A layered dessert made from a rich chocolate cake, topped with creamy chocolate mousse and grated chocolate!
Hey I'm Grace! I'm one of Vanya's sisters and I love baking. She's asked me to contribute some of my favourite recipes to the website which is so exciting.
I'm a qualified chef and have worked in kitchens in New Zealand and overseas. I have even had my own dessert caravan which was super fun, I hope you enjoy my recipes!
If you are looking to impress a group of friends or family with an epic dessert, I highly recommend making my Chocolate Mousse Cake.
And the best part about this recipe? It's actually so easy to make.
You can use any sort of chocolate in this recipe although I highly recommend chocolate with at least 50% cocoa content. My preferred brand is Whittakers.
How to make Chocolate Mousse Cake:
Chocolate cake: To begin, preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water.
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, add all the remaining wet ingredients and mix well until smooth.
Pour the cake mix into a lined 23cm springform cake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch. Cool the cake on a wire rack in the tin.
Chocolate Mousse: Add 2 Tbsp cold water to the gelatin and set aside to ‘bloom’ for at least 5 minutes.
In a saucepan pour in ⅓ of a cup of the fresh cream, add the sugar. Stir on a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the gelatine and stir through.
Turn the heat to low and add 200g of the chocolate. Stir constantly until combined. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate has melted.
Whip the remaining cream until peaks form. Take approximately ¼ of the whipped cream and stir it into the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Add the remaining whipped cream and fold together gently.
Pour the mousse mixture onto the cooled cake base, smooth flat. Grate the remaining chocolate over the top and put in the fridge (still in the cake tin) to set for 4 hours or overnight.
Epic desserts are so much fun to share. If you're looking for other great ideas, check out my recipes for Baked Chocolate Tart and Berry Huge Pavlova. Or for a super quick and easy option, you can't go past my Ambrosia.
Common questions and tips for Chocolate Mousse Cake:
What does the coffee do and can you taste it? No you can't taste the coffee, it just enhances the chocolate flavour!
Can I make this the day before serving? Absolutely! Keeping the cake in the fridge overnight will give it lots of time to firm up.
TIPS:
- The best tin to make this dessert in is a round, springform tin. This makes it easy to get out.
- When lining a tin for this dessert you really need the sides covered. Start by placing a piece of baking paper across the base, then put the sides on and lock the clip. Next, line the edge with two pieces so that they overlap.
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Chocolate Mousse Cake
A soft, rich chocolate cake topped with a layer of homemade chocolate mousse and grated chocolate.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake:
- 1 cup flour (150g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1⁄4 cup cocoa powder (25g)
- 2⁄3 cup sugar (150g)
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1⁄3 cup boiling water (85ml)
- 70g butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 egg
- 1⁄3 cup milk (85ml)
Chocolate mousse:
- 1 tsp gelatine (powder)
- 2 cups fresh cream (500ml)
- 1⁄2 cup sugar (110g)
- 250g quality chocolate (save 50g for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan bake.
- Chocolate Cake: Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add instant coffee to boiling water then add with remaining wet ingredients to the bowl. Mix until smooth.
- Pour into a pre-lined 23cm springform cake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes then cool while still in the tin.
- Chocolate Mousse: Mix gelatine with 2 Tbsp cold water, leave to bloom for 5 minutes.
- In a large saucepan pour in 1⁄3 cup of cream then add the sugar. Stir on a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add gelatine mix and stir through.
- Turn the heat to low, add 200g of the chocolate broken up into pieces. Whisk constantly until the chocolate has melted then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a seperate bowl whip the remaining 1 2⁄3 cups of cream until peaks form. Take 1⁄4 of the whipped cream and stir it into the chocolate mixture until combined. Add remaining whipped cream and fold together gently using a spatula.
- Pour the mousse onto the cooled cake base and smooth out. Grate the remaining chocolate over the top and refrigerate (still in the cake tin) for 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove from the tin, cut and serve chilled.
Notes
- Ensure the cake has cooled completely before adding the chocolate mousse.
- Use chocolate with at least 50% cocoa content. My favourite is Whittakers.
- When melting chocolate in a pot, keep the heat really low and stir the whole time to prevent burning or splitting.
- To prevent the cake from sticking to the tin, I recommend lining the sides with baking paper.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 503Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 2gSugar: 38gProtein: 6g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
T
We made this cake, so good, though my mousse didn't fold like it should and just went runny but once set came out like mousse should, so still a win.
Wondering if you can make the mousse and use it through a piping bag once its set?
As if you would a sponge or biscuit number cake?
VJ cooks
It is so good!
Hmm, did you take 1/4 of the whipped cream and stir it through the melted chocolate before adding the chocolate back into the remainder of the cream? This part of the process helps to cool the chocolate down and should stop it from going too runny. Happy to hear it set in the end! I haven't tried putting mousse in a piping bag! If you did that, maybe you would want to do it when the mousse had almost set but not too firm.
Jackie
This was so easy to make and what a beautiful dessert. I took it to friends for pre Xmas dinner and served it with Deep South Vanilla Ice Cream. What A Hit!!!! Thanks so much for yet another fabulous recipe.
Li
So good!!! Just made this yesterday and it is delicious!
Lynette
Can I freeze this for a few days.
VJ cooks
The mousse and cake together would not freeze well sorry.
Karin Stedall
Hi vj
I made this recipe and it was super easy and a winner with the guests. I just have two questions. The recipe calls for 1 tsp of gelatine but in your step by step instructions it says 2 Tbl? Also is the 180 deg fan correct? The cake peaked quite badly and I flattened it while it was hot but that caused the cake to be more dense than I would have liked it. Most cakes made with this method are baked at 160 deg fan bake. Thanks
Karin Stedall
My apologies it’s 2Tbl of water!
VJ cooks
Hi Karin, I'm glad your guests liked it. Every oven is different so feel free to reduce the temperature if you need to. My cake hasn't domed before but if that is an issue, you could always slice the top off before putting the mousse in.
Caitlin
Hi there, I am wanting to make this for my husbands birthday and he is obsessed with chocolate and cherry. Do you think I could put defrosted frozen cherries through the mousse? Or would it be better to have them on the top? It might be too hard basket and may be best to serve them on the side. What do you think? Thanks!
VJ cooks
What a lovely idea! You could make a cherry coulis and serve it on the side? or give my Chocolate Gateau a go - layers of chocolate cake and cherries. https://vjcooks.com/black-forest-gateau/
Trace
Just before I make this for the 1st time ( birthday present for a friend), need to check 2 things please? 1. that when I add the first 1/4 cup of whipped cream, should the melted choc mix be cool first? also, 2. What is the strength of your gelatine? Thanks
VJ cooks
Hi Trace. Yes the chocolate mixture should be slightly cooled - I've amended the recipe to reflect this. I use the McKenzie's gelatine powder from my local supermarket.
Maureen Braun
This dessert is absolutely gorgeous.
Made it yesterday for a dinner tonight.
I used Whittaker milk chocolate and served it with Barkers Strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream.
It would have to be one of the most beautiful desserts I've made and I've prepared hundreds over the years
VJ cooks
Oh wow that sounds amazing! I'm so pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Tabs
What can I use to replace the coffee so that kids can eat this please?
VJ cooks
You can just leave it out 🙂