Costco Kirkland Chocolate Mousse Desserts Review
Author’s Note: I have no affiliation with Costco, and this is not a paid or sponsored review. I bought these desserts with my own grubby money! So there.
What’s the plural of “mousse”?
I’m finally trying these petite, single-serve Kirkland Chocolate Mousse Desserts from Costco. I thought I was going to save these for my Christmas dinner, but alas. My greedy stomach had other plans.
(If you landed here by mistake, and were looking for a review of Costco’s Chocolate Mousse Cake from the Bakery, I’ve reviewed that, too. Totally different animal.)
Addictive flavor.
The best thing about these little “mousses” is the FLAVOR. This is outstanding flavor. It’s deep, and tangy, and rich. Addictive, even. It tastes like cocoa on steroids. It tickled my brain neurons in just the right way. But maybe not an entirely “natural” way. More about that later.
Yes, but the texture?
Sadly, I didn’t like the mousse texture as much as I’d hoped. It’s not “bad,” but not the lush creaminess I’d hoped for. It’s more gelatinous than truly “creamy.” It has a sort of “gelled” structure. Soft, but rubbery. Almost marshmallowy. That’s a word now. Deal with it.
If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I always want real cream. Sadly, these “mousse” appear to be mainly a combination of skim milk, sugar, and “vegetable fats and oil” like palm, sunflower, and canola. While there IS real cream listed, it’s the SEVENTH ingredient, after “Glucose-Fructose Syrup.” Ew. There’s also a lot of gums and stabilizers and “stuff.” Keep reading for the full ingredients.
Say something nice about the crust.
The bottom crust offers a pleasant crunchy contrast. It’s like finely ground, crispy cookies, pressed into a moist layer. It’s slightly grainy, but in a nice way. Like me. The crust is not a prominent part of the dessert (it’s a thin layer), but I enjoyed the punctuation — nay, discovery — after all the slippery, spongey smoothness elsewhere.
Ganache, baby!
The ganache coating is smooth and near-liquid. Just shy of a syrup. It holds a shape, but juuuust barely. It has thee most intense chocolate flavor of the dessert layers. And a fudgy sweetness that feels exactly right. I licked mine off the plate, like an uncouth cocoa addict.
(Looking for another ganache-covered dessert? Check out my review of Publix Chocolate Ganache Supreme Cake.)
Rich richness richly enriches.
While these are tiny desserts, they are very rich. Even my greedy, chocolate-obsessed self could not fathom wanting anything more after eating just one of these “mousse.” They should leave your guests satisfied. Me thinks.
(I looked up the plural of “mousse,” and apparently it can be either “mousse” or “mousses.” This doesn’t feel right, but the internet never lies, does it?)
Still, I would probably plate these desserts in a way that makes them feel less “alone.” Perhaps an artistic flourish of chocolate sauce, or a squirt of whipped cream. Or even a few tangy raspberries and a dusting of cocoa powder. Something. No one should feel alone for the holidays, not even a rubbery mousse.
Serving the Chocolate Mousse
I would recommend keeping these refrigerated until right before plating, and then serve immediately. The ganache layer gets softer and slightly melty as it warms to room temperature, and the “mousses” will be hazardously messy.
These are packed in separate compartments, with their own lift-away plastic tray underneath each dessert. This is good, because they are super fragile, and potentially messy to move around.
Well, maybe “fragile” isn’t the right word — mine arrived home from the store in pristine condition, despite the cruel indignities of the checkout process. They’re packed really well, for sure.
I tried grabbing one of the mousse gently with my fingers to transfer it to a plate. But this was wrong. The ganache exterior is too sticky-soft to do that. Instead, I used a fork to “crowbar” the disk gently from the bottom and then scoop it onto a plate. Perfect.
If presentation is VERY important to you, try to get it centered on the plate before you set it down. Trying to scoot it over afterwards leaves a trail of clumsy chocolate regret.
Ingredients in Costco Kirkland Chocolate Mousse Desserts
Here is my best attempt at typing out the ingredients, from the label:
- Skimmed Milk
- Sugar
- Vegetable Fats and Oil (Palm, Sunflower, Canola)
- Water
- Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Low Fat Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor)
- Glucose-Fructose Syrup
- Cream
- Full Fat Cocoa Powder
- Coconut Oil
- Wheat Flour
- Low-Fat Cocoa Powder
- Ethyl Alcohol
- “Gelatine” Powder
- Egg Yolk
- Whey Powder
- Sweetened Condensed Milk (Whole Milk, Sugar)
- Lactose
- Modified Starch
- Xanthan Gum
- Soy Lecithin
- Carrageenan
- Tara Gum
- Pectin
- Tartaric Acid
- Mono-and-diglycerides of Fatty Acids
- Polysorbate 80
- Invert Sugar
- Flavors
- Potassium Sorbate
- Baking Soda
- Lactic Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides
- Salt
- Disodium Diphosphate
- Dark Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Lecithin Sunflower, Natural Vanilla Flavor)
Whoooo. That’s quite the list. It’s disappointing to see Polysorbate-80 and Disodium Diphosphate here, along with other “stuff,” including “Glucose-Fructose Syrup.” The ingredients include “flavors,” which gets a flavorful eyebrow-raise from me.
These mini desserts are imported from Belgium.
Nutrition Facts
A serving is 1 “cake” and contains 254 calories. You get 15 grams of fat (9 grams saturated fat) and 3 grams protein. There are 24 grams total carbohydrates, of which 2 grams are fiber (yaaaay, fiber!), and 20 grams are sugars (17 grams “added sugar”). There’s 18% your daily recommended value of cholesterol, and a wee 1% your daily value of sodium. Plus a staggering 20% your daily value iron. Who needs steak when there is chocolate?
Price and Servings
The 1 pound package cost $11 at my local Costco. Since there are 6 servings per package, each dessert costs about $1.83.
Curiously, the label says each dessert is “2.6 ounces.” Multiplied by 6, that is 15.6 ounces. Which is less than 1 pound. Whatever, I’m not mad. But the math ain’t mathing. And this is from someone terrible at math.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand product) and the item # is: 1742998.
My Costco tends to stock these around the holidays. I typically find them near the Deli/cheese area, or with the refrigerated quiches and dips.
Shelf Life
The “best by” date on my package allowed about 3 weeks to consume. A shorter lifespan than I expected. But, feasible.
The label says the desserts were previously frozen, and “do not refreeze.” So, don’t.
Dramatic Conclusion
I liked the elegant appearance and rich, addictive flavors of these single-serve mousse desserts. I am not as excited about the texture. And the ingredients were disappointing.
While these are very “nice” desserts, I’d probably only buy them again if there wasn’t anything else available. Like a Costco Tuxedo Cake. Yeah, I might buy these if there were no Tuxedo Cakes left in the world. Maybe. Hmmph!
On my extremely accurate “Awesome-o-Meter,” these mousses score a hesitant “Maybe.”
The End.
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