One of my favourite cakes just got a healthier upgrade, it’s not the healthiest of course but I like to use good, wholesome ingredients in my recipes especially if they are undetectable. I love a good chocolate mousse cake and can never have just one slice so may as well use better ingredients.
I want a thinner cake layer and thick mousse layer, please help?
You can bake this same cake recipe in an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan. Kindly note that the baking time will be lesser for 8 inch round and even less for the 9 inch so please check on the cake by 15 minutes.
As for the thick mouse layer, I suggest you double the recipe for the mousse or even triple it if you are keen on a very thick mousse layer.
How do I find refined sugar free chocolate?
There are a bunch of brands online that now use jaggery or other sweeteners in their chocolate, you can check some of them below and buy according to preference:
ANUTTAMA Dark Chocolate (62%): https://amzn.to/44XvcWW
ZEVIC Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Organic Jaggery & Stevia: https://amzn.to/3wKwDeC
Sante Foods Jaggery Dark Chocolate: https://amzn.to/44V23eT
Mason & Co. 65% Semi-Sweet Dark Organic Exotic Artisanal Chocolate Bar (with cane sugar): https://amzn.to/3WS2EvW
You can also use any regular chocolate bar that you prefer to eat as is.
Where do I find a cake ring? Or a spring form pan?
I got my cake ring locally, I also have a spring form pan.
Here is a loose bottom cake pan you can buy: https://amzn.to/3Kbbeyn
I don’t have heavy cream, please help, what can I use instead?
You don’t HAVE to use dairy heavy/whipping cream, you can also use a non-dairy, frozen or powder variant.
Can I just use plain all purpose flour for the cake?
You can, but then the quantity will be 120 g all-purpose flour and you may need less amount of milk, around 120-150 ml.
My Chocolate and cream cheese mixture looks very grainy, why?
Most times it can happen due to various reasons, either too much moisture or difference in the temperature of the cream cheese and chocolate. However, it is alright that it happens, we use an immersion blender to emulsify everything and it becomes super smooth.
I do not have an immersion blender, what should I do?
You can buy one here: https://amzn.to/4bTdHt7
I am not sure if you can make this without one, I find that the immersion blender yeilds the smoothest filling.
You can try one of these options:
(i) Blend it in a food processor or blender
(ii) Use a handheld mixer to blend on high speed and emulsify everything
What if I don’t want to bake a cake at all? I just want the mousse.
If you like that, then you can follow the steps we do to make a cheesecake crust for the base instead of the cake, crush some biscuits (preferably chocolate biscuits) and mix it with some melted butter/ghee/oil and press it into the base of your pan like you would for a cheesecake. For a 7 inch pan you will need approximately 200 grams of powdered biscuits and 30 ml of melted butter.
RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE: –
Dry:
45 g ragi flour
45 g whole wheat flour
120 g jaggery (or coconut/palm sugar)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp instant coffee
Wet:
180 ml milk, hot (I used full fat) + few more tablespoons in case the batter is too thick
60 ml vegetable oil (or melted ghee)
1 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
Chocolate mousse:
180 g room temperature cream cheese
180 g chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can find) *see notes above
50 ml whipping cream (dairy or non dairy) #see notes above
A pinch of salt
Prepare the mousse first:
Chop the chocolate, add it into a microwave safe bowl and melt it in 30s increments. You may also melt it using a double boiler. Ensure that the chocolate does not get too hot, it just needs to melt.
In a separate bowl add the room temperature cream cheese and the melted, not hot, chocolate (see notes or refer to video for understanding how this process will look like). Mix this well, the mixture might look grainy or weird. That is alright.
Once the cream cheese and chocolate is mixed well, pour in the whipping cream and using an immersion blender, mix all the ingredients together till it becomes super smooth (refer to video above). Cover with a plastic wrap touching the mixture and let it sit in the fridge till you make the cake.
Bake the cake:
Grease and line a 7 inch round cake pan, I use a ring mould, you can also use a spring form or loose bottom pan. (for other sizes please check notes above). Preheat your oven to 180 C.
In a bowl, sift the cocoa powder, then add the coffee powder, jaggery and salt. Now slowly pour in the hot milk, bit by bit while whisking the mixture to combine well without lumps.
Now pour the oil (or ghee) and vinegar and whisk till the mixture looks emulsified.
Sift the remaining dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, ragi flour and baking soda) into this chocolate liquid mixture.
Gently mix to combine, if the batter looks too thick, add a few more tablespoons of milk. Mix till combined.
Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely.
Assemble:
Once the cake is completely cooled. Remove the chilled mousse filling from the refrigerator and using a hand held whisk. Whip it for a few minutes till it becomes light in colour and a bit fluffy.
Pour this mousse filling over the cake, inside the pan and smooth it into an even layer.
Let this chill for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Enjoy the next day!
Bakesalotlady™ 