How Long Does Mousse Last? Will It Spoil?
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An easy, yet indulgent dessert, mousse is rich, decadent, and very sinfully satisfying. Made with heavy cream, sugar, and eggs as the main ingredients, the mousse has a creamy and soft texture. While chocolate mousse is the most popular kind, mousse can be made with other flavors including berries, mangos, lemon, butterscotch, vanilla bean, and many more. Whatever your mousse’s flavor, it does not do well when not refrigerated.
This is why mousse needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible. The mousse will last for about 3 to 6 hours, depending on the climate. If you are making chocolate mousse or mousse cake, you need to refrigerate it ideally within an hour of making it. If you live in a place with cooler temperatures, it can last outside for not more than 6 hours. Place it in a fridge-friendly container, preferably, crockery or glass, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. It will last in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the mousse; it will last for about 2 months.
Things to remember when making and storing mousse:
- Mousse has a relatively short shelf life.
- The eggs used are not cooked or baked, just beaten and cooled, so you cannot leave the mousse out for too long, as it has a very high chance of spoiling.
- Similarly heavy cream does not do well when not refrigerated, especially in warmer temperatures.
- When the mousse is left out, not only does it spoil, but its taste and texture also suffer, it becomes dense and soupy, instead of soft and light.
- Mousse cake, mousse pie, and mousse tart, similarly, cannot be left out for more than a couple of hours, the cake will start collapsing when the mousse starts to melt.
How To Store Mousse?
If you have made mousse or have store-bought mousse, here is how to store it:
- If you have leftover mousse, which you intend to finish within the week, you can place it in a glass dish and cover tightly with saran wrap or plastic wrap and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge.
- You can also store it in an airtight container.
- If you have store-bought mousse that you have not opened yet, keep it as is, in its packaging until ready to eat. This is because store-bought mousse is professionally packaged and airlocked and will be safe as is.
- If you have opened the store-bought mousse, then transfer it to an airtight container or cover it tightly with wrap and store it in the fridge.
- If you have store-bought frozen mousse, which you don’t intend to use immediately, then keep it in your freezer till ready to eat. To thaw you can keep it out for 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the temperature. You can also thaw it in the refrigerator as mousse tastes best when eaten cold.
Can You Freeze Mousse?
Technically, you can freeze mousse, but it may not freeze. Let me explain. If the mousse you have has gelatin, then it won’t freeze. Gelatin is a thickening agent that is very often used in desserts to give it some form. But the consistency of gelatin is such that it doesn’t freeze well. This does not mean, you should not store your mousse in the freezer, you still can, just be aware that it will not “freeze up”. It will retain its texture and consistency.
To freeze mousse, place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer. Your mousse will last for about 2 months. You can thaw it in the refrigerator or outside the fridge.
Mousse cake, on the other hand, gets gloopy when frozen and thawed. Usually, when you freeze the cake, it hardens, unlike the mousse, so when you thaw it, the cake gets soft, almost mushy and the mousse texture makes it even more squishy. Most things with a crust get very soft or overtly crumbly when frozen and then thawed.
How Long Does Mousse Last? Does It Go Bad?
Mousse, whatever the flavor or type of dessert, whether it is plain mousse or mousse cake, or mousse pie, does not have a very long shelf life, this is mainly because the ingredients used will not last long outside the refrigerator. The eggs and the heavy cream used are especially susceptible to decay. If you have mousse at home, for the best quality and taste, keep it refrigerated as soon as you make it. Mousse has a distinctive soft texture and rich taste, if you leave it out, the mousse does start softening or “melting”, this won’t affect the taste and it won’t spoil, but it won’t have the soft yet firm consistency of mousse.
Here’s a quick and handy table to give you some guidance on how long mousse will last.
| Type of mousse | Pantry | Fridge | Freezer |
| Homemade | 3 – 6 hours | 3 – 5 days | 2 months |
| Store-bought | 3 – 6 hours | 4 – 5 days | 2 – 3 months |
| Frozen | 2 months |
Does Mousse Spoil? How To Tell When Your Mousse is Spoiled?
Yes, mousse can and will definitely spoil. You can certainly try and extend the shelf life by using only fresh, quality ingredients and storing the mousse properly, but despite all this, the mousse will spoil. This is because many of the ingredients used have significantly short shelf lives. The cream and eggs are particularly prone to spoilage.
Even if you have stored the mousse in the fridge or freezer, the mousse will spoil after its expiry date. Here’s how to tell if your mousse is past its date.
- The mousse will have a noticeably bad smell. The odor will be sour and will smell “off”. This is the first indication that your mousse has turned. Do not consume or taste it to make sure, if it smells bad it is spoiled and needs to be discarded immediately.
- Because of its texture, it can be hard to immediately notice spoilage on the mousse, especially if it is chocolate mousse. For mousse made from fruit, there might be a perceptible change in color. But usually, if you see a white coating on the mousse, then you can be assured it has spoiled. This is the fat that has melted and risen to the top.
- If your mousse does not have a noticeable smell or coating, you can take a quick taste to make sure. You will know right away if the mousse is off, as it will have a very sour taste. Spoiled cream and eggs have a very distinctive taste.
- If you ever have any doubts about your mousse, even if it’s within its expiry date, get rid of it. Spoiled dairy products and spoiled eggs both do significant damage to your health and gut when consumed.
