The Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe

This is THE Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe. Soft and moist chocolate cake layer topped with super creamy chocolate mousse and soft chocolate ganache. 

This is a whole new level. Even for me as a chocoholic. Chocolate cake layer topped with chocolate mousse and a chocolate ganache on top. I’ve never loved a dessert as much as right now.

Although I’m already in Christmas baking mood, I love such evergreen baking recipes like this here.

Picture it: You with a slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake at 105°F.

Also picture it: You with a slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake at 32°F.

Do you see what I mean? I think we both agree that a slice of this Chocolate Mousse Cake is fine in every situation. No matter how cold or hot it is outside.

Ok. I already let the cat out of the bag. You know that there are three heavenly layers of dreamy chocolate with three different textures. Cake – mousse – ganache.

As much as I enjoyed baking and eating this cake, as much I loved to photograph it. I’m really passionate about photographing and work hard to improve myself ongoing.

I didn’t tell you that I’m a winner of the PDN Taste Food Photography Award 2018. I’m super thrilled, and it’s a huge honor to be a first place winner. I mean. The judges. You have to see the judges. These are editors of Magazines like the Food Network.

When I look back to my first posts, I would love to push the delete button. On the other hand, these are also great recipes and deserve to live on my blog. It’s a part of the journey, and I love to see how I improve over time.

At this point, I want to thank you for visiting my blog. I can’t tell how happy I am when I see that my monthly visitors are growing as well as my social media followers. This shows me that you enjoy what I do and this is by far the best feeling in the world.

Start with the chocolate mousse filling.

This is by far the trickiest part of this cake. If you follow the instructions, you won’t face any problems. But let’s talk about this a bit more in depth.

First, combine egg yolks, heavy cream, and sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon about 1-2 minutes. Do not boil at any time.

Then remove from the heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute. Then add melted chocolate and whisk until fully combined.

And there it can happen.

The chocolate splits, gets grainy, and you have an oily film on the surface.

This can happen when the chocolate was getting too fast too hot in the pan. So make sure that you remove the pan from the heat, continue whisking, and then add the chocolate.

And now what? What is IF the chocolate really breaks? Do you need to throw everything away and start new? Generally, no.

I found a great source to read around that topic. How to fix a broken ganache.

When this happened to you, the first thing you should do is to grab your electric mixer and mix until it comes together. In most cases, this will work fine and saves your ganache. It will be smooth and silky again. You can also mix in 1 tbsp of corn syrup or honey to smooth it.

If this all didn’t help, heat up heavy cream and stir it into the ganache little by little. Normally, this should help.

What is if your ganache is still broken? Well then you have to face the truth that the chocolate was way too hot, and you better do it again.

Did this ever happen to me? Of course! Multiple times. The most important thing: Don’t throw away your nerves! And in most cases, you can fix it very easy.

And if not? Ok, that’s bad because of the resources like food, money, and your time. But what should you do? What happened that happened. Go over and do it again. With practice, you get better, and you learn from mistakes.

This Chocolate Mousse Cake is

• extremely creamy
• out-of-this-world chocolatey
• a great dessert for every season
• beyond delicious

As you can see I sprinkled the cake with grated chocolate. Too much chocolate you think? Nope. Highly recommended. Also recommended are berries on top. They are a perfect fit for this cake.

If you make this Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #alsothecrumbsplease on Instagram! Would love to see your snap!

You may also like No-bake Pumpkin Chocolate Pie, Chocolate Coffee Cake Recipe, Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake, Best Homemade Chocolate Eclairs, or click here to see all recipes.

5 from 3 votes

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The Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe

Prep Time

40 mins

Cook Time

18 mins

Chill Time

12 hrs

Total Time

58 mins

 

This is THE Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe. Soft and moist chocolate cake layer topped with super creamy chocolate mousse and soft chocolate ganache. 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe

Servings: 20 servings

Calories: 489 kcal

Author: Also The Crumbs Please

Ingredients

Chocolate mousse

• 3 cups heavy cream, divided (720ml)
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar (50g)
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate, melted (525g)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted (90g)

Chocolate cake layer

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
• 3/8 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder (32g)
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar (150g)
• 1+1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil (60ml)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (60ml)
• 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/4 cup hot cocoa (60ml)

Chocolate glaze

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (175g)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream (180ml)

Instructions

1. Make the Chocolate Mousse: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1+1/2 cups heavy cream, egg yolks, and sugar and cook over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil at any time. Remove from heat and continue whisking about 1 minute. Add melted chocolate and whisk consistently. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely. If your chocolate ganache breaks, then read the blog post above to know how to fix the ganache easily.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Line the bottom and the sides of a 9" / 23cm baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

3. Make the chocolate cake layer: In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl with a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla* just until combined. Stir in dry ingredients to combine. Slowly mix in hot cocoa until combined. The batter will be thin. Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake. I baked mine for 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then open the springform pan and let cool to room temperature.

4. Continue with the Chocolate Mousse: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk 1+1/2 cups heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Stir about 1/4 of whipped cream into the cooled chocolate cream with a whisk. Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream with a wooden spoon.

5. Assemble the cake: Cut a thin layer off the top of your cake to create a flat surface. Close the springform pan again. Spread the chocolate mousse evenly on top of the cake layer. Chill overnight in an airtight container in the fridge.

6. Make the chocolate glaze: Place chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Place heavy cream in another heatproof bowl and microwave until very hot, almost boiling for about 1-2 minutes. Pour over chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk until smooth, and the chocolate is completely melted. Let cool in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes that it thickens. Test the consistency of the glaze down the side of the bowl. It should drip. The longer it stands, the thicker it gets. If it is too firm, re-warm it a few seconds in the microwave. Once it reached the desired consistency, it's ready to spoon on top of the cake.

7. Remove cake from the fridge and spoon the glaze little by little around the sides and let drip off the sides. Do this with a small spoon and do one drip at the time. Then spoon or pour the rest of the glaze on top of the cake (maybe you don't need all) and level with an offset spatula. Watch the video for better understanding. Place cake in the fridge for 15 minutes that the glaze gets firm if needed. Decorate with grated chocolate and berries if desired or to your preference. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.

Recipe Video

Notes

*First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife. Just use the seeds.