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Home » Recipe Index » Dessert: Cakes and Cupcakes » Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

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Hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. Well, all of you that celebrate it that is. Hope the rest of you had a fabulous weekend anyway, even if you weren’t stuffing your faces with turkey, rolls, and pie. 🙂
I sure enjoyed my little blogging break spending time with family. But now I am back. With an over the top amazing dessert recipe. Because all of your pie has been long devoured. And you need something else to satisfy that sweet tooth, right?chocolate mousse cake on a cake plate

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen that I hosted Book Club at my house a couple weeks ago. This is the dessert I served. Suffice it to say that I think it totally made up for the fact that my kitchen renovation is incomplete, and that I had baseboards lying on the floor. It is decadent. And surprisingly easy to make. So if you’re expecting guests and your house is less than spotless, serve this. They will totally forget about your clutter and dust bunnies!

slice of chocolate mousse layer cake topped with ganache and toffee bits

I originally found this recipe over at Our Best Bites, and then proceeded to tweak it. They used a straight cake mix, but I doctored it up to make it even more moist and delicious. The recipe said to only use half of the mousse, but I think it needs all of it. You can’t have too much chocolate mousse can you?

I also adapted the ganache recipe, because the original made way too much. And having a bowl of rich and creamy chocolate sitting around begging to be eaten by the spoonful is not good for my willpower. Which in turn is not good for my waistline.

Hope you enjoy this yummy dessert!

slice of chocolate mousse cake on a plate

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE LAYER CAKE

Yield: 12 servings

Chocolate Mousse Cake

chocolate-mousse-layer-cake-recipe

Two layers of chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling, chocolate ganache, and toffee bits. Perfectly decadent chocolate cake!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake Recipe:

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 3 oz box of instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1/2 cup oil

Chocolate Mousse Recipe:

  • 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
  • 1 Tbsp cold water
  • 2 Tbsp boiling water
  • 1 cup whipping cream (or heavy cream)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ganache Recipe:

  • 2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup cream

To assemble the cake:

  • 1 cup of milk chocolate Heath bits

Instructions

  1. For cake: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat till smooth. Pour into two well greased and floured 8" cake pans.
  2. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks. When completely cool, use a long knife to cut off the rounded tops of the cakes.
  3. For mousse: Combine gelatin and cold water in a small glass bowl. Let sit for about a minute till dissolved, then stir to mix. Add the boiling water (I boiled it in the microwave), and stir till it is nice and melted. Set aside.
  4. Beat the cream till soft peaks form. Whisk together the cocoa and the sugar, and sift to remove any lumps if needed. Add to the whipped cream with the vanilla and the gelatin mixture.
  5. Continue beating till everything is mixed well. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes.
  6. Ganache: Place chips and cream in a glass bowl. Melt in the microwave, stirring often. Whisk till totally smooth. Let cool to thicken.
  7. Place one layer of the cake on a serving plate. Spread the chocolate mousse evenly over the top. Sprinkle with half of the Heath bits. Top with the second cake layer. Carefully pour the ganache on top of the cake. Use a spoon to spread it towards the edge, and just let the excess drip down the sides. You may not need all the ganache.
  8. Sprinkle with the remaining Heath bits just before serving. Chill any leftovers.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 455Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 2gSugar: 25gProtein: 6g
© Kara
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert: Cakes and Cupcakes
Trust me, this chocolate mousse cake is heaven on a plate!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather

    Hey I have a question. I have made this cake several times over the years, and it is ALWAYS delicious, and people really RAVE about it so thank you for the amazing recipe. I am making a cake for my mother in laws birthday on Wednesday, but she apparenlty likes vanilla cake with chocolate icing, so my question is could I get a vanilla cake box and vanilla pudding mix and do the same recipe? I won’t have time to try it myself before hand, so was just wondering if you’ve ever tried it before. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Kara Cook

      I think that should work just fine! So happy to hear that the recipe has become a favorite at your house. Hope your mother in law has a happy birthday, and loves the cake! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Pamela

    This is my go to cake for special occasions. Tomorrow it’s going on the ‘dark side’ of the table for my son’s Star Wars birthday party.
    I do more ganache and all the mousse. You can never have too much mousse.

    Reply

  3. Emily

    Hello! Excited to bake this for my husband’s birthday! I feel silly asking this, but when you say cream do you mean whipping cream? Many thanks!

    Reply

  4. Steph

    Help! My mousse didn’t work. The cream separated before I got the other ingredients into it and now it is soupy. I am guessing it won’t ever set up. Should I have beaten the cream longer? I am getting what looks like butter.

    Reply

    • Kara

      Dang, sorry you had trouble! The only time I’ve had cream separate was when I stored it overnight. Did you beat your cream ahead of time? Have you added the other ingredients already? If not. . .If it’s soupy, it wasn’t beaten long enough, so just beat it a little longer. If it’s like butter, you beat it too long, and you do indeed have butter! You can drain off the liquid, add a little salt, and you have homemade butter. Not what you were going for, but at least it’s not a total waste. 🙂

      If you have added the other ingredients and the cream was over-beaten, I don’t think you can fix it. If it was under-beaten, you should be able to whip it up a bit to thicken it. Good luck!

      Reply

  5. Bake Up, Little Suzy

    Hi Kara! I’d like to make this beautiful cake for my guy’s birthday, but I have a question. What do you do with the gelatine? After it’s mixed with water, I don’t see a place in the recipe where/how you add it to the mousse. I’m probably misreading, but would you mind clarifying?

    Also, regarding your note: “You may not need all the ganache.” I assure you. I need all of the ganache.

    Reply

    • Kara

      Oops, I forgot to add that step. You just add it to the cream with the vanilla. (And I also happen to be one of those people who thinks the world could use more ganache.)
      🙂

      Reply

    • Kara

      I kind of invited myself into my friend Lori’s Book Club. Thankfully all the ladies are awesome and didn’t mind too much. I’m sure feeding them chocolate helps a little! 🙂

      Reply

  12. Crystal

    I am going to have to try this one. I attempted a chocolate mousse cake the other day (it was a completely different recipe and reminded me of chocolate German pancakes) I didn’t love it. You recipe sounds much better. It will be saved and tried sometime soon. PS I don’t think they make a 30 z pkg of pudding. I am sure it is supposed to say 3 oz.

    Reply

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