Chocolate cakes are always great, but they're even better when they're airy, utterly light and delectable. This moist and ultra-soft vegan chocolate mousse cake is filled and topped with a creamy mousse filling. It takes less than 30 minutes to bake inside the oven and it's going to be your new favorite!
One of the main reasons that usually draws me into making this recipe is that it uses my vegan chocolate mousse as both the filling and the topping. Although I don't normally advise this, I sometimes risk applying the filling while the cake is still slightly warm to achieve that delicious melty effect.
The rich chocolatey flavors are gorgeously complimented with the subtle taste of espresso which I use in the cake batter to give it that luxury edge.
If you love a good chocolate cake recipe like me, you'll also like my vegan flourless chocolate cake which is fully gluten free, as well as my creamy vegan argentinian chocotorta and my sweet vegan cherry chocolate cake.
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Why You Will Love This Cake
- The Mousse - You'll love the chocolate mousse filling/topping as it is velvety and silky smooth, as well as being a fantastic consistency for spreading throughout the chocolate cake.
- Delicious Flavors - Complimenting the mousse is the amazing rich flavor of the chocolate cake. I generally use a high-quality cocoa powder for this recipe as I think it makes a major difference to the final taste quality. I'm a big believer in chocolate cakes being rich. Not overwhelmingly rich, but certainly with a strong kick. Think my vegan chocolate cheesecake, my vegan double fudge brownies or my vegan chocolate bundt cake.
- Great Texture - I can't begin to describe how wonderful the texture of the cake is. It's super fluffy and there's one main reason for that. The hot coffee/boiling water. This makes the chocolate cake batter quite runny, which is initially quite strange but when the cake is baked, you'll see just how fantastically it works out.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan double chocolate mousse cake recipe is fully vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Apple cider vinegar - Stir this into the plant milk in order to create a vegan buttermilk. This will react with dry ingredients such as, the leavening agent to create a good vegan chocolate cake texture.
- Canola oil - As there are no animal products inside a vegan cake, it is important that you select a good oil. Oil has more of a responsibility for helping to deliver a good texture in my recipes as there are no eggs. Canola oil is the same thing as rapeseed oil if you were wondering.
- Hot coffee or boiling water - This is an ingredient that I haven't used very often inside my baked goods, but it makes a big and unique difference to the final outcome. If you love cakes that are really soft, as opposed to on the firm side, you'll embrace this change. I also used this method for my vegan chocolate ganache filled cupcakes.
- Silken tofu - This kind of tofu is perfect for making a chocolate mousse. It has a jello-like texture naturally which makes it super easy to blend with other ingredients. Make sure that you don't use any other types of tofu such as, firm tofu or the texture won't be right. This magical ingredient also worked wonders for my vegan baked peach cobbler cheesecake and vegan blueberry cream pie which shows how versatile it is.
- Vegan dark baking chocolate - The vegan dark baking chocolate is something that I use aheads of ordinary dairy-free chocolate as it melts so nicely over the heat. Some lower-quality chocolate bars won't melt evenly and we don't want any lumps in our mousse, do we?
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Although this isn't an option for all of my cake recipes, you can change the type of plant milk if you wish. It won't have too much of an effect on the final texture. I chose to use soy milk for this cake but if you prefer, you can use plant milks such as, oat milk and almond milk. I haven't tried and tested any other kinds dairy-free milks, so I can't advise on how well they will work.
- You can also add a topping to the chocolate mousse cake. The mousse is great on it's own but from time to time, I do like to sprinkle something extra on top. Whether that is some desiccated coconut like on my vegan lamingtons, the white chocolate shavings that you will find on my vegan red velvet white chocolate sheet cake bars or something completely different is your choice.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Make the vegan buttermilk.
2: Line two, round cake tins with parchment paper.
3: Combine the dry ingredients inside a large bowl.
4: Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
5: Next, pour in the boiling water or coffee until the batter is runny and thin.
6: Pour the cake batter into the lined tins.
7: For the mousse: Add the filling ingredients, apart from the chocolate to a blender.
8: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
9: Add the melted chocolate to the blender and blend again.
10: Pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate.
11: Take the mousse out from the fridge.
12: Spread the mousse filling onto the cake then make a sandwich.
13: Spread mousse on top then slice.
Expert Tips
Make The Cakes The Night Before
Make the cakes the night before - This is optional but sometimes I like to make the chocolate cakes the night before then I place them in the fridge to firm up a little. This also makes it easier to spread the mousse over the cake
Use the metric system - This recipe requires the ingredients to be measured out as accurately as possible. I recommend that you use the metric system.
Preparing the chocolate mousse - The chocolate mousse filling will be nice and thick after being in the fridge. It's made from silken tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice and chocolate. Simply blend these ingredients together and chill. It really is so simple.
Recipe FAQs
My chocolate mousse recipe consists of silken tofu, granulated sugar, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice and dark baking chocolate.
A mousse cake can be one of two things. Either a chocolate cake which is filled with chocolate mousse or a no-bake dessert with a crust and a chilled mousse filling on top of it.
Store this cake in the fridge for up to 4 days inside an airtight container.
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Vegan Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
- 240 ml soy milk
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 240 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 250 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 80 ml canola oil rapeseed
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 ml hot coffee or boiling water
For the chocolate mousse:
- 450 g silken tofu
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 40 ml maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 330 g vegan dark baking chocolate
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius (350F).
- Line two round 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the chocolate cake batter:
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the soy milk to make a buttermilk. Set aside while it curdles for at least 6-7 minutes.
- Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt inside a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients. The vegan buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla. Fold the dry into the wet. When the batter is combined and smooth, pour in the boiling water or coffee. The batter will be thin and runny but don’t worry!
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into the two lined cake tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes. A skewer will come out clean when they’re done.
- I like to chill my two chocolate cake halves overnight in the fridge with a piece of parchment paper in between them. If you can’t wait, just place them in there for a few hours while the chocolate mousse sets.
Make the mousse:
- Make the chocolate mousse filling. To a high-speed blender, add the silken tofu, sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Melt the chocolate using the double-boiling (bain-marie) method. Pour it in and blend again.
- Pour into a large container and place into the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours. It will thicken nicely.
Assemble the cake:
- Now that both the cake and mousse have been chilled, spread half of the mousse onto the flat side of one of the cake halves. Place the other chocolate cake half on top of the filling then spread the rest of it over the top. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- This is optional but sometimes I like to make the chocolate cakes the night before then I place them in the fridge to firm up a little. This also makes it easier to spread the mousse over the cake
- This recipe requires the ingredients to be measured out as accurately as possible. I recommend that you use the metric system.
- The chocolate mousse filling will be nice and thick after being in the fridge. It's made from silken tofu, maple syrup, lemon juice and chocolate. Simply blend these ingredients together and chill. It really is so simple.
Harley Pinnock says
This cake was amazing and I recommend it to everyone