Don’t skip it. Straining gives you that silky-smooth texture that makes the mousse feel polished and professional.
Measure the jam: Stick to 1 cup. Too much, and your mousse won’t set up properly.
Raspberry Mousse Filling
This raspberry mousse filling is smooth, sturdy, and full of real berry flavor. It holds its shape, works beautifully between cake layers, and comes together with simple, real ingredients.
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Raspberry Mousse
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Ingredients
Make the Raspberry Jam (or purchase jam)
- 24 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the Raspberry Mousse
- 2 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup mascarpone cheese, , chilled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
Instructions
- Place a mixing bowl and whisk in the fridge to chill. You will use the chilled bowl when you whip the cream.
Make the Jam (or use 1 cup of store bought jam)
- Place the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, breaking it up with a fork or potato masher. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes until thick.
- Place a strainer over a bowl and pour the raspberry mixture into the strainer. Push the mixture through the strainer. You should have 1¼ cups to 1⅓ cups of seedless jam. Toss out the seeds. Place the jam in the fridge to cool (If you are starting with store bought jam, pass 1⅓ cups through a strainer to remove the seeds).
Make the Mousse
- Add the mascarpone and the confectioners sugar to a large bowl. Stir by hand with a wide spatula to incorporate the sugar and smooth the mascarpone. Set aside.
- Place ¼ cup of water in a small microwavable bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top of the water, give it a stir, and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. This will hydrate (or bloom) the gelatin.
- When the gelatin absorbs all the water, place the bowl in the microwave. Zap it for 10 to 20 seconds stopping to stir every 4 seconds until it is dissolved, liquified and slightly warm to the touch. Do not cook the gelatin mixture too much as high heat will destroy the thickening power of the gelatin.
- Pour the heavy cream into the chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form (when you lift the whisk, the cream will form a peak then flop over on itself). Once the cream reaches the soft peaks stage, drizzle in the gelatin mixture and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
- Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Then fold in the rest of the whipped cream in 2 separate batches. Give the chilled raspberry jam a stir to loosen it up. Measure out 1 cup of jam and fold it into the whipped cream mixture.
- Keep chilled until time to serve. The mousse will thicken even more after 4 to 6 hours in the fridge. If you have leftover jam, you can thin it out with a splash of water and use it to swirl into the mousse or layer it in parfait glasses.
Notes
- Make sure the cream and mascarpone are chilled as well as the bowl.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The mousse will continue to firm up in the fridge.
- Nutrition based on ½ cup per serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Tried making this, followed the directions precisely and it broke twice. Really disappointed as the ingredients were very expensive.
I’m so sorry to hear that you had trouble with this recipe, and I completely understand your frustration, especially with the cost of the ingredients. Admittedly, this is one of my more technically challenging recipes due to the fussy nature of working with mascarpone.
I did some recipe testing today and have updated the process to help ensure better results. I really appreciate your feedback, as it helps me improve and make the recipes more accessible for everyone. If you give it another try, I hope you have more success with the new instructions
Would this work as a filling for an almond flour cake?
Sure, that sounds really delicious. Thanks for the question.
It curdled! Any way to get it back?
Yes, you can save the curdled mascarpone! Gently warm the curdled mixture over low heat or microwave it in short bursts, stirring well after each interval until it thins out and becomes smooth. This typically happens quickly, so watch it closely and be careful to avoid overheating. Allow it to cool to room temperature before re-whipping it with a mixer.
Thanks for the question, I will add a note to the recipe card because mascarpone tends to curdle very easily.
@Dahn Boquist, I microwaved and then re whipped and it curdled again
It is most likely that you are over-whipping the mascarpone. It can be a fussy ingredient to work with. If you want to make it a bit easier, you can either whisk some heavy cream into the mixture or whip some softened cream cheese then gently whip the mascarpone mixture into that.
I love this raspberry mousse! I made a chocolate chiffon cake for my husbands bday and split it into three layers and filled with this mousse. I did forget to pick up mascarpone cheese so I used philidelphia cream cheese instead and it came out perfectly. Everyone who tried it thought it was fantastic and this includes some fairly picky eaters!
I am wondering if I could use this base for other flavours. Strawberry, chocolate, cherry? I hate those mousses that use raw egg and will not take that chance so I hope to make these flavours as well. Any changes I might need to make here?
Certainly! You can definitely use this recipe as a base for a variety of flavors. When switching to different fruits, keep in mind that the water content can vary significantly, which means you might need to adjust how long you reduce the fruit puree. For a chocolate version, melt some chocolate and fold it into the mousse base. Your successful substitution of cream cheese for mascarpone will continue to work well with these flavor variations.
This is the best mousse recipe! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Great for cake filling too. So Yummy!
Thank you, I am so glad to hear that. Yes, I do use it as a cake filling as well. Thanks for the comment.
Hello, If I’m making the raspberry mousse for the chocolate sponge cake, should I spread it on straight away or should I leave it to set for a while? (the mousse that is)
You can add it right away, thanks for the question.
Can I make the mousse ahead if time to assemble the cake the day after?
I would recommend making the cake ahead of time. The mousse will hold up for a couple of days but most cakes last longer.
I made this twice and it broke, twice. I don’t know how you whip the marscapone and get all the lumps out without overbeating it. Even if you make it to that point, beating it on low with the raspberry purée in it makes it break. Waste of expensive ingredients!
Mascarpone will break very easily if you overbeat it. Just whip it to soft peaks initially and when you add the raspberry puree watch it closely. Stop the mixer as soon as it reaches stiff peaks even if the raspberry is not completely blended. You can finish blending it by gently folding it with a spatula.
Just to confirm before my attempt. The recipe says it uses Marscapone Cream – I don’t see this a purchasable in my area. In the image, it just looks like Marscapone cheese. I just want to confirm that it should be Marscapone cheese, please?
yes, sorry for the confusion. Marscapone cheese is what you need.
@Dahn Boquist, Awesome! Thank you so much! so exited to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Happy to help, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
So airy, fluffy and creamy!