Chocolate Mousse Cake

Published: Oct 19, 2022 by Dina

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This Chocolate Mousse Cake has all the flavors you desire in a decadent dessert. Moist chocolate cake base, rich and creamy mousse, and a thick raspberry jam, what not to love?

If you are a major chocolate lover, then you need to try this fudgy Nutella Cake and Drunken Chocolate Cherry Cake.

A slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake with berries on a white plate.

Table Of Contents

Recipe Details
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
Add-ins and Substitutions
How to Make Chocolate Mousse Cake
Recipe Tips
FAQs
Serving Suggestions
Make This Recipe in Advance
More Decadent Desserts!
Full Recipe Instructions

Recipe Details

This Chocolate Mousse Cake is beautiful, decadent, and absolutely delicious. I love making this recipe for my family, but also to serve at get-togethers and parties.

TASTE: The flavors are amazing in this Chocolate Mousse Cake. From the sweet chocolate mousse to the rich ganache, to the tart raspberry, it’s a delight.
TEXTURE: A moist chocolate cake base, rich and creamy mousse, and a thick raspberry jam. This cake has it all.
TIME: This recipe will take an hour to make.
EASE: This dessert has a handful of steps, but they are nice and easy. Just follow the step-by-step images and instructions and you’ll have a gorgeous cake in no time.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Chocolate Mousse Cake: chocolate chips, cream, sugar, salt, butter, flour, cocoa powder, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, and eggs.

Ingredient Notes

All-purpose Flour– This makes up the base of your cake batter.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder– These are leaving agents that will give the cake its airy, fluffy texture.
Salt- This will balance the sweetness and make the chocolate flavor more intense.
Granulated Sugar– The sweetener in this sweet dessert.
Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder– This type of cocoa powder is less bitter than others and perfect for a sweet, decadent dessert like this Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Eggs– These are both a leavening agent and a binder, holding the wet and dry ingredients together.
Buttermilk– As opposed to regular milk, this will add a little tang to the flavor as well as make the cake extra moist.
Butter– The cake will be moist, rich, and buttery with the addition of this ingredient. Use unsalted so there isn’t too much salt in the cake batter.
Heavy Whipping Cream– This will be the liquid portion of the chocolate mousse, as well as part of the ganache. If you prefer a more dense mousse, use 40% fat heavy cream (Costco has it). If you don’t mind a slightly lighter mousse, use 36%. But you don’t want to use anything lower in fat.
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips– These will make up the chocolate mousse and ganache. Semi-sweet gives it a slight bitter edge that’s perfect in this dessert.
Raspberry Jam– This can be homemade jam or store-bought. It will be spread between the cake and the mousse.

Add-ins and Substitutions

Substitute another jam- You can also make this Chocolate Mousse Cake with Homemade Strawberry Jam, peach, blueberry, watermelon, or cherry.
Add espresso powder- Kick the flavor up a notch by adding espresso powder to the cake. Coffee enhances the nature flavors of chocolate beautifully.
Make it allergen friendly- You can make this with less allergens by using gluten-free flour and plant-based, dairy-free butter, cream, buttermilk, and chocolate chips.
Substitute the chocolate- Try this recipe with white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate for a slightly different flavor.

How to Make Chocolate Mousse Cake

Sift the dry ingredients and add the wet. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and Dutch cocoa powder together. Then make a well in the center and add 2 eggs and whisk them in. Then mix in the buttermilk and melted butter.

Steps to make Chocolate Mousse Cake: combining the wet and dry ingredients to make a cake batter.

Bake. Line a 10-inch round baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes. Once it’s baked, flip it onto a cooling rack.

Steps to make Chocolate Mousse Cake: pouring the cake batter into a pan and baking it.

Smooth the top of the cake. After the cake is completely cooled, slice off the top “dome” portion of the cake using a serrated knife to make it smooth and flat.
Put the cake in a springform pan. Place the cake on the platter or cake stand you plan to serve it on. Open up a 9-inch spring form pan and remove the bottom of it. Place it on top of the cake, squeezing every bit inside.
Spread on the jam. Now evenly spread the raspberry jam all over the top of the cake.

Pro Tip: Slicing off the rounded top of the cake is how you get a perfectly flat layer cake. And bonus: you can also eat the piece you just cut off 😉

Steps to make Chocolate Mousse Cake: slicing off the dome of the cake, putting it in a springform pan, and spreading raspberry jam on top.

Make the mousse. Melt the semisweet chocolate chips and let them cool for about 2 minutes. Then whisk the heavy cream on high speed in a stand mixer until right before stiff peaks form. Pour in the melted chocolate while continuing to mix.
Add the mousse to the cake. Pour the chocolate mousse on top of the raspberry jam and smooth it out with a decorating spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.
Place the cake on a cooling rack. After the cake has chilled and the mousse has set, slowly remove the springform and transfer the cake to a cooling rack with a baking sheet on the bottom.
Make the ganache. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer and pour it over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for about a minute, then stir with a whisk until smooth.
Add the ganache to the Chocolate Mousse Cake. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and chill in the refrigerator for another hour, or until the ganache sets. Decorate and serve.

Steps to make Chocolate Mousse Cake: making the chocolate mousse in a stand mixer, then adding it on top of the cake layer, and topping it all with chocolate ganache.

Recipe Tips

Mix the cake batter thoroughly- Make sure there are no lumps in the cake batter by sifting the dry ingredients and combining thoroughly.
Use a springform pan for structure- Until the mousse becomes stiffer, you use a springform pan to help hold the mousse together on the cake. Otherwise, it will slide off.
Add a generous amount of jam– Depending on how much you like raspberry jam, add a layer as thick as you like. Don’t go too little or the flavor will be lost in the chocolate.
Keep it clean- Make sure you use a cooling rack with a baking sheet on the bottom so it can catch all the extra chocolate that dips off when you add the ganache. This saves on clean up time.

FAQs

What is chocolate mousse cake made of?

Chocolate mousse cake is made with a cake layer on the bottom, followed by a layer of raspberry jam, and then chocolate mousse on top. The mousse is simply made with melted chocolate and whipped cream. The whole cake is topped with chocolate ganache and fresh berries.

Does chocolate mousse cake have raw eggs?

Not necessarily. While many mousses have eggs in them, this Chocolate Mousse Cake only uses 2 ingredients to make the mousse: melted chocolate chips and whipped heavy cream.

Chocolate Mousse Cake with chocolate shavings on the side and strawberries and raspberries on top.

Serving Suggestions

Everyone loves chocolate, right? You can serve this versatile Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry after any meal or as dessert for a party.

Main courses: Make this the dessert following a meal of Ribeye Steak, Juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops (VIDEO), Braised Beef Stew Recipe, or Baked Potato Soup.
Cakes: Pair this with other desserts, like this New York Style Cheesecake, Tiramisu Cake (VIDEO), Chocolate Lava Cake (Video), or Honey Raspberry Cake.
Cookies: Serve this Chocolate Mousse Cake with some White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Double Chocolate Cookies (VIDEO), or Chewy Nutella Cookies.
Coffee: Enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee, or a specialty drink like this Pumpkin Spice Latte, Iced Caramel Macchiato, or Hot Chocolate.

Make This Recipe in Advance

Make ahead: You can make the cake base and mousse ahead of time and store them, layered and wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge. Just make the ganache, add it on top, and serve.

Storing: Store this Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Freeze: You can freeze this cake wrapped in foil and plastic wrap for up to 3 months. It might form ice crystals on the ganache and the mousse may get a bit runny as it defrosts though.

More Decadent Desserts!

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This recipe was originally posted on February 1, 2016, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.

Full Recipe Instructions

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Dina

Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!