Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
I got sent some incredible chocolate from Chocolate Tree and I wanted to showcase it in one of my favourite chocolate desserts – a chocolate mousse cake.
It’s a soft chocolate sponge with a hint of coffee, topped with a light and smooth chocolate mousse. I usually go for dark chocolate in a mousse to add more depth, but this quality of this chocolate is so good the milk chocolate works perfectly.
If you’re looking for other chocolate desserts, check out my Chocolate & Caramel Mousse, and my Chocolate Burnt Basque Cheesecake.
Ingredients
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C non-fan assisted (355F or 165C fan assisted). With soft butter, lightly grease a 23cm/9" cake tin, and line the base with a circle of parchment. Coat the sides with a tablespoon of cocoa powder and then tap out any excess. Set this to one side.
Into a medium saucepan, add the cocoa powder, espresso and water. Whisk it over a medium heat until it is steaming and the cocoa powder has dissolved. Set it to one side to cool for 10 minutes.
Into a medium bowl, sift then whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.
Into a tall jug, add the eggs, yoghurt and oil. Blend to combine with a hand blender (or whisk by hand in a medium bowl).
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, and whisk to combine.
Pour the cooled cocoa mixture over the top, and whisk by hand to combine. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for around 35 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.
Once baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for a few minutes before flipping it out onto a wire rack. The sponge is very fragile so be careful. Flip the cake from the wire rack, onto some cling film, wrap it tightly and refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight).
Once chilled, use a serrated knife to level the top of the cake. For this recipe, I am using a slightly smaller ring mold (20cm) for a neat finish to the cake, but you could also build this in a 20cm spring form cake tin, trimming down the cake and then lining the tin with a strip of acetate or baking paper along the sides. This will give you a smooth finish and make it easy to release later.
Place the sponge onto a tray lined with a silicon baking mat, and then press the ring mold around the sponge, removing the excess. Set this to one side.
Into a small bowl, add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir this together to combine then allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If using leaf gelatin, just soak 1 sheet in a bowl of ice water.
Add the chopped milk chocolate into a tall measuring jug.
Into a medium saucepan, add the milk, 60g of cream, egg yolks and sugar.
Place it over a medium heat, and whisk constantly until it reaches 82-84C (180-183F) on a digital thermometer.
Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it straight over the chocolate. Scoop in the bloomed gelatin (or squeeze the excess water from the leaf gelatin and add this in) and let the mixture sit for 2 minutes.
Blend it till smooth with a hand blender, then transfer it into a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining 315g of cream until it forms a medium peak. Fold this through the chocolate base in three parts, whisk a hand whisk, until smooth. Finally, stir through a pinch of flaky sea salt.
Pour the mousse over the chocolate sponge, then refrigerate it for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
To remove the ring mold, gently heat the sides with a hair dryer or heat gun and carefully lift it off. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
I love love this recipe imma try it out and return with feedback
When you say espresso in the recipe, you mean brewed espresso, right? Not espresso powder?
Yes brewed espresso 🙂
If I don’t have a thermometer… how will I know when to pour the cream egg yolk mixture? Thank you!
It should thicken, to a thin custard like consistency 🙂
Thanks
Super easy to make and delicious! I ended up using half milk chocolate and half dark because that’s what I had on hand and it was perfect.
So pleased to hear!
Hello,
Love your work but I had a question about the mousse recipe- What if I don’t like to use eggs, do i need to up the gelatin and chocolate ratio?
Thank you for sharing it for free 🙏
I haven’t tested that I’m afraid
Thank you , I made it and it is so delicious. Not difficult as well 😅
So pleased to hear!
I am so used to cake recipes adding vanilla extract/essence to the batter. Any reason why you don’t use that?
With this much chocolate you won’t taste it 🙂
thanks chef matt, i will try this recipe with the crémeux,double delicius layer
from Batista from brazil
Enjoy!
I just did it last night and it is amazing! The flavors and the texture, all my family liked it! Thanks Matt! You never fail 🙂
So glad Alan, it’s been a popular one!
Hey Matt
I want to add a hazelnut twist to this for a Christmas dessert
Do you think I could do 50/50 flour and ground hazelnuts?
I guess it would just be denser?
I haven’t tried that but it would maybe keep the sponge as it is, then pipe a layer of hazelnut praline on top of the sponge, freeze it for an hour, then add the choc mousse on top. Then you’ll have a hidden hazelnut layer inside!
I tried to make mouse cake at the first time and cupcakes at second. It turned out great. I like that dough is on a verge of being liquid so the final product is extra soft and squishy, chocolate flavor is intense.
Though I added half of sugar because 160% of sugar is too much for me.
Oh on second attempt I was low on oil and substituted half of its weight with lard. Cupcakes doesn’t tasted like lard
Glad it worked so well!!
Any suggestions on if the mousse leaks out the bottom of the pan? Did I just not have a tight enough seal with the cake? Did I do something wrong?
Hi! When you cut it down to size into the smaller ring mold, it should be completely flush with no gaps. If not you can also wrap the sponge with an acetate collar, then place it inside a ring mold. The acetate will help to create a tight seal.
Made this with lil shortbread reindeer on top for Boxing Day! 100% making it again!! Nice one Matty 👍
Perfect!
Hi!
Can you freeze the mousse so you can use mirror glaze on top?
Best Regards
Yes! It has gelatin so is stabilised