Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

This chocolate raspberry mousse cake is a show-stopper! You’ll love the layers of moist chocolate cake, silky chocolate buttercream and raspberry cheesecake mousse filling. It is an exquisite combination of flavor, color and visual art.

Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Delicious. The cake crumb is moist and fudge-like. Filling is creamy and sweet--the combination of chocolate and raspberry is exquisite in this recipe!
• Perfect balance of tart and sweet! You’ll love how the tart, lightly acidic raspberries atop the cake and in the filling bring out and balance the taste of sweet chocolate.
• Easy. The steps to make this chocolate raspberry mousse cake are simple. We think you’ll be surprised and delighted.
• Beautiful! Chocolate raspberry mousse cake gets rave reviews whenever we serve it. The “wow” factor is high!
• Looks professional. This chocolate raspberry cake looks like it came from a fancy European-style bakery!

Our neighbor Terry Weber shared the recipe for this chocolate raspberry mousse cake with raspberry cheesecake filling when we lived in Vienna, Virginia and it’s a favorite dessert of many friends.

Although it takes some time to assemble, chocolate raspberry mousse cake is actually easy and fun to make. Start with our recipe for perfect chocolate cake, or use a cake mix (with a few additions). We'll give you the instructions for both. We make this cake as rectangular layers by using 9x13-inch pans. We also make it as pictured with three round layers. Take your pick! The chocolate cake recipe or cake mix have the right amount for either layer variation.

Ingredient Notes

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Cocoa powder provides intense chocolate flavor to the cake. We mix it with hot water to help it bloom and dissolve.
• All Purpose Flour. All purpose flour forms the structure of the cake. Don’t develop the gluten too much by over-mixing.
• Baking Soda. This leavening agent helps the cake rise.
• Salt. Salt enhances the flavor of our cake.
• Baking Powder. Another leavening agent, works as a companion to baking soda to help the cake rise.
• Butter. Adds flavor and helps tenderize the cake. Also adds flavor and creaminess to the frosting.
• Sugar. Sweetens and tenderize the cake.
• Eggs. Add structure to the cake and helps it rise.
• Vanilla Extract. A little splash of adds depth to the fragrant filling.
• Cream Cheese. Cream cheese gives body and flavor to the cheesecake mousse.
• Milk. Milk helps emulsify the other ingredients for the raspberry cheesecake mousse filling.
• Instant White Chocolate Pudding. This pudding mix adds flavor and texture to our raspberry cheesecake mousse filling. We can usually find it at Walmart. (If you can't find it, instant cheesecake pudding mix is a good substitute.)
• Powdered Sugar. This lightly sweetens the filling and the chocolate fudge frosting. Use it also to dust the cake just before serving for the grand finale.
• Whipping Cream. We use fresh whipping cream in the fluffy raspberry mousse. You can use cream again, or half and half for the wickedly delicious chocolate fudge frosting!
• Frozen Raspberries. Easy to work with, these raspberries make the mousse filling so dreamy!
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. These chocolate chips give superb chocolate flavor to the chocolate butter cream frosting.
• Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar. Use a large bar, without nuts to make beautiful chocolate curls to garnish your cake.
• Fresh Raspberries. Nothing like the sweet tart flavor and intense color to garnish the top of this outstanding cake.

How to Make this Recipe

1. For the chocolate cake: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut parchment paper to fit 3 round cake pans (8 or 9 inch). Lightly grease pans, then lay down parchment rounds.
2. Combine cocoa with boiling water in medium bowl, mixing with wire whisk until smooth; cool completely. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together with an electric mixer.

5. Mix about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Using an electric mixer on low, beat in SMALL amounts of flour, alternating with cocoa-water mixture. Do not over beat.
6. Divide batter evenly in 3 pans. Smooth top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then carefully loosen sides with spatula and invert cake rounds on cooling racks. Let cool completely. When cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and place cakes back into pans to protect them. Freeze for at least one hour.
7. For raspberry cheesecake mousse filling: Beat cream cheese until soft, slowly add milk, then pudding mix, then powdered sugar and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip cream until stiff and slowly fold into cream cheese mixture. Fold in frozen raspberries. (Note: You can substitute the 8 oz. carton whipping cream for an 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip (thawed). This will speed up the process & reduce the calories, but it doesn't taste quite as good.)
8. The more you mix the filling the pinker it gets. Fold in frozen raspberries very carefully to keep the filling more white if you prefer. Refrigerate mixture until you are assembling the cake.

9. For chocolate fudge frosting: Combine chocolate chips, cream and butter in a medium-sized glass bowl. Stir, then microwave at 50% power for one minute. Remove from microwave, stir and repeat process in 30 second increments until frosting is smooth. (Note: You can also chop/grind chocolate chips to powder in a food processor, then with the machine running, pour hot butter through the feed tube and continue mixing until melted, then add cream and powdered sugar.)
10. Blend in 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar with whisk or electric mixer. (To speed up the process, you can set your bowl over ice as you whisk or beat it.) Beat until it holds its shape.
11. To assemble: Quickly spread chocolate frosting on top of each cake layer. (This frosting sets up quickly.) Spread to within ½ inch of cake edges.
12. Divide raspberry cheesecake mousse filling into thirds. Spread a layer of filling over first cake layer, over the frosting.

13. Continue to spread a layer of filling over each cake layer, atop frosting. Leave an inch border free of filling (the filling will move toward edges on its own.) Carefully stack 3 layers together. If they begin to slide, insert 1-3 wooden dowel(s) or plastic straws to stabilize.
14. Place fresh raspberries on top of cake.

15. Make chocolate curls by dragging a vegetable peeler down the sides of a large Hershey bar. See our post on making chocolate curls for more info. Place fresh raspberries on top of cake.
16. Sprinkle top of chocolate raspberry mousse cake with chocolate shavings and curls. Then, to add some magic, lightly dust the top with powdered sugar just before you present the cake.

Expert Tips

• Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Let your ingredients rise to room temp for better baking! Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Properly Measure Flour. Be sure to properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level). Too much flour will make your cakes dry. See our tips on how to measure flour correctly.
• Remove Air Bubbles. Bang your cake pans on the counter before putting it in the oven. This brings any air bubbles that are trapped in the batter to the surface.
• Chill Mousse Tools. When making the mousse, chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer. It makes it easier and quicker to whip up the whipped cream for the mousse.
• Make it Less Sweet. If you like your desserts less sweet, you can omit the chocolate frosting layer between the cakes and just use the raspberry mousse as filling/topping. This gives it more of a European bakery taste.
• Change the Size and Shape. Make this cake in 9x13-inch rectangle baking pans to serve a large group. This shape has a great “wow” factor and we think it’s easier to cut the cake.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Storage Tips

• We like to bake our cake layers, then cool, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. They will stay well in the freezer up to three months. When we’re ready to assemble the cake, remove from freezer, unwrap and defrost. Bonus, it’s easier to frost a frozen cake!
• Since there are berries and cream in this recipe, this cake won't last as long at room temperature. Instead, keep the cake tightly wrapped and covered in the fridge 4-5 days.
• You can freeze the chocolate raspberry mousse cake up to 2 months; slice cake and wrap each slice in plastic wrap or place in an air tight container or bag.

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