Chocolate Mousse Cake

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This amazing Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe combines moist chocolate cake layers with a rich chocolate mousse filling and a warm chocolate frosting poured on top. It’s the ultimate chocolate lover’s cake!

How to make Chocolate Mousse Cake:

Bake Chocolate Cake: Mix sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, stir in boiling water and prepare into prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 30–35 minutes. (A box cake mix can be used if you prefer).

Make Chocolate Mousse: Mix cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or use a double boiler. Add cocoa powder mixture to the melted chocolate and stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Whip the cream and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until very stiff peaks. Add cooled melted chocolate and gently fold the mixture together to combine. Refrigerate until you assemble the cake.

Assemble the Cake: Once cakes are cool, slice each in half horizontally with a sharp serrated knife to create four layers. Place one of the cake rounds on the serving tray then spread a thin layer of chocolate mousse over it. Top with the next cake layer then repeat with the chocolate mousse between all layers. Smooth any extra chocolate mousse over the outside of the whole cake as a “crumb” coat. Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1-2 days if it's covered well.

Make Frosting & Serve: Heat milk, cocoa, and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar with electric mixers to get rid of any lumps. Cool for 15-20 minutes, until pourable but not too warm that it melts the mousse. Pour and smooth over chilled cake. I like to use pieces of parchment papers gently under the edges of the cake to catch the frosting as it drips down. I usually pour it slowly and catch it as it comes down the sides and smooth it along the sides. Serve chocolate mousse cake once set.

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Layered Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe

Author: Lauren Allen

The best Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling recipe is moist, easy to make, and the mousse is creamy and smooth. It really elevates this chocolate cake to something that could be sold at a nice bakery!

Prep: 40 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Cool time: 45 minutes mins

Total: 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Servings: 15

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Equipment

• Cake Pans
• Parchment Paper
• Hand mixer

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

0.5x1x2x?

Chocolate Cake:

• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk
• ▢ 1/2 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup boiling water, , or hot coffee

Chocolate Mousse:

• ▢ 1/2 cup hot water
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Chocolate Frosting:

• ▢ 6 Tablespoons milk
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter, (one stick)
• ▢ 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions 

Chocolate Cake:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round baking pans. (I like to line the bottom of mine with wax or parchment paper).
• Dry ingredients: Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
  2 cups granulated sugar, 1 ¾ cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
• Add Wet Ingredients: Add eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
  2 large eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup boiling water
• Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to wire cooling racks. Cool completely. (You could freeze the cake rounds at this point, if desired.)

Chocolate Mousse:

• Stir the cocoa powder and hot water together.  In a double-boiler (or in the microwave) melt the chocolate chips, just until smooth.  Add the cocoa mixture to the melted chocolate chips and stir well to combine.  Allow to cool to room temperature.
  ½ cup hot water, 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• In a separate large bowl, beat the cream and sugar until very stiff peaks form.  Add the chocolate mixture and fold in with a spatula until well combined.  Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 5 days.
  2 cups heavy whipping cream, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Chocolate frosting:

• In a medium saucepan, add milk, cocoa, and butter.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and mix with electric beaters to get rid of any lumps.  Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  6 Tablespoons milk, 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup butter, 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
• Torte Cakes: Once cakes have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to torte each cake (cut each cake evenly in half, horizontally, so that you end up with four, thin, 9'' cake pieces).
• Layer mousse: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a big spoonful of mousse on top of that cake layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, adding a layer of mousse filling between each layer of cake. Use remaining mousse filling to spread it evenly around the entire outside and top of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Chocolate Frosting: (I usually make the warm chocolate frosting while the cake is in the fridge.) Remove cake from fridge and very slowly pour the cooled chocolate frosting over the top. Use a spatula or knife to gently spread the frosting evenly over the outside of the cake as you pour. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Chocolate cake recipe is our Hershey's Chocolate cake. 

Make Ahead Instructions:

• Mousse: Place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Fold it again gently with a spatula before using. But the texture is best the day of.
• Cake Rounds: These can be made in advance and frozen. Once baked, cool them completely and then wrap them in a double layer of plastic wrap. Place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 640kcal, Carbohydrates: 97g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 410mg, Potassium: 321mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 67g, Vitamin A: 385IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 115mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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*I first shared this recipe in May 2014. Updated May 2018, February 2022 and October 2025.