Layered Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe with Ganache

This decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe is a chocolate lover's dream. Its a moist chocolate cake layered with a ridiculously rich yet light and airy mousse and finally covered with a silky, smooth layer of creamy chocolate ganache. Make it up to two days ahead and present a stunning stress free centerpiece for your next dinner party!

What makes this the best Chocolate Mousse Cake?

• Ridiculously delicious
  • Mousse is rich, airy and luscious
  • Ganache is intensely chocolaty and smooth
  • Cake offers the perfect neutral canvas
• Able to make ahead
  • Make it up to 2 days ahead
• Simple stress-free dessert
  • Easy to find ingredients
  • Full directions including step by step directions and tips provided
• Guaranteed crowd pleaser
  • Chocolate lover's dream
  • Stunning centerpiece
• Chocolate mousse recipe without eggs
  • Uses gelatin

This Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe is the ultimate chocolate dessert and is perfect for a dinner party or a special occasion like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day. You're going to love it!

What goes in this Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate cake

In addition to the usual cake ingredients like sugar, flour, eggs and unsalted butter, this chocolate cake recipe uses a cup of hot coffee to deepen and intensify the chocolate flavor. The coffee needs to be hot because the hot liquid helps the cocoa powder to dissolve. If you don't like coffee - feel free to use hot water.

The quality of the unsweetened cocoa powder actually makes a big difference. Premium gourmet brands of cocoa powder like Ghirardelli and Valrhona does make a difference in case you want to splurge.

Vanilla extract is used in this recipe to boost the flavor of the chocolate so that it does not compete with the flour, eggs and butter. Vanilla extract also helps 'unify' all the flavors in the cake. Its a little bit like salt - not necessarily adding flavor to the cake but missed when not used.

Chocolate mousse

This easy chocolate mousse is made with heavy cream, milk, chocolate chips and gelatin. its literally a chocolate lovers dream! I highly recommend using gelatin in this recipe as it provides stability and body to the rich chocolate mousse without changing the original taste and texture.

Chocolate ganache

Chocolate ganache is one of the easiest frostings that you can make. Because it uses only two ingredients, the quality of the chocolate again, really matters. Using small chocolate chips or a finely chopped chocolate bar makes it easier to melt the chocolate faster. There is no need to add vanilla to chocolate ganache as there are no competing flavors.

Dark or semi-sweet chocolate can make the ganache bitter. Adding a little corn syrup or sugar helps cut the bitterness.

How to make this Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate cake layers - make same day or the day before

Step One: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step Two: Line the bottom of two 8 inch springform pans with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the cake pan and parchment with non-stick cooking spray.

Step Three: In a separate bowl mix the chocolate cake dry ingredients well so that all the dry components are evenly distributed.

Step Three: Make the batter. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the wet ingredients - eggs, coffee, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

Step Four: Bake the cake. Pour half of the cake batter into each of the cake pans and place on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet with the cake pans into the middle oven rack. Bake for about 30 minutes, checking after 27 minutes a baking times can vary. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step Five: Cool the cakes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely in the springform pan on a wire rack

Chocolate mousse - make the day before

Step One: Bloom the gelatin. In a small bowl add the hot water and the gelatin powder, Stir. Allow the gelatin to bloom for at least 20 minutes.

Step Two: Melt the chocolate. Place the chocolate in a heat proof large bowl. In a small pot, bring the milk to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour half the boiling milk on top of the melted chocolate and let the mixture stand for about a minute. Stir gently with a whisk until fully combined. Add the remaining milk and mix thoroughly.

Step Three: Make a ganache. Using a hand blender, whisk the chocolate mixture into a glossy, silky ganache on medium speed. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until all the gelatin has dissolved. The ganache should have the consistency of mayonnaise. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature.

Step Four: Fold in the whipped cream. Once the ganache has cooled, whip the heavy whipping cream into medium stiff peaks on high speed which an electric mixer or a stand mixture fitted with a whisk attachment. Using a rubber spatula fold in about a cup of the whipped cream into the cooled ganache. Pour the mixture into the remaining whipped cream and gently fold until fully incorporated. Do not overmix, a few white streaks are ok as overmixing will deflate the mixture. Cover the mousse with plastic wrap so that the plastic presses directly on the surface. This will help prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 12 hours (overnight) to set. The cake is much easier to assemble if the mousse is cold.

Chocolate ganache- make the day before

Step One: Melt the chocolate. Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream on medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for about 3 minutes.

Step Two: Make the chocolate ganache. Using a small rubber spatula mix the chocolate and cream until fully combined. Let the ganache cool completely. Once the ganache is cool, let the ganache rest for at least 20 minutes so it can thicken before frosting the cake. You can also make the ganache in advance and keep it in the refrigerator before using it to frost the cake.

Assemble the cake - day of

Step One: Make the cake layers. Trim the top of each cake so that it is level and of equal height. Then slice each cake in half so that you have four layers.

Step Two: Layer the cake. Place a circle of cake on a serving platter or cake stand to form the bottom layer. Place some strips of parchment under the sides so that the exposed part of the plate or cake stand is covered for easy clean up later. Take about 1 ½ cups of the creamy chocolate mousse and spread on top. Flatten the top with a spatula. Repeat this process twice - you will have used ¾ of the mousse. Put the last circle of cake on top as the top layer. Spread a thin layer of any remaining chocolate mousse filling around the sides and top as a crumb layer. Run a bench scraper along the top and sides to smooth out the crumb coat. 

Step Three: Refrigerate the cake. Chill the cake for at least 1 hour (or overnight), so that the mousse can firm up.

Frost and decorate the cake

Step One: Remove the cake from the fridge. Remove the cake tin and peel off the parchment. Position the cake in the center of serving plate or cake stand.

Step Two: Frost with the chocolate ganache. Pour half of the ganache on top and smooth the top with an icing spatula or bench scraper. Frost the cake the sides of cake smoothing the sides.

Step Three: Decorate. If desired, top with fresh berries and/or chocolate shavings. Chill the cake, uncovered in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Tips for making the best Chocolate Mousse Cake

• When making ganache, it helps to chop the chocolate chips or chocolate bars into the smallest pieces possible so that it dissolves quickly.
• Unsweetened powdered cocoa, regardless of brand is difficult to fully dissolve in cold liquids. Use hot coffee or hot water to dissolve unsweetened powdered cocoa quickly.
• Vanilla extract helps intensify the flavor or chocolate when it is combined with competing flavors like flour and butter. It also helps to unify all the flavors. Adding vanilla to ganache does not help much because the only other ingredient other than chocolate is heavy cream which enhances but does not compete with the chocolate flavor.
• Using gelatin in chocolate mousse makes it more stable and stops it from dripping over the sides of the cake.
• Always mix or sift the dry cake ingredients to make sure that all the dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
• Chilling the cake for at least an hour (or overnight) before frosting with ganache helps the mousse set leading to a firmer cake.
• It is best to allow the chocolate mousse to chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours so that the mousse can set.
• The mousse is best served cold so chill the cake, uncovered in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Make ahead

You can make the cake up to two days ahead as long as it is covered and stored in the refrigerator.

All three components, the cake, mousse and ganache can be made up to two days ahead and assembled later as long as it is stored in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. The chocolate mousse is best used straight away so that it is at its most fresh and peak of its texture.

Refrigerating Chocolate Mousse Cake

You can store this Chocolate Mousse Cake covered in the fridge for about 3 days.

Nutrition

Each slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake has about 629 calories, 30.1g of fat and 84.7g of carbohydrates (80.6g of net carbs).

This recipe yields approximately 12 servings. The nutrition information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator and is intended for informational purposes only and should be used as a general guideline. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool.

Variations

• Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake: Add about ⅓ cup of hazelnut paste to the chocolate prior to pouring on the hot milk. Decorate with hazelnuts.
• Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake: Divide the mousse ingredients by a third. Instead of using one type of chocolate, make three bathes using white, milk and dark chocolate. Layer the cake starting with the different flavors of mousse. Decorate the cake with white and dark chocolate chips. You could also decorate with strawberries dipped in dark and white chocolate.
• Chocolate Pumpkin Cinnamon Mousse Cake: Use dark chocolate for one batch of mousse filling and pumpkin mixture for the other. To make the pumpkin mixture: simmer the milk with about ⅓ cup of pumpkin puree and ½ teaspoon of powdered cinnamon. Allow the mixture to cool, then fold in the sweetened whipped cream.

FAQs

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Finally, if you make this recipe

I'd love to hear how it went - please leave a comment and rate this recipe. Above all, I love hearing from all of you and will do my best to answer each and every comment!