For a long time, I’ve been using my go-to chocolate espresso mousse recipe – the one with eggs that yields a decadent, silky and sinfully delicious chocolate mousse.
And people like to ask me questions like, “Can you cook the eggs?”, “Is there an eggless version?”, “RAW EGGS???”, “Is this kids-friendly?” The horror of raw eggs! Most of the time I would just answer, “Maybe just leave it for adults to enjoy! Get some store-bought ice cream for the kids…” Super mean! I know!
But then over time I’ve come across with lots of eggless recipes that seem to be able to deliver glorious things! So I did a little digging and realized that by adding a bit more whipped cream could actually work perfectly to thicken and stablize the mousse. Delightfully, it also creates a smoother and airier texture.
I used this mini cheesecake pan, which by the way is awesome! It makes my mini cheesecakes look so gorgeous! But it’s absolutely okay to use a muffin tin. I would line the muffin tin with liners for easy release of the mousse cakes.
Ingredients (6 mini cakes):
Chocolate Cake
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water
Chocolate Mousse
200 grams of dark chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup espresso
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
50 grams dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Garnish
2 tablespoons chocolate shavings or sprinkles
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12 x 17 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Spoon in the sour cream, and pour in the oil and the vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Pour in the boiling water, and slowly mix until smooth and liquidy.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until springy to touch.
Let cakes cool completely.
Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out cake circles and place them on the bottoms of a mini cheesecake pan with removable bottoms.
To prepare mousse, make a double boiler and bring the water to a soft simmer. Put the chocolate, butter, espresso and sugar in a heat resistant bowl and leave to melt.
Let cool to room temperature.
Whip the heavy cream until it becomes stiff. Reserve one cup of whipped cream for topping. Add the remaining cream to the chocolate mixture and fold with a spatula until it becomes one liquid.
Pour the chocolate mixture evenly into the mini cake pan. Juggle to lightly level the top.
Keep in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
To prepare ganache, melt chocolate and heavy cream in microwave on high in 20-second interval, stirring in between, until it’s completely melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.
Gently push mini cakes up from the bottoms to remove from pan. Place the cakes on serving plate(s).
Pour ganache over the top of the cakes.
Pipe the reserved whipped cream on top, and garnish with chocolate shavings or sprinkles.
46 comments
I used crushed ginger snap biscuits with a little melted butter for the base, instead of cake. Absolutely devine!!
The recipe for eggless chocolate mousse cake is wonderful. I tried this recipe and turns into a superb dish. Everyone appreciated me for such a beautiful dish. Lots of Love!
What a gorgeous blog you have. The house you have featured is quite gorgeous and I love the Hamptons style. Looking forward to read more.
Can you share the recipes for mousse cake without egg or can i use milk or butter instead of egg. Kindly suggest me.
Just making sure; it’s supposed to be brewed espresso in the mousse? Making sure before I try as I see you hadn’t addressed it in one of the comments
I would like to know as well if it is unsweetened dark chocolate? Or can semi-sweet be used?
The dark chocolate should be unsweetened, right? Then, with only a tablespoon of sugar, won’t the mousse taste bitter? Otherwise the recipe looks lovely.
How long will this last in the fridge and can it be frozen?
Here was our experience making these cakes for my adult sons college project. Baking the cake in the 12×17 jello roll pan was fine, but after cutting out the six 2-inch rounds, there was tons of left over cake (we’ll try and use it for another project). Also, mousse recipe calls for Espresso, but it might be a good idea to edit it to specify “Brewed Espresso”. We thought it was supposed to be powdered espresso (since water normally curdles melted chocolate). We didn’t notice the comments until after we made it that milk or cream could be substituted (which clued us in that the espresso should have been liquid).
Would silicone moulds work for easy release of the mousse cakes?
Would this recipe work in the mini mini pans, ( nest size smaller than the one you use? 12 and taller?
Hi …i have 9×13 inch pan .will this recipe of cake base fit into my pan?
Hi, you may have a very tall cake base, if you don’t mind. Otherwise, you can divide the cake batter in half, and bake it separately.
Hi there! Can’t wait to try this recipe :). I see you posted that if you bake in several 6 inch pans then the baking time would be 18-20 min. I have an 8 x 3 inch Fat Daddy push pan that I’d like to use. Would this recipe fit in that pan and how long would be cooking time be? Thank you so much!
Hi Jennifer, you can definitely bake in an 8-inch pan. It would probably be a very tall cake. You might want to slice it in half horizontally, Just use one slice for one cake (plastic wrap and freeze the other half for future use). Baking time should be between 30 to 40 minutes. Check every 5 minutes with a toothpick. :)
Is there substitute for sour cream
You can replace sour cream with plain yogurt. :)
If i want to bake the cake base in a 6 inch cake pan , how long would i need to bake it please. Love the recipe …cant wait to try it.
Hi Priya, this is a big batter for one 6-inch cake. So maybe you can bake it in two or three cake pans for 18 to 20 minutes. :)
Hi can i omit esperso?
Yes, you can replace it with the same amount of milk. :)
How do I make this for 2 cakes instead of 6? Can I just divide by 3? How does this affect cooking time?
I wouldn’t portion the recipe. In face these mousse cakes freeze really well! I would recommend you to freeze some for next time!
Unfortunately, the base did not work at all for me :( I followed the measurements and instructions to the T
Is the espresso able to be substituted or taken out?
Oh shoot I just read the comments! Sorry
Hi, I’m tempted to bake this for hubby bday..but was wondering what size of spring foam should I be using?
Hi Jothie! If you are planning to make a big cake, the recipe should fit an 8-inch cake pan.
Hi This sounds delicious. I want to make it for my son’s birthday. 2 questions:
A) is it fairly idiot proof? I’m hopeless at makingdesserts and worried it might be more complicated than it sounds.
B) How much cream of the1 1/2 cups goes into the mousse itself? Is it 1/2 cup? I will not be putting cream on the top
Yes, Tara! Honestly I would say it’s pretty easy peasy! All it requires is arm strength to fold the chocolate mixture and the whipped cream together. If you are going to skip the whipped cream topping, you should only use 1 cup whipping cream for the mousse. :)
Would love to make this…what can I use instead of the coffee?
Hi Dimpy, you could use water to replace the coffee. :)
Hi.. really want to make this but just wondering what holds the mousse together as there is no gelatin? How long do they last in the fridge?? Many thanks
Hi, the whipped cream gives the mousse the airy and light volume. The mousse is set after it’s chilled. :)
Your 1 cup measure 240 or 200?
One cup sugar equals to 200 grams.
I wish there was a video
I’m too shy for videos. :)
Im assuming I could also make this as a small cake too since i don’t happen to have six mini cheesecake forms, right ?
Yes, totally! Just bake the cake base as it is or in a cake pan. Mold the mousse in a springform pan or a cake ring. :)
Hi Fanny, I just couldn’t wait and tried the mousse recipe yesterday! And it was amazing! Very light, smooth and chocolately!
Thanks Julia! So happy that you enjoyed the recipe! :)
If I make these like 4 hours before serving, should I keep them in the fridge or at room temperature?
Is this recipe eggless? You mention eggless in the title and in the ingredients tehre is no mention of eggs but in the directions , you ‘crack in the egg’. I am a bit confused.
I would be happy if you could reply.
Hi Vani, sorry for a silly mistake! So no eggs! :)