A Chocolate cake is an all-time favourite dessert, right? But what if we can modify a classic chocolate cake into a modern mousse cake?
I bring you the ultimate and best chocolate mousse cake you will ever taste! Silky smooth mousse with soft chocolate sponge and topped with gooey dark chocolate ganache – it’s pure heaven!!
So, how is a mousse cake different from any other cake? A mousse cake is an advanced version of a basic cake where at the bottom you get a chocolate sponge layer, in the middle there is fluffy and foamy mousse, and the third layer is the delicious ganache!
You will experience multiple textures while eating this mousse cake. The sponge will give a chewy texture, whereas the mousse will provide a silky, smooth and fluffy texture. Then there is ganache that has a gooey, dense texture! All three components have their unique texture, and together, they complement each other very well.
Coming to the taste, then, of course, you get to taste the best chocolate flavour in three different styles. The intensity of dark chocolate ganache and sponge is balanced by a light, airy mousse.
Eggless Chocolate Mousse Cake Video Tutorial
Why You’ll Love This Recipe?
- It’s all about chocolate: If you have been looking for a unique chocolate cake, then this recipe is for you. All elements of the cake speak of chocolate. It’s a perfect cake for all chocolate lovers.
- Elegant: You can easily ditch a regular layered cake for this sophisticated mousse cake. We have been eating layered cakes for ages. It’s time we provide something new, unique and elegant for special occasions.
- Showcasing Your Skills: This mousse cake helps you learn various new techniques which enhances your skills as a baker. When you make this dessert, it will give you an opportunity to showcase your skills to your friends and family.
- It’s Eggless: You will hardly find eggless mousse cakes in the market. Most of these cakes contain either eggs or gelatin, which aren’t vegetarian-friendly. This gives you an edge over others as you will be making a delicious eggless mousse cake.
Important Ingredients Used In The Recipe
- Natural Cocoa Powder: The flavor of chocolate you get in the sponge is from the cocoa powder. Always use the best quality cocoa powder, as that will give the desired flavor as well as the texture of the cake.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The addition of apple cider vinegar to a cake helps make it soft and tender. This is because it reacts with baking soda present in the batter to give aeration, hence making it soft.
- Dark chocolate: To make ganache and mousse, we have used (and recommend) 46.5% dark couverture chocolate. You can use compound chocolate as well, but that will alter the taste and quality of the mousse cake.
- Whipping cream: The mousse is light and airy because of whipped cream. Non-dairy whipping cream is whipped till soft peaks and then folded into a chocolate ganache to give that foamy texture.
- Agar agar: This is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin. It is also known as China grass and comes in three forms-powder, flakes and sheets/noddles. It is made from seaweed extract. Originally, mousse is made using eggs and gelatin (to set the mousse). However, Since the mousse cake is vegetarian friendly, the mousse itself doesn’t have eggs in it, and to set the mousse, agar agar is used.
How To Make Eggless Chocolate Mousse Cake
Preparation: Correctly weigh and gather all ingredients needed to make the chocolate mousse cake. A detailed list of ingredients with their quantities and instructions is given in the recipe card below. Preheat the oven to 160C (OTG mode: upper rod + lower rod + fan). Grease the insides of a 6-inch round ring.
Method For Chocolate Sponge
Wet Ingredients: Mix all wet ingredients, milk, vinegar, oil and vanilla essence in a bowl. Give it a mix.
Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, sieve all dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Stir to mix it.
Make Batter: Now add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches. Mix it well to make a smooth batter. Ensure its lump-free.
Bake: Transfer the batter to the prepared ring and bake it at 160C (OTG mode: lower rod only) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the centre.
Method For Mousse
Make Ganache: Melt dark couverture chocolate and warm fresh cream in the microwave in separate bowls. Mix the two to make a smooth ganache.
Add Agar agar: Now, add agar agar to warm the ganache and mix it well. Ensure that the entire agar agar has been dissolved.
Beat Whipping Cream: Beat non-dairy whipping cream in another bowl using an electric hand beater. Whip till it reaches the soft peaks stage.
Make Mousse: Fold the ganache into the whipped cream and gently mix to form the chocolate mousse.
Method For Top Ganache Layer
Melt Chocolate: First, melt dark chocolate in the microwave. Stir in between to avoid burning.
Warm Cream: In a separate bowl, warm the fresh cream in the microwave. Do not boil the cream.
Make Ganache: Add warm cream to the melted chocolate and mix until you get a smooth, shiny ganache.
Method For Mousse (For Decoration)
Melt Chocolate: Take Chopped chocolate and melt it in a microwave in blasts of 20 seconds. Stir well.
Beat Whipping Cream: Beat non-dairy whipping cream using an electric hand beater until it gets soft peaks.
Make Mousse: Add slightly warm (not hot) chocolate to the whipped cream and mix thoroughly to make the mousse. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle.
Method For Assembly
Place Sponge in Ring: Take a 6-inch round ring and cling wrap it twice from one side. Place it in a baking tray. Cut any dome from the chocolate sponge to make an even top. Now, place the sponge layer into the prepared ring.
Add Mousse Layer: Line the inside edge of the ring with an acetate sheet before adding mousse to it. Transfer the chocolate mousse into the mould and over the sponge. Tap the tray to evenly spread the mousse.
Freeze: Put the cake in the freezer to set overnight. You may loosely cling wrap the top to avoid condensation.
Add Ganache Layer: Once the mousse is set, add the ganache layer and spread it using a bent palette knife. Put this in the freezer for 20-30 minutes or until the ganache sets.
Garnish: Take melted milk chocolate in a piping bag and make circles on the top edge of the cake. Make around 5-6 circles one over the other. Now, pipe blobs of chocolate mousse that you prepared for piping. Make 6 blobs at equal distance. Finally, garnish by placing chocolate balls in between two blobs.
Chef’s Tips For The Recipe
Tip For Agar Agar
While adding agar agar to the ganache, make sure the ganache is warm. If the ganache is not hot or warm, agar agar won’t dissolve properly into it, which will eventually hinder setting the mousse.
Be Careful While Making Mousse
When folding ganache or melted chocolate into the whipped cream, ensure the mixing is not too vigorous, as you may lose the aeration of the whipped cream. Also, the ganache or chocolate must be slightly warm when added. Since whipped cream is cold, if you add cooled ganache or chocolate, it will further harden, and there will be chocolate bits in the cream.
How To Store Eggless Chocolate Mousse
You must store the mousse cake in the refrigerator in an airtight box and consume it within three days.
You can store the sponge and mousse separately in the refrigerator for a week and assemble them later if required.
Freezing the mousse cake can increase its shelf life to a month.
More Easy Recipes
Try out these amazing eggless recipes and enjoy with your loved ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ganache is made from cream and chocolate mixed in various ratios, the most common one being equal parts of cream and chocolate. It can be used as a cake filling, icing or glaze, depending on the ratio used to make the ganache.
A mousse is a dessert made using chocolate, cream, eggs and whipped cream. It’s light and airy in texture and can be served as it is as a dessert or used in cake fillings.
Mousse cake requires either gelatine or agar agar for stability. Without any of these setting agents, the mousse will be loose and can melt at room temperature.
The mousse can be runny due to a few reasons. One could be that the whipped cream was too soft. When you add ganache to less whipped cream, it will not have the strength to hold the consistency and will loosen. Make sure to beat the cream stiff enough.
Second, overmixing can also lead to runny mousse. Use the cut-and-fold method to mix the ganache into the whipped cream. Mix with light hands and stop mixing as soon as the ganache is combined well. Overmixing will deflate the air from whipped cream.
You can store a mousse cake for up to 3 days in a refrigerator.
Pudding and mousse are both very different desserts with some similar ingredients. Pudding is a dessert that is thick in texture and much more dense. This is because it is cooked for a long duration using cornstarch.
On the other hand, mousse is a dessert that is light and airy. It has whipped cream, which gives it an airy texture.
Mousse cake should be stored in the refrigerator only. Keeping it outside will make the mousse less stable and will reduce its shelf life as well.
Yes, you can make different flavours here. You can use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate to make it less bitter and sweeter. White chocolate can also be used to make the mousse. Different fruit puree can be added to white chocolate ganache to make fruit-based mousse.
Chocolate Truffle cake consists of a chocolate sponge and truffle ganache as filling and frosting. On the other hand, Mousse cake has one layer of sponge, a middle layer of mousse and a third layer of ganache. Both have different tastes as well as textures.
You need a minimum of 5-6 hours for mousse cake to set in the fridge. It’s recommended to refrigerate overnight. However, if you are in a rush, you can freeze until the mousse sets (approximately 2-3 hours)
A common mistake one can make is to over-whip the whipping cream. This can make the cream split. If this is something you have faced earlier, don’t worry; you don’t need to throw away your mousse or whipped cream! Simply add some chilled whipped cream and then slowly mix it in. Add cream a little at a time until you see that the cream does not look broken or split anymore.
