The Best Homemade Chocolate Cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate frosting. This is the only chocolate cake recipe you need.
This chocolate cake is for the chocolate lovers out there. It is made from scratch with a decadent chocolate mousse filling topped with homemade chocolate frosting. It is the ultimate chocolate dessert that is perfect for birthdays and special occasions but it’s so delicious that you’ll likely try to find any excuse to make it.
Because of the unusual times we are currently living in, with a global pandemic and all, I’m also going to deem this the must-make dessert of your stuck-at-home 2020 quarantine. If you make one dessert during this time, make this chocolate cake! You won’t be sorry.
There are so many different and delicious chocolate cake recipes out there (eh hem, this recipe for Portillo’s Chocolate Cake), but what makes this a stand out recipe is the chocolate mousse filling, and the most delicious chocolate frosting. You will soon discover, like I have, that there are few things in life better than chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse filling, topped with chocolate frosting.
Homemade Chocolate Cake
There is a time and place for boxed cake mix (I’m a fan!) but there’s also a time and place for a homemade, from scratch chocolate cake. Making a chocolate cake from scratch is not difficult, it just takes a bit more time to measure out all of the ingredients. You’ll need all of the typical cake ingredients including all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. And you’ll also need a couple of ingredients that you don’t always find in a cake including boiling water and buttermilk.
Buttermilk tip: If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can verily easily make a substitution. Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with milk. Stir to combine, then allow it to sit for 5 minutes. This milk/vinegar combination can then be used as a buttermilk substitute in this recipe.
Chocolate Mousse Cake Filling Recipe
Chocolate Mousse Cake Filling is actually quite easy to make despite sounding a bit intimidating.
The ingredients you will need to make chocolate mousse for a cake filling include: hot water, unsweetened cocoa powder, milk chocolate chips, heavy whipping cream and granulated sugar.
Making the mousse is simple – all you’ll need to do is whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water. Then, you’ll melt the chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth and add the cocoa powder/hot water mixture to it. With your mixer, you’ll beat the heavy whipping cream and sugar together until stiff peaks form at which point you’ll add in the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.
You’ll refrigerate the mousse until the cake has cooled completely. This is important. The cake must be cooled completely before you can assemble it.
Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Homemade Chocolate Frosting is what perfects this chocolate cake. All you’ll need is milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, unsalted butter (softened), and 3 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar. That’s it!
This chocolate frosting is made on the stovetop. In a saucepan you’ll combine the milk, cocoa powder and butter and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, you’ll remove it from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and use a mixer to combine it. Allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes but not for too long because you want the frosting to be warm while you pour it over the chocolate cake.
Chocolate Cake Decorating Ideas
When it comes to decorating your chocolate cake, you can keep it simple and just sprinkle some chocolate sprinkles on top, or, you can also reserve some of the chocolate mousse filling to pip rosettes on the top of the cake. This is entirely optional.
There you have it. The best chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling with chocolate frosting. The chocolate lover in your life will be in chocolate heaven!
If you decided to try this recipe, and I hope you will, please take a picture and tag me on social media. I love seeing what you make! I can be found on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Please use the hashtag @CenterCutCook
Lastly, if you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I usually adhere to sharing only information about the recipe. However, I’m adding a new segment to the bottom of each recipe going forward to include a quote, tip, or personal life experience that I want to share with you and I’m calling it Nourish. Nourish means to provide the body with food or substance necessary for growth, health, and good condition. And while it’s important to nourish the body with food, it’s also important to nourish the mind and soul and that’s what I hope this will accomplish.
Nourish
Today is Friday, April 17th, 2020. We’re currently in the midst of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has changed life as we know it and we find ourselves sheltering at home and social distancing to help flatten the curve and reduce the spread of this novel virus.
Those of you that have been here for a while know that I lost my husband to cancer, and that in the midst of his cancer treatment, our son was born with a rare disease and he needed two and a half years of dialysis while waiting for a liver and kidney transplant which he’s since received.
Something that I learned during that time when my life was turned upside down that also applies today, and it applies any time you are going through something difficult is that the hard days don’t last forever. Let me repeat it: hard days don’t last forever.
Just as the seasons change throughout the year, there are seasons of life. There are good seasons and hard seasons and seasons that you wish you could fast forward through. If you find yourself wishing you could fast forward through this pandemic to the other side, THAT’S NORMAL!
What I have also learned is that some of the hardest days of your life might lead you to some of the best days of your life. Hang in there. It’ll get better.
Have a great week!
Ashley
Looking for more delicious chocolate dessert recipes? Try:
- Portillo’s Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Best Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling
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