This impressive Chocolate Mousse Cake is utterly rich and indulgent. Only a few ingredients are required, excluding eggs and gelatine!
No raw eggs or blooming gelatine!
Are you ready for some PURE indulgence? This Chocolate Mousse Cake will have chocolate lovers squirming in delight. Here we have a no-bake cake with a buttery biscuit base topped with a generous amount of luscious chocolate mousse.
With only a handful of ingredients, we can create a spectacular dessert that’ll have your guests talking about it for days! The simple mousse comprises thickened cream, coffee, and good-quality chocolate (dark and milk). Yes, that’s right, your eyes aren’t deceiving you! There are no raw eggs or added gelatine. So, let’s not worry about digesting raw eggs or blooming gelatine.
For such an impressive-looking dessert, it’s quite a straightforward cake to whip up! There are just a few tricks to get a smooth mousse, and I have detailed them below under ‘Tips for success’.
The good news is I have made this mousse cake several times. I can therefore say confidently say that no matter how badly you mess this up, your cake is still going to be damn delicious! It doesn’t matter if your Chocolate Mousse cake is not perfectly silky or if it’s too dense or soft… trust me, your friends and family are still going to polish their pieces of cake!
Tips for Success
Sorry, I can’t help you score that promotion you’ve been eying, but I can help you make a beautiful Chocolate Mousse Cake with these tips!
Chocolate hates water – A small amount of water can cause chocolate to seize. This means instead of having smooth melted chocolate, we’ll end up with a clumpy mess. So, during the melting process, take care and make sure no water or steam gets into the chocolate. Also, the metal spoon you’re using to stir the chocolate should also be free from water.
Room temperature ingredients – The cream and coffee need to be at room temperature. The chocolate also needs time to cool after melting. The key to getting the cream mixture and melted chocolate to combine nicely is to have them at similar (but not exact) temperatures before folding them in together. If the cream is too cold, it will cause the chocolate to solidify, and you won’t have a smooth mousse texture.
Whipping and folding – When I first made this cake, I was worried that it would end up being a puddle of mess as there was no extra gelatine to help it hold its shape. So, I whipped my cream mixture to stiff peaks and ended up with a baked cheesecake texture. Which, some may prefer as it’s rich, dense and delicious.
Therefore, the longer you whip the cream, the firmer the cake will be. For a lighter cake, whip the cream mixture to soft peaks. I like mine in the middle, so I like to whip mine to medium peaks.
When folding the cream and chocolate together, take care not to remove too much air or you’ll end up with a denser cake.
More tempting chocolate recipes to try:
Ingredients for Chocolate Mousse Cake
Plain chocolate biscuits – I used Arnott’s Choc Ripple, but you could use any plain chocolate biscuits or cookies (not chocolate coated or with choc chips). Oreos would also work, and there’s no need to remove the centre before processing into crumbs.
Baking chocolate – I prefer to use good quality baking chocolate as I find they’re easier to work with as they usually have a higher amount of cocoa butter. You’ll need sweetened baking chocolate for this recipe as it sweetens the mousse part of the cake. I used a mix of dark and milk chocolate for the right balance to my taste, but you could use all milk or dark chocolate.
Thickened cream (whipping cream or heavy cream) has thickening agents added, such as gelatine or vegetable gum. It usually contains 35% milk fat.
Subscribe to 3CatsFoodie’s FREE Newsletter
For the latest recipes and other fun stuff!
Watch how to make Chocolate Mousse Cake
Written Step-by-step guide with photos
Take the cream out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Grease and line the sides and base of a 20cm (8in) round cake tin with non-stick baking/parchment paper.
Blitz the biscuits in a food processor into fine crumbs, then drizzle in the melted butter. Pulse the food processor a few times or until the crumbs are moist.
Transfer the crumbs into the prepared tin, then use a round glass or flat spatula to press and level the crumbs at the base of the tin. Chill the crumbs in the tin for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Pour enough water to cover the base of a medium saucepan by 2 inches. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-low heat. In a large heatproof bowl, place in the dark and milk chocolate, then place the bowl over the saucepan. The water in the pan should not touch the base of the bowl. Slowly melt the chocolate and stir regularly with a dry metal spoon. Wipe the sides of the bowl with a cloth if you see any water form from the steam. Take care not to let any water get into the chocolate as it’ll seize, making the chocolate clumpy.
Remove the melted chocolate from the saucepan and leave to cool at room temperature for 10 to 15, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The temperature of the chocolate should be around the same temperature as the cream mixture.
Stir in the sugar whilst the coffee is still hot. Leave to cool until lukewarm or at room temperature.
Place the cream in a large mixing bowl. Stir the coffee well, then pour it into the cream. Whip the cream to your liking. Soft peaks for a lighter cake and stiff peaks for a firmer cake. I like to whip mine to medium peaks.
Pour the chocolate into the cream mixture, then fold the mixture gently so the mixture is still airy. Once the mixture is uniform, place it over the biscuit base, then use a spatula to level the top. Chill in the fridge for 5 hours or overnight for the mousse to set. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder and top with raspberries (if using).
Leftovers – Store Chocolate Mousse Cake in the fridge for up to 4 to 5 days. When frozen, it’ll be good for up to 3 months.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Chocolate Mousse Cake (Easy, with no eggs and added gelatine)
Ingredients
- 180 gm plain chocolate biscuits (NOTE 1)
- 85 gm melted butter (salted or unsalted ok)
- 180 gm good quality milk chocolate (roughly chopped) (NOTE 2)
- 180 gm good quality dark chocolate (roughly chopped) (NOTE 2)
- ¼ cup strong coffee (lukewarm to room temperature)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 600 ml thickened cream (at room temperature) (NOTE 3)
- cocoa powder to dust
- optional – raspberries and mint for decorating
Instructions
- Take the cream out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Grease and line the sides and base of a 20cm (8in) round cake tin with non-stick baking/parchment paper.
- Blitz the biscuits in a food processor into fine crumbs, then drizzle in the melted butter. Pulse the food processor a few times or until the crumbs are moist. Transfer the crumbs into the prepared tin, then use a round glass or flat spatula to press and level the crumbs at the base of the tin. Chill the crumbs in the tin for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Pour enough water to cover the base of a medium saucepan by 2 inches. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-low heat. In a large heatproof bowl, place in the dark and milk chocolate, then place the bowl over the saucepan. The water in the pan should not touch the base of the bowl. Slowly melt the chocolate and stir regularly with a dry metal spoon. Wipe the sides of the bowl with a cloth if you see any water form from the steam. Take care not to let any water get into the chocolate as it'll seize, making the chocolate clumpy.
- Remove the melted chocolate from the saucepan and leave to cool at room temperature for 10 to 15, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The temperature of the chocolate should be around the same temperature as the cream mixture.
- Stir in the sugar whilst the coffee is still hot. Leave to cool until lukewarm or at room temperature.Place the cream in a large mixing bowl. Stir the coffee well, then pour it into the cream. Whip the cream to your liking. Soft peaks for a lighter cake and stiff peaks for a firmer cake. I like to whip mine to medium peaks.
- Pour the chocolate into the cream mixture, then fold the mixture gently so the mixture is still airy. Once the mixture is uniform, place it over the biscuit base, then use a spatula to level the top. Chill in the fridge for 5 hours or overnight for the mousse to set. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder and top with raspberries (if using).
