Your search for a holiday showstopper ends with this Double Chocolate Mousse Cake! Fluffy chocolate cake topped with dark and white chocolate mousse, ganache, and a festive herb wreath garnished with sugared cranberries. If the holidays are long over, fresh berries would make for an equally beautiful cake!
Drumroll, please.
Say OMG HELLO GORGEOUS to what may just be the prettiest, tastiest, show stopping-est holiday cake I’ve ever made.
It looks so simple, but a lot of love went into this beauty. A lot of love – but pretty minimal effort, to be honest.
Time, yeah. Effort = minimal. Win.
You may as well just add this to your holiday menu NOW. I promise that every chocoholic will love you for it!
JUST TAKE ME TO THE DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE ALREADY!
If you’d rather skip my (pretty darn helpful) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy chocolate mousse cake recipe, just scroll right on down to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card!
Every Christmas, I try to find a way to outdo the previous year’s holiday cake.
Last year was another trip into fancy French techniques with the Triple Chocolate Cranberry Mousse Torte.
In 2016, it was the Spiced Chocolate Eggnog Cake (that I’m still obsessed with. Actually made it for Thanksgiving this year!)
2015 was the year of my epic white & dark chocolate Seven Layer Tuxedo Ganache Cake. (I really just did it so I could use those holiday Oreos.)
Back in 2014, I actually recreated a cake from Southern Living that I didn’t photograph – but it was a huge success! (Maybe a few snaps for next year?)
If you actually click on those and look back, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the change in photography style…especially since 2015.
Of course, you might just notice the chocolate trend.
I admit, Christmastime means chocolate indulgence for me. Just the thought of enjoying a slice of rich chocolate cake while curled up with a handful of nostalgic holiday movies gets me in a baking mood.
And there’s nothing quite like the sense of pride you get when a dessert you worked so hard on gets the audible “wow” you were going for.
This Double Chocolate Mousse Cake may only use two types of chocolate, but it’s definitely four layers of amazing texture and flavor!
- Layer One – fluffy dark chocolate cake. It’s adapted from my Chocolate Eggnog Cake recipe, but you can definitely use a (half of a) box mix if you prefer. And the remaining cake can be made into cupcakes, trifles, or cake balls!
- Layer Two – dark chocolate mousse. Most chocolate mousse is just chocolate and whipped cream folded together. This mousse uses a bit of gelatin to create stability, allowing you to add layer after layer of yum. Feel free to use your favorite percentage here – 60% is my go-to, but 70-80% would work very nicely with the other, sweeter layers.
- Layer Three – white chocolate mousse. White chocolate is much more finicky than chocolate with cocoa, so make sure you follow the recipe when it comes to melting and blending. Always choose high-quality chocolate, especially if you want high-quality results. Skip the chips and go for a bar chocolate with recipes like this.
- Layer Four – dark chocolate ganache. Essentially a thick hot chocolate, this pourable ganache is the ultimate topping for this cake. Of course, you could skip this and opt for a dusting of cocoa powder instead if you’re looking for a slightly lower-fat dessert. Yeah, SLIGHTLY.
- BONUS! Layer Five – fresh sage, rosemary, and candied cranberry wreaths. Simple. Decorative. Festively effective.
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Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark Chocolate Mousse
- 2 teaspoons gelatin powder
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 6 ounces dark chocolate coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream cold
White Chocolate Mousse
- 2 teaspoons gelatin powder
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 6 ounces white chocolate coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream divided; cold
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one 9-inch cake pan with a parchment round, then coat with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk until blended. With a spoon, create a well in the middle.
- Add eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla and stir until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the boiling water. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour batter in the prepared cake pan and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, with only a few crumbs.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Trim the cake if necessary, then place it on a cake plate. Wrap the cake snugly with a layer of plastic acetate and tape it shut. Alternatively, you can place the cake in a 9-inch springform pan.
Dark Chocolate Mousse
- In a small bowl, combine water and gelatin and set aside to bloom for 8-10 minutes.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a larger glass or metal bowl set over a double boiler. Melt the chocolate, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula to help the process. Set aside to cool.
- Liquify the bloomed gelatin by microwaving it for 10 seconds. Whisk the gelatin into the melted chocolate.
- Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to whip the heavy cream and granulated sugar to soft peaks on medium speed, 2-4 minutes.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate using a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- Spoon mixture into the prepared pan over the cooled cake layer. Smooth is out and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
White Chocolate Mousse
- In a small bowl, combine water and gelatin and set aside to bloom for 8-10 minutes.
- Place the chopped white chocolate in another glass or metal bowl. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pot, bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer. Add bloomed gelatin and whisk until fully dissolved. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then pour over white chocolate, whisking until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.
- Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to whip the heavy cream and granulated sugar to soft peaks on medium speed, 2-4 minutes.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate using a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- Carefully transfer white chocolate mousse over the set dark chocolate layer. Smooth the top, then chill for 3 hours or overnight.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate in a glass or metal bowl. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pot, bring cream to a bare simmer. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for 1 minute, then stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Allow the ganache to cool and thicken slightly for 10 minutes, while remaining pourable. Pour over the white chocolate mousse layer and smooth.
- Remove the acetate film and allow ganache to drip down the sides of the cake.
- Garnish with rosemary, sage, and sugared cranberries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE FOR LATER!
Nettie Moore says
I am in love with this cake! Gorgeous and delicious! Spectacular! Nettie
sorina petre says
GORGEOUS !!!!!!!I
I will try for this Christmas
THANK you a lot for this beautiful recipe
Sorina
Sarah says
This is one of the prettiest cakes I have EVER seen! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Your photographs, the cake itself, staging…all of it. Great job!!! And it looks so yummy!
Holly says
I didn”t see any veg oil in the ingredients list. I’d rather not estimate, could you let me know, so i can make this for christmas, it’s so perfect.
Erica says
Thanks for the heads up, Holly! I actually had a mistype in the instructions – it’s 1/4 cup of melted butter, not vegetable oil! All fixed – I hope you love it as much as I do! Merry Christmas!!
T Allen says
Okay, I melted the chocolate in a double boiler, but when I added the gelatin, the mixture seized. Any hints on how to avoid that? Thanks.
Erica says
Hey there! Sorry to hear you’re having issues – the best I can tell you is to just make sure your melted chocolate is cooled, and maybe let the gelatin cool a tiny bit after microwaving, but before mixing it into the chocolate.
Jacquelyn Molnar says
The same thing happened to me. What a waste!! Will have to modify the recipe to get it to work.
Wendy says
I just made this recipe and the dark chocolate mousse seized as well. The white chocolate mousse turned out perfect. Is there perhaps a mistake in that portion of the recipe?
T says
Agree with the other comments. Had to scrap the chocolate mousse and use an alternate recipe. Too bad, was really excited about this recipe.
Kathy says
My dark chocolate seized as well. I’d either use a lot less gelatin or try it without all together. I’m going to have to trash this because it’s like chocolate mousse with chocolate gummy globs throughout. I’ don’t think people want to chew their chocolate mousse.
nicole (thespicetrain.com) says
This cake is breathtakingly beautiful and sounds incredibly delicious, WOW!
Erica says
Thank you SO much, Nicole! That means a ton coming from you – your moody photography book is inspirational!
nicole (thespicetrain.com) says
That is so wonderful to hear, Erica, THANK YOU! You made my day! 🙂
Debbie says
Hi, I’m new to mousse, and chocolate desserts for that matter, so thanks in advance for your help! But I was wondering if I could add the gelatin to the whipped cream instead of the chocolate. After reading the comments I’m worried about the chocolate seizing.
Also, do you know if it would be possible to alternate/marble a white chocolate ganache with a semisweet chocolate ganache on the top?
Erica says
Hi Debbie! Thanks so much for stopping by! This cake is to DIE FOR and you’re going to love it if you’re a chocoholic like I am. 🙂 I actually tested the gelatin both ways (as you can tell by reading my instructions haha), and YES, you can totally add the gelatin to the cream instead of the dark chocolate (which is what I did with the white chocolate mousse). It is a bit more user-friendly and less stressful to work with.
As far as the marbled ganache, I think that would be gorgeous! I think you might want to pour it while it’s still a bit more liquidy than thick, just to achieve that marbled look, instead of the spatula swatches I have on this one. Just make sure it’s not too warm so you don’t melt the mousse. I’d love to see how it turns out! Good luck!
Meghan says
In the ingredients for the white chocolate mousse, you do not list any granulated sugar, but in the directions you mention to whip the heavy cream with the granulated sugar. After just whipping the cream, I then added 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar because it tasted off without it. The cake came out great, people who had it said it’s the best dessert I have ever made. And as a garnish, I crushed up 6 Thin Mint cookies and sprinkled it on top.
beka says
quick question, how much in advance can this cake be prepared? thanks!
Susan says
This cake was a huge hit, and I have never been more impressed with myself for making it 😂. I just put some raspberries on top for garnish.
Myra says
Had to give up. Attempted to make Dark Chocolate Mousse twice. Second time waited a full 30 minutes to cool chocolate before adding bloomed and microwaved gelatin. The chocolate/getatin immediately gummed up and wouldn’t mix with whipped cream. :.( Was so looking forward to this show stopper. Don’t know what makes the difference between what others are doing.
Deepti says
Hi..Can I use Chocolate Compound instead of Dark Chocolate?
Jane says
Very easy to make but time consuming due to chilling times. Looks wonderful
Stephanie says
Sadly, I had a horrible outcome with the chocolate mousse. When I added the gelatin to the melted chocolate, it formed a fairly solid ball. When I added it to the whipping cream, clumps remained…no matter how much I folded it in. After two tries, I too have given up. Very stressful and disappointing 😟
Jane says
It was a show stopper at Christmas dinner. Very delicious!!!
Melissa says
What type and size round pan did you use? I don’t currently have one that I think is deep enough for three layers.
Mary Jo Delaney says
I made this and it was wonderful and relatively easy. I too found that adding the gelatin to the chocolate made it seize up. I plan on adding the gelatin to the whip cream next time. I garnished it with raspberries and mint leaves.
JK says
Chocolate totally seized …unable to fold into whipped cream. Complete disappointment and waste of money
Lori says
I made this for Valentine’s Day last year and it was such a hit that I am preparing to make it again for this Valentine’s Day. I am allergic to cane sugar, so the rave reviews it received were from everyone else lucky enough to have had a piece! As for execution of the recipe, I did not run into any issues with the chocolate or gelatin. I followed the steps exactly and could not have been happier with the result. It made such a beautiful presentation and friends are literally still talking about it! This year, I am going to try to make 5 individual cakes in 4″ springform pans rather than one large 9″ cake. Wish me luck. Happy baking!!
Erica says
Lori, thank you so much for the feedback! As you can see, this recipe is very polarizing for my readers because mousse is a crazy finicky dessert to work with, and there are a handful of little things someone could do just slightly wrong that could mess the whole thing up. I’m sad that you couldn’t try it though, but I wonder if there is a way to use a sugar substitute in the future for yourself? I’m not terribly well-versed in them myself, but maybe an allulose or monkfruit blend could replace the cane sugar? Anyway, I hope your small baby cakes turned out amazing, and thanks again for stopping by to let me know about your positive experience with the recipe!
Bonnie says
I’ve made this twice now and followed everyone’s suggestions on the dark chocolate mousse. It’s great and a show stopper. I put some greenery and sugared blackberries. Wonderful.
Erica says
Thank you so much for your feedback, Bonnie! I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
janice l says
How do you get the parchment paper off chocolate cake layer after putting on the mousse layers?
Erica says
After you remove the cake from the pan to the cooling rack, peel the paper off. Step 6 in the cake portion of the instructions – “Trim the cake if necessary, then place it on a cake plate. Wrap the cake snugly with a layer of plastic acetate and tape it shut. Alternatively, you can place the cake in a 9-inch springform pan.” Easy peasy. 😉
Dawn McCrory says
I just made this cake and thought I would share my experience. I followed the directions to the letter for the first dark mousse layer and the chocolate /gelatin mixture seized. I was able to salvage it by quickly beating in some of the whipped cream, then adding the rest and beating on medium speed. There were still chocolate flakes throughout but I decided to go with it anyway. I then researched how to avoid this from happening. Apparently you cannot microwave gelatin as something in that process produces toxins. It was suggested you mix the chocolate and gelatin while both still slightly warm, so that’s what I did. I had my whipped cream ready to go on the side, then put my melted chocolate in a large mixing bowl and beat while adding the warm gelatin, which I had just remelted on the stovetop. I then added in a third of the whipped cream while continuously beating, then the remainder also in thirds while still beating. The white chocolate mousse turned out beautifully this way. No seizing, no lumps or flakes. I used Knox gelatin in the sachets. I hope this might help some of you who want to avoid wasting costly ingredients! The final result was both beautiful in appearance and absolutely delicious so it was worth the effort!