Chocolate Mousse Cake

🧂 Ingredients

• 115 g all-purpose flour
• 40 g natural cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg

  room temperature
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 50 g brown sugar
• 110 g light-tasting oil
• 200 g milk

  room temperature
• 400 g whipping cream or heavy cream

  divided into 200g + 200g
• 200 g dark or semi-sweet chocolate

  finely chopped
• 180 g whipping cream or heavy cream
• 170 g dark chocolate

  finely chopped
• 10 fresh strawberries

  halved, plus more for topping

Instructions

• 1 Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set aside a 9" springform pan. It's not
  necessary to line the pan with parchment paper but you can if you want to.
• 2 Flour mixture: In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking
  powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• 3 Egg mixture: In a large mixing bowl, add the egg, granulated sugar, and brown
  sugar. Whisk together until well-combined. Add the oil and whisk again until
  smooth and combined.
• 4 Alternate adding flour and milk: Add half of the flour mixture and mix until
  barely combined. Add half of the milk and mix again until barely combined.
  Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk and mix until just combined
  into a thick but fluid batter.
• 5 Fill pan: Pour the batter into your springform pan. You can either add cake
  strips to the outside of the pan to help prevent the cake from doming or just
  level the cake after it has been baked.
• 6 Bake: Bake for about 30-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle
  comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
• 7 Level the cake (if needed): Once cooled, if your cake has domed, run an offset
  spatula around the edges of the cake. Release the cake from the pan. Use a
  serrated knife and a horizontal sawing motion to cut off the excess cake until
  you have a flat cake layer. Return the cake to the pan and reassemble the
  springform pan.
• 8 Prep: Place the chopped chocolate in a small heat-safe bowl. Set aside.
• 9 Heat cream: In a small pan, heat 200g of the whipping cream on medium heat until
  tiny bubbles start coming to the surface and it's beginning to simmer. You can
  also do this in a microwave.
• 10 Melt chocolate: Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed
  for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate has melted and
  the mixture is smooth. If there are still any unmelted chocolate chunks, gently
  warm the mixture in the microwave with 10-15 second intervals or on a warming
  element on your stove. Set aside to cool while you whip the cream.
• 11 Whip cream: In a medium mixing bowl, add the remaining 200g whipping cream. Use
  an electric hand mixer or a whisk to whip the cream until it becomes just barely
  soft peaks. Do not whip it further past this point or the mousse will become
  stiff and dry.
• 12 Combine cream and ganache: Add about ⅓ of the whipped cream to the bowl of
  chocolate ganache. Fold together with a spatula until combined. Transfer this
  mixture to the rest of the whipped cream. Fold together until combined and no
  streaks remain.
• 13 Arrange strawberries: Arrange halved strawberries around the sides of the pan on
  top of the cake layer, pressing the cut edges to the pan.
• 14 Spread mousse mixture: Transfer the mousse mixture to the pan on top of the cake
  layer. Use an offset spatula to spread the mousse into an even layer, making
  sure to get in between each strawberry. Finish by smoothing the top of the
  mousse as best you can.
• 15 Chill: Cover and chill the entire cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours or
  overnight to allow the mousse to set.
• 16 Prep: Place the chopped chocolate in a small heat-safe bowl. Set aside.
• 17 Heat cream: In a small pan, heat the whipping cream on medium heat until tiny
  bubbles start coming to the surface and it's beginning to simmer. You can also
  do this in a microwave.
• 18 Melt chocolate: Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed
  for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate has melted and
  the mixture is smooth and glossy. If there are still any unmelted chocolate
  chunks, gently warm the mixture in the microwave with 10-15 second intervals or
  on a warming element on your stove. Let the ganache cool slightly and thicken.
• 19 Spread ganache: Pour the ganache on top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to
  spread it to the edges and smooth the top. Chill the cake in the fridge for
  another 30 minutes to allow the ganache to set before releasing the cake from
  the pan.
• 20 Decorate: Decorate the top of the cake with strawberries before slicing. Run
  your knife under hot water and wipe dry before and in between each slice for
  clean cuts.

Nutrition Info