Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake
This no-bake Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake is made with ladyfingers and mousse infused with Irish Cream for your St. Patrick’s Day pleasure. Easy as can be!
A slosh of Irish cream passes a little luck o’ the Irish to your taste buds. Have you tried Irish cream before?
Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake
Irish cream is a magical blend of cream, Irish whiskey, and chocolate. Perfect to add to your hot cup of coffee on a bitter winter’s night and just as sublime in chocolate or coffee desserts.
Try a bit to flavor your whipped cream—you’ll be swooning, I promise. This mousse is made of just a few simple ingredients, so use good quality products for the best results.
Butter and sugar are whipped until fluffy, then eggs and chocolate are mixed in along with the Irish Cream. I added two tablespoons, but you can be a little heavy-handed with your measurements if you’d like more of a kick.
And since you have that bottle handy, my family loved these Irish Cream Pots de Creme, too.
Tips for Making This No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake
Of all the fancy, schmancy desserts I make, this is one of the easiest. With a crust made of store-bought ladyfingers and an easy, homemade mousse to fill it, the hardest part of creating this dessert is washing the dishes!
- Ladyfingers line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Start by lining the sides of the springform pan with ladyfingers standing up like soldiers. Next, fill the bottom of the pan with as many whole ladyfingers as will fit, and then cut pieces to tuck into any voids.
- If you’d like, place an empty mixing bowl, slightly smaller than the inside of the crust, into the pan. It will help keep the ladyfingers in line as you make the mousse.
- To make the mousse, make sure you start with room temperature butter so it will blend well into the sugar.
- Don’t worry if the mixture looks a bit curdled as once the chocolate becomes incorporated, eventually the mousse will become silky smooth. As always, I use one of my favorite kitchen tools, the offset spatula, to smooth out the top of the mousse.
- If you have access to fresh eggs from a trusted source or pasteurized eggs, use those to prevent or minimize the chance of acquiring salmonella, a food borne illness that’s often associated with raw eggs.
- PRO-Tip: If you don’t use pasteurized eggs (they’re hard for me to find locally!), use caution and don’t serve this dessert to the very young, elderly or anyone who is immune suppressed.
- The raw eggs really do add a silkiness that’s hard to imitate with substitutions, though some of my Tuesdays with Dorie friends used plain Greek yogurt when we made our Marquise au Chocolat. I have not tested this recipe with yogurt.
- You can also try to self-pasteurize your eggs at home.
- This dessert can be flavored with other liqueurs if you don’t have Irish Cream on hand. I like Grand Marnier, Kahlua and Frangelico with chocolate.
- If you’d prefer not to add any alcohol, I’d add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake
A crown of ladyfingers filled with luscious chocolate mousse flavored with Irish cream
Ingredients
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 2 packages soft ladyfingers (you will not need them all)
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 eggs (pasteurized preferred
- 2+ tablespoons Irish cream
- Sweetened whipped cream, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl, stopping to stir at 30 second intervals till smooth and melted. Set aside and let cool while preparing crust and mousse.
- Separate ladyfingers and use to line bottom and sides of 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat butter till light. Slowly add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating each till fully incorporated. Mix in Irish cream.
- Mix in cooled chocolate.
- Pour filling into ladyfinger lined pan and smooth top.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Before serving, whip cream and garnish as desired or serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Total time does not include the 2+ hours chilling time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 305Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 4gSugar: 26gProtein: 8g
More Mousse Cakes You’ll Love:
This Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day. It is guaranteed to turn heads (and dazzle taste buds) any time of the year.
I added big green malted milk balls for my Irish ancestors, but feel free to go wild with your garnishes depending on the occasion. Erin go bragh, my friends!
- Layered Chocolate Mousse Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake from Saving Room for Dessert
- Chocolate Mousse Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Malted Mousse Cake from A Family Feast
- Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Strawberry Mousse Cake from Inside BruCrew Life
Disclosure: Kerrygold supplied me with their Kerrygold Irish Cream. I was not compensated for writing this post and the opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kerrygold.
66 Comments on “Irish Chocolate Mousse Cake”
Wow, this is truly a stunner Liz! I would eat the whole damn thing! I talked to Kelly yesterday about your delicious blog! Maybe your ear was itching a bit….’twas the 2 of us!
Enjoy St. Patty’s Day! We’re down in West Palm at the Marriott Oceana Palms where you’ve stayed … here on Spring Break and sadly leaving tomorrow. But it’s lovely in SC now, so I can’t complain!
xoxo,
Roz
How long can this be refrigerated before eating? I don’t want to make it to far in advance and have the lady fingers dissolve! 😊
Can’t wait to taste this!
Hi, Dana,
You can make is a couple days ahead, just wrap it well in plastic wrap. We ate leftovers for a few days and the mousse wasn’t moist enough to soak into the lady fingers. Hope you enjoy!!!
This will be a huge hit at my house!!
Hi, it looks delicious and I am going to make it for our family’s holiday party this Sunday. Can you tell me what type of chocolate did you use? There are so many different kinds. Thank you.
Of course! I like using Ghriardelli unsweetened chocolate bars. Hope you enjoy!!!
There is not one thing I don’t like here! What a perfect treat for St Patrick’s Day!
Oh wait!!! I totally meant to give this stellar looking dessert 5 stars! I just wish I could give it more 🙂
Those green malted milk balls were a genius finishing touch – they herald to the world that this mousse is something special!!!!
Love how easy this is to make! Such a fun dessert for St. Patrick’s Day!
Oh Liz, this chocolate mousse cake looks fabulous and I love the no baking required…perfect for the upcoming St. Patrick’s day…thanks for the recipe.
I hope you are having a great weekend!
First is taste, of course, but I always love it when a dessert is so pretty, too, Liz!
This cake is to die for!
I made this delicious cake over the weekend! A chocolate lovers dream come true! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
It was such a huge hit in my house!! Can’t wait to make it for St. Patrick’s Day!
That there is a slice of heaven!
Aww what a cake to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with! I can’t wait to make this one. Yumm-o.
Yum! Pinned to my St. Pat’s Day board.
Every bite is a heavenly bite 🙂
This cake looks AMAZING !!!
Ooooh yum, yum, yum, Liz! What a perfect treat for St. Patty’s Day or really, ANYTIME! Hugs from the Caribbean! Roz
Wow, look at that chocolate deliciousness!
That looks just too tempting. OMG, I have to make this recipe. Thanks, Liz, for sharing. Have a nice day!