This easy chocolate mousse cake recipe makes a moist dark chocolate cake that’s topped with a yummy chocolate mousse.
I’ve been in a chocolate mousse kinda mood lately.
At first, I thought I’d make a French Silk Pie. I wanted something rich and chocolaty, and French Silk Pie came to mind (you can try my French Silk Brownie Recipe if that sounds good to you, too!).
Since my birthday was coming up, I finally ended up settling on this Chocolate Mousse Cake. And it was an awesome decision.
This cake is moist and intensely chocolaty. It’s topped with a super rich and creamy chocolate mousse for the ultimate chocolate dessert!
And all of that chocolate in one little piece of cake meant a very happy birthday for me.
More chocolate cake recipes!
More chocolate cake recipes!Chocolate Mousse Cake Video
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Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 c. buttermilk low-fat ok
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 c. hot water not boiling
Chocolate Mousse
- 1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows
- 8 oz. semisweet baking chocolate chopped
- 1/2 c. milk
- 2 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk and vegetable oil.
- Whisk in eggs one at a time.
- Stir in dry intredients until just combined.
- Add hot water and vanilla.
- Whisk until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake 30-40 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool to room temperature.
Chocolate Mousse
- To make the chocolate mousse, add mini marshmallows, chocolate, and milk to a large, heavy saucepan.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well-combined.
- Remove from heat, and cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat whipping cream and vanilla together to soft peak stage.
- Fold whipped cream into cooled chocolate mixture.
- Spread over cooled cake.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Cake adapted from Food Network.
Melissa says
May 22, 2019 at 1:13 pmHave you ever used this recipe for cupcakes? If you think it would work, what would the bake time be?
Kate says
May 22, 2019 at 1:43 pmI haven’t tried to make this cake as cupcakes. The usual bake time for cupcakes is 18-25 minutes, but I’m not sure what it will be with this one. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Rita says
May 6, 2019 at 5:25 amWhat is1/2 c what measurement is this
Kate says
May 6, 2019 at 9:13 am1/2 c is 1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
Donna Queen says
May 5, 2019 at 10:35 amCan regular milk be used Instead of buttermilk???
I’m not a fan of buttermilk
Kate says
May 6, 2019 at 9:05 amThe acid in the buttermilk helps to activate the baking soda, so it’s best to use buttermilk.
Elizabeth Ann Olson says
March 6, 2019 at 7:26 amAbsolutely the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made or eaten! Like in a previous comment, I used 1 cup of hot coffee instead of hot water. The recipe is easy to follow. My guests just loved it! I made it for my daughter’s birthday, so made it in two 8″ round layers. The mousse frosting was plenty for the filling and frosting all over, and there was enough to decorate the top with some edging and large star-tip swirls. Thanks so much!
Kate says
March 6, 2019 at 8:20 amI’m so glad that you liked it! That’s a huge compliment! =D Also, thank you for your notes about making it in layers; that’s very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!
Brent Adams says
March 29, 2019 at 4:20 pmCan this be frozen after frosting with the mousse without affecting consistency or quality?
Kate says
March 29, 2019 at 6:17 pmHi! I haven’t tried freezing the mousse. If I were going to freeze it, I would freeze the cake unfrosted and then make the mousse when you’re ready to serve it.
Gerianne says
February 24, 2019 at 4:29 pmAwesome, easy recipe! DELICIOUS!! :)
Kate says
February 24, 2019 at 4:31 pmThank you so much! I’m so glad that you liked it. =) Thanks for commenting!
Mindy says
January 21, 2019 at 10:14 pmI love to bake chocolate cake and make a different recipe each time. This was one of the best I’ve made so far!! I used dark chocolate cocoa and hot coffee for the hot water and it was delicious. My whole family devoured it. The mousse turned out perfect and was a nice change from sweet buttercream frosting .
Kate says
January 22, 2019 at 7:50 amI’m so glad! Thank you for your note about using hot coffee. I’ve had people ask about using coffee, but I hadn’t tried it. Thank you for taking the time to comment! =)
Sally says
January 18, 2019 at 6:14 pmThat s was maybe the best choc cake I ever made! Will absolutely keep this recipe. The batter was quite thin, so I did not add all the water. I omitted about 1/3 c of the water.
Kate says
January 18, 2019 at 10:05 pmThank you! I’m so glad that you liked the cake! And thank you for coming back to comment! =)
Alina says
December 23, 2018 at 11:08 amWould substituting the vegetable oil with canola or olive oil work?
Kate says
December 23, 2018 at 12:19 pmIt will! For the olive oil, you may find that you have some of the olive oil flavor in the background unless you use a light olive oil. Otherwise, either canola or olive oil will work. Hope that helps! =)
Becky Nguyen says
October 18, 2018 at 8:15 amI made this for my husband for our anniversary and it was so incredible that he’s requested again for his birthday! Both the cake and the mousse are so delicious. It keeps very well for several days.
Kate says
October 18, 2018 at 9:25 amHappy anniversary! That’s high praise when someone requests a cake for their birthday. =) I’m glad that you two enjoyed the cake! Thanks for coming back to comment.
Silvia says
September 22, 2018 at 11:12 pmI made this cake today and let me just say, it was absolutely delicious, moist and the mousse on top was definitely the best part!! Loved it and it will be my go to when I’m craving chocolate! Thank you for a nice recipe
Kate says
September 24, 2018 at 8:57 amThank you! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment. =)