Holidays at our house mean chocolate for dessert. This Chocolate Moussecake definitely fit the bill with a chocolate cookie crust filled with a dreamy chocolate mousse.

Chocolate Moussecake on a white serving plate garnished with chocolate leaves and raspberries

Chocolate Moussecake  for Thanksgiving

So much to be grateful for this year…meeting blogger friends at 3 different conferences, hanging out with my three sisters on a variety of occasions, having my parents living together after years apart and my dad out of the hospital, 3 kind and thoughtful children and one adoring husband, and many, many dear friends. And of course, cookie dough.

Today, though, I’m sharing one of our Thanksgiving desserts which, unfortunately doesn’t provide any nibbles of my unrequited dough love…but this chocolate moussecake filling may be duking it out for the top spot in my heart. We always have pumpkin pie, and although I’d love to throw a pecan or apple into the mix, the second dessert must be chocolate. Generally that comes in the form of French silk pie, but this year I decided to mousse it up. A chocolate crumb crust topped with mousse, then glammed up with dark chocolate leaves for the holiday. Well, my grandiose  idea for chocolate leaves didn’t pan out exactly as I planned.

 

Chocolate Moussecake overhead view on a white platter topped with chocolate and berries

How to Make Chocolate Leaves to Garnish

I found some lemon leaves at my very favorite floral shop, The Empty Vase, and proceeded to paint them with a couple of layers of semi-sweet chocolate. I popped them in the freezer for a few minutes and then attempted to carefully peel the chocolate off the foliage. Bill was happy with all the shards of broken leaves and created his own personal sampling stash. But, unfortunately, I was left with very few whole leaves.

I soldiered on and arranged a few on top of the chocolate mousse cake along with some raspberries for a pop of color. I WILL try this again and get back to you all when I master this technique. What was the consensus? It was truly phenomenal. One of the best darn desserts in months. I added a little more butter to the crust recipe as mine was super crumbly…but imperfect leaves and the finicky crust didn’t take away from my review. You need to make this cake…and soon!

This recipe contains raw eggs which can carry bacteria like salmonella. Desserts like this containing raw eggs should not be eaten by the very young, elderly or immune-compromised due to the potential risk of a food born illness. I use pasteurized eggs whenever possible, but find them difficult to whip into stiff peaks as needed in this recipe.

Chocolate Moussecake with Chocolate leaf garnish

Chocolate Moussecake

Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 16 servings

A decadent chocolate dessert with a chocolate cookie crust and mousse filling!

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 9-ounce box Nabisco Famous Wafers
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

  • 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Crush cookies by pulsing in food processor till they form crumbs. Add melted butter and process till combined. Pour into a buttered 10-inch springform pan. Pat onto bottom and part way up the sides. Refrigerate for a half hour or longer to set.
  2. In a large bowl mix melted chocolate with the two whole eggs. Add the 4 egg yolks and beat about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. In another bowl, whip the 4 egg whites till stiff. Set aside. In yet another bowl, whip cream with powdered sugar till stiff peaks form.
  3. Stir about 1/4 of the egg white and 1/4 of the cream into the chocolate to lighten. Then gently fold in the remainder of the whites and cream till well blended. Pour into crust, smooth the top if necessary and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
  4. Garnish with berries or chocolate leaves.

Notes

Adapted from Creme de Colorado.

Total time does not include chilling time.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 387Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g

HOW MUCH DID YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE?

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