This dark chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling is so rich, creamy, and yummy! You can prepare it for the weekend and surprise your family and friends with a nice piece of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee or tea. Plus, it can be a perfect dessert for birthdays, baby showers, anniversaries, and many other special occasions. You will need around 30-40 minutes to prepare it and some extra time for cooling. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
For the chocolate cake:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
For the chocolate mousse filling:
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 7-ounce dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Topping:
- Dark chocolate ganache – optional, or
- Cocoa powder, to dust – optional
Instructions:
To make the cake layers:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
- In a bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil and whisk on medium speed for around 2 minutes. Pour in the boiling water (the batter will be thin- and that’s fine). Divide batter into cake pans.
- Place in the oven and bake for around 30-35 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for around 10 minutes; then, remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely.
- When cakes have cooled, take a sharp serrated knife to layer each 9” cake – (cut the cakes evenly in 1/2 horizontally, in order to end up with 4, thin, 9” cake pieces). Set aside.
To make the mousse filling:
- In a cup of hot water add the cocoa powder and stir to dissolve. In a microwave or a double-boiler, melt the dark chocolate until smooth. Apply cocoa mix to the melted dark chocolate and combine until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar and heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Place the cream mix to the melted chocolate and combine with a spatula until well incorporated. Now, it’s time to complete the cake:
- Apply the first cake layer on round serving plate. Add a filling on top of the cake layer. Repeat the procedure with the remaining cake layers, spreading a layer of filling between each cake layer.
- You can reserve some mousse filling to spread it evenly around the whole outside and top of the cake. Place in the fridge for around 30 minutes to set.
- Then, remove from the fridge and apply chocolate ganache over the top (if desired). Refrigerate until ready to serve! Slice.
Enjoy!