Chocolate Mousse Cake
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!
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 629kcal
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or electric mixer
- Two 8 inch cake pans
- Parchment
- wire rack
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 ¾ cups granulated white sugar (400g)
- 2 cups all purpose flour (245g)
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (75g) natural or Dutch processed
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs large
- 1 cup coffee or water hot
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Mousse
- 1 packet unflavored gelatine powder (7g)
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 11.5 oz milk chocolate chips or dark based on your preference
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces milk chocolate very finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 8 inch cake pans with parchment. Spray the inside of the cake pan and parchment with non-stick cooking spray.
- 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 remaining dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Bake the cake. Pour half of the batter into each of the cake pans and place on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet with the cake pans into the middle rack of the oven. 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.
- Cool the cakes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack.
Prepare the Chocolate Mousse
- 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.
- Place the chocolate in a heat proof medium sized bowl. In a small pot, bring the milk to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour half the boiling milk on top of the 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.
- Using a hand blender, whisk the chocolate mixture into a glossy, silky ganache. 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.
- Once the ganache has cooled, whip the cream into medium stiff peaks in 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 ribbons are ok as overmixing will deflate the mixture.
Assemble and chill the cake
- 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.
- Layer the cake. Place a circle of cake on the bottom. Take about 1 ½ cups of 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 cake circle on top. Use the remaining mousse around the sides and top as a crumb layer. Run a bench scraper along the top and sides to smooth out the crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 -4 hours.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate chips 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.
- Using a small rubber spatula mix the chocolate and cream until fully combined. Let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes before frosting the cake.
Frost the cake
- 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. 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.
- Top with fresh berries and/or chocolate shavings. Serve cake immediately or chill, uncovered for 4 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
- 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.
