Sunday, January 6, 2013

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate Mousse Cake

We had some friends over for dinner a few months back and they brought an amazing Chocolate Mousse cake. It was one of the most moist cakes I had ever tasted. They shared the recipes with me, along with the secret for keeping it moist. The recipe for the cake comes from the Cake Doctor, with recipe listed here. The frosting recipe is from Pillsbury's Chocolate Mousse cake recipe. Last week, my nephew celebrated his 3rd birthday, so I wanted to be a good aunt and make this cake for him. I ended up doubling the recipe to make a 4-layer cake and I panicked when it was time to take it to the party and I realized that it would not fit my usual cake carrier. I improvised by using a large hat box I had gotten from my Mom for Christmas. I sent this quick iphone photo (excuse the color shift) to my Mom to show her how well the hat box was working out for me:
Cake carrier

The cake was a huge hit with the family, so I'm making this my go-to cake for future birthday celebrations for the chocolate lovers in my family.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
(This recipe makes two 9-inch round layers)

Cake Ingredients:
1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 8 oz. container sour cream
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans; it helps to line the pans with parchment paper for easier removal after baking. Mix the cake mix with other wet ingredients until well-blended. Pour the batter into the baking pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes (although baking time may vary depending on the oven). Test with a toothpick -- if it comes out clean, the cakes are done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Here's the secret to the moist cake: Remove the still-warm cakes from the pans. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and put them into the freezer. I had always thought that freezing a cake would dry it out, but if a cake is well-wrapped it can be kept in the freezer for months without a problem. I find that the frozen cake is easier to handle when frosting it. Frozen layers are also much easier to trim down or level out if you find that the layers are uneven, which mine usually are. :-) I made the cakes the night before the party and put them into the freezer. The morning of the party, I removed the cakes from the freezer and frosted them with the delicious chocolate mousse.

Chocolate Mousse Frosting Ingredients:
1 14 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed milk
2 1 oz. squares of melted unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup cold water
1 small package (3.4 oz.) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix the Sweetened Condensed milk and melted chocolate until well blended. Mix in water and pudding mix until smooth. Chill this mixture for 30 minutes.

Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture. Chill mixture for 1 hour.

Frost cake and keep chilled until ready to serve.