4-Ingredient Matcha Mousse

If you have 30 minutes to spare, you can make this this fluffy matcha mousse. It’s sweet with a delicate green tea flavor, and only takes 4 ingredients to make! It’s the perfect light dessert to follow any meal.

The Four Basic Components

You will only need 4 ingredients for this recipe: sugar, egg whites, culinary-grade matcha powder, and heavy cream. You will use the sugar and egg whites to make a meringue, and you will use the sugar and heavy cream to make whipped cream. The two mixed together make a delicious, fluffy matcha mousse.

Since there are only a few ingredients in this recipe, using high-quality ingredients will make the difference between a good and bad mousse. Here are a few culinary-grade matcha brands that I like to use:

• Aiya Culinary Grade Matcha (affiliate link to Amazon opens in new tab)
• Mizuba Culinary Grade Matcha (affiliate link to website opens in a new tab and adds coupon code for free shipping, PPMatcha)

Raw Eggs or Not?

This recipe contains raw eggs, but I am also including instructions to cook them. Why? Because those who are pregnant, have compromised immune systems, and are older or under 3 years old, and others should not be consuming raw eggs. To make this recipe with cooked eggs requires a few extra steps. Here they are:

1. First, whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a heat-proof bowl or the top piece of a double boiler. Then place over a pot of simmering water (or the bottom part of your double boiler) on medium heat.
2. Make sure the surface of the simmering water doesn’t touch the bottom of the heat-proof bowl. This will cook the eggs more than you want and the recipe will fail.
3. Whisking constantly, cook the egg mixture until it reaches 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read (opens in new tab) or infrared thermometer (opens in new tab), which should take about 10-11 minutes. Do not stop whisking, or the eggs will solidify. If the steam gets too hot over your hand, use an oven mitt. Carefully remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Then, use this mix to proceed with the recipe as normal.

How To Make Matcha Mousse

First, make the matcha whip. Add the three egg whites to a mixer (or large bowl if using a hand mixer.) Whip the egg whites until they turn white and begin to stiffen, then add a 1/3 cup of sugar and whip the egg and sugar mixture until stiff peaks form (photo 1). Finally, add 1 tbsp of culinary-grade matcha powder (affiliate link opens in new tab) and mix to incorporate (photo 4). Make sure to clean the mixer or hand mixer before using it in the next step.

Now, it’s time to make the whipped cream. Whip one cup of cold heavy cream in a clean mixer bowl or medium-sized bowl. When the whipped cream begins to get stiff (photo 2 below), add 1/3 cup of sugar and vanilla extract. Whip the sugar and cream mixture until stiff peaks form (photo 3 below).

Note: It is important for the mixer and bowl to be clean between making the meringue and whipped cream portions of the mousse or the cream will not whip properly.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the matcha whip 1/3 at a time until fully incorporated.

Cover and keep in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. You can also keep it overnight and up to 4 days in the refrigerator if you’d like to make it in advance.

This recipe keeps 4-5 days in the refrigerator, and keeping it in the fridge helps to preserve the light, fluffy texture of the mousse. Please cover it in the fridge.

My Favorite Way to Serve This Recipe

I like to serve this recipe with a 1/2 serving of matcha mousse next to a 1/2 serving of dark chocolate mousse. The pairing is wonderful, and both can be made in advance!

Or, make a matcha mouse and chocolate mousse layered French silk pie!

One More Step to Make It Ice Cream

Frozen mousse is also known as semifreddo, an Italian semi-frozen ice cream that does not require an ice cream maker. If you want to turn this mousse into a semifreddo, you can find step-by-step instructions in my post for Strawberry Matcha Semifreddo.

Here is the gist… Transfer to either a 1/4 baking sheet or any glass baking dish that is 9×13, 9×9, 8×8, 9×5 or similar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.

More Light and Tasty Desserts

Need a little sweet treat after a meal? I have some great options for you!