Chocolate Moussecake
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 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.
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Garnish with berries or chocolate leaves.
Notes
Adapted from Creme de Colorado.
Total time does not include chilling time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 387Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g
53 Comments on “Chocolate Moussecake”
Such a gorgeous looking cake.
You are such a hardworking lady, wow..you bake some great desserts.
What an amazing moussecake!
Where did you get time and energy to cook and post every day!?
A cake for the perfect party 😀
Delicious!
Cheers
CCU
We do have a lot to be thankful for this year and glad to hear that your dad is out of the hospital. Chocolate mousse cake is one of my favorites so light and fluffy. I guess we will both need to take a chocolate class to hone our skills on leaf making and other potential chocolate bloopers in the kitchen. Wishing you a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Take Care, BAM
This cake looks delectable, leaves or no leaves. It sounds like you’ve had a great year!
Those chocolate leaves are gorgeous! Such skilful hands you’ve got, Liz! Is it free-hand drawing or there’s a mold? Amazing!
I love chocolate mousse, what a stunning dessert!
What a fantastic dessert! And so fancy with the chocolate leaves.
Stunning, simply stunning!!
wow, that’s a beautiful moussecake..
the leaf pattern chocolate is stunning!
This cake is beautiful! And oh so delicious….
You’ve done it again, Liz! You’ve sent my heart in a whirl and all I want to do is dive into that most gorgeous Moussecake of yours!!! Sinful, I tell you.
I just know you are going to master the leaf technique but oh my goodness, aren’t they just perfect the way they are. I will definitely be having sweet dreams tonight:)
Thanks so much for sharing, Liz. This is a huge year for thankfulness:)
The treat is a thing of beauty, including the leaves! You are such a busy lady, I hope you’r taking some time for yourself. Have a great week!
Lizzy,
This looks fab-u-lous! Lovely touch with the chocolate leaves. I can’t wait to try it. If I can’t find the Nabisco Famous Wafers, I could probably use Oreos couldn’t I?
Annamaria
I am always for a chocolate dessert and this one looks like a winner to me. And the leaves are gorgeous. I don’t think raw eggs could get between me and this.
What a gorgeous cake Liz! I think you did a fantastic job – love the pop of color from the raspberries and the leaves look beautiful! Hope you have a wonderful week and Happy Thanksgiving!
What a gorgeous dessert!
What a beautiful cake! You DO have a lot to be grateful for, don’t you? We’re still struggling to find dementia care for John’s mum (Rob’s wife) but I’ll be very grateful to get that sorted. 🙂
I’d love to make this cake but the warning about elderly and eggs has me thinking maybe it’s not a good idea. At nearly 93 he fits in the elderly category. (Not if you ask him though!)
You are just so incredibly talented my friend. Not only do you have a gift for baking the most decadent sounding treats but the decorating you do is so professional and classy.
Gorgeous and elegant chocolate mousse cake, Lizzy! Such a perfect last touch to an abundant Thanksgiving dinner! I love the addition of the chocolate leaves:)
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family…from your friend, Lizzie…and family!
xoxo