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Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake (Gluten-Free)

This Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake will forever change the way you think about mousse cakes!  This cake is rich yet light, decadent yet melt-in-your-mouth.  It is the ultimate chocolate lovers’ dream come true.  Bonus: it can be made a day ahead.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake 3
The ONLY Chocolate Mousse Cake that’s worthy of every single bite!

The Only Mousse Cake You’ll Ever Want

If you don’t have a game plan for your next dessert night, this Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake has you covered. Covered in chocolate, that is. Serve up this triple chocolate mousse cake and be prepared for plenty of ooooh’s and aaaah’s and zero leftovers. It’s a wonderful thing when there comes a cake that is actually worthy of every single bite you’re about to take.

This sweet thing will take the cake at every single special occasion you can drum up. Once you take a bite of this, you might start making up occasions just to make this cake for.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake 2
This triple chocolate mousse cake is not like any other cake – it’s a chocolatey dream.

This isn’t any old chocolate mousse

Confession:  I’ll eat most anything, but I don’t like mousse-y foods.  Desserts titled Mousse aren’t the ones I gravitate towards.  But this?  This Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake is a game changer.

Here is what the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake looks like au natural.  Just want to show you how fabulous it is, even without the embellishment of any drizzles or sauces. It is perfection simply as it is, no additional primping needed. That said, nobody complains about having too much chocolate, so drizzle to your content if you want that extra bit of special on top.

If you’re looking for a super fast gluten-free chocolate cake option, this Flourless Chocolate Cake is yours for the taking. But this triple mousse cake deal is what special occasions call for. Once the wide-eyed approvals and chocolate-smeared smiles are showered on you, you’ll be triple rewarded.  Also: just taste for yourself.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
Triple chocolate mousse cake can be made in advance

Make it ahead of time for gatherings and parties

You’ll likely you want to impress a loved one when celebrating a birthday, anniversary, graduation, Mother’s Day, or the Holidays. This Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake is the winning choice, all the way.  You can make it entirely the day beforehand, making party day that much easier.

Be sure you have a good nonstick springform pan; either 9 or 9.5 inches in diameter and at least 3 inches tall. The sides of a springform pan will allow you to gently and easily release the cake from sides. In fact, you can bring this mousse cake with you to a party, as long as it’s left in the springform pan and kept cold in an ice chest until ready to serve.

Note: this chocolate mousse cake is naturally gluten-free, so all your eaters who have gone gluten free can enjoy it as well.  This is The Cake nearly everyone can [will] adore.

Easy Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
The ultimate chocolate mousse cake, drizzled with extra chocolate on top

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Easy Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake (Gluten-Free)

4.60 from 10 ratings
This Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake is adapted from America's Test Kitchen, and is the best mousse cake we've ever tasted. It's light yet rich, decadent yet not heavy, and absolutely chocolatey. Use the best quality chocolate you can. May be made a day ahead. 
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 14
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

For the Bottom Layer:

  • 6 TB salted butter, sliced into 6 pieces (plus extra for greasing pan)
  • 7 oz high quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp instant espresso/coffee powder
  • 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs, separated yolks vs. whites
  • Table salt
  • cup packed light brown sugar, lumps loosene

For the Middle Layer:

  • 2 TB Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 5 TB hot water
  • 7 oz high quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ cups very cold heavy cream
  • 1 TB granulated sugar
  • tsp table salt

For the Top Layer:

  • 1 tsp powdered plain gelatin
  • 1 TB water
  • 6 oz high quality white chocolate chips
  • 1.5 cups very cold heavy cream
  • Garnishes: Shaved chocolate, cocoa powder, melted chocolate

Instructions

For the Bottom Layer:

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 325F. Butter bottom and sides of a 9 to 9.5 inch springform pan (must be at least 3 inches high)
  • In a glass bowl, melt butter, chocolate, and espresso/coffee powder in microwave at 30 second intervals at 50% power. Repeat and stir until very smooth. (Alternatively, you can place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.) Cool mixture about 5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.
  • In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and pinch of table salt at medium speed until frothy, 30 seconds. Add half of the brown sugar and beat until combined, 15 seconds. Add rest of brown sugar, beat on high until soft peaks form, 1 minute. Scrape sides halfway through. Using a whisk, gently fold in one-third of the beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in the rest of egg whites until no white streaks remain, but don't overdo it.
  • Carefully transfer batter to greased springform pan, gently smoothing the top. Bake until cake is risen and firm around edges and center has just set but is still soft. Center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger, about 14-18 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Do not remove cake from pan.

For the Middle Layer:

  • Combine cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl and set aside. In a glass bowl, melt chocolate in microwave set to 50% power in 30 second intervals until smoothly melted. Remove and cool 5 minutes.
  • In the clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip the cream, sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture thickens, 30 seconds. Increase to high speed and whip until soft peaks form, 1 minute.
  • Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Gently whisk in one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in rest of whipped cream until no white streaks remain (don't overdo it) Spoon mousse into springform pan over the cooled bottom layer. Gently tap pan on counter to remove large air bubbles, gently smooth top, and wipe inside edge to remove drips. Chill cake while preparing top layer.

For the Top Layer:

  • In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand 5 minutes. Place white chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Bring 1/2 cup cream to simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over the white chocolate and whisk until fully melted and smooth. Cool to room temp, stirring occasionally.
  • In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining cup of cream at medium speed until it thickens, 30 sec. Increase speed to high speed and whip until almost stiff peaks form, 1 minute. Using whisk, gently fold a third of whipped cream into the cooled white chocolate mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in rest of whipped cream just until no white streaks remain. Spoon batter into springform pan over chilled middle layer. Smooth top and chill at least 2.5 hours or overnight. 
  • Serve chilled; carefully run thin knife around edges of pan and gently release sides. Garnish as desired (we recommend melted, drizzled chocolate.) Slice to serve.

Notes

This cake can be completed made a day in advance.
If you enjoyed this recipe, come back and give it a rating ♡

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.4g | Protein: 5.1g | Fat: 31.1g | Saturated Fat: 18.4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 97.7mg | Sodium: 32mg | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 16.1g
Course: cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Method: Mixing


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26 comments

    • Anna

    I am making the cake now! How long do I need to cool the bottom layer before putting on the 2nd layer? So excited!

      • Amy Dong

      Cool time varies with temperature, but once it’s cool to the touch you can add on 🙂 ENJOY!

    • Nicole

    Hi – can this be frozen? I made the base and it’s in the freezer but not sure about the mousse and how it will be upon thawing. Perfect for weekend friends coming to visit! Thanks

      • Amy Dong

      Yes, you can freeze it; thaw in fridge, and keep chilled prior to serving.

    • Amy
    • 5 stars

    Made this a few weeks ago. It came out so well! Looks beautiful, tastes amazing, and a bonus that it’s gluten free. Will make again for my birthday this week. It isn’t difficult to make, just has a lot of steps and uses a lot of bowls/pans. But, just plan ahead, clean as you go and you won’t be sorry!

      • Amy Dong

      Awww, that just makes me SO happy, Amy! Happy birthday 🙂

    • Andrea Howe

    My family will definitely love me if I make this for them! I can’t wait to try it; it sounds so decadent but also the mousse probably makes it light and fluffy, so it’s not too heavy. I’m sure we will all love it! Thanks for the great recipe

    • Laura Arteaga
    • 5 stars

    I need to try this tripe chocolate mousse cake asap! My sister in law cannot eat gluten and I’m always looking for new recipes especially desserts as many contain flours. Love this recipe, love chocolate and every bit of it!!

    • Jacqueline Debono
    • 5 stars

    I’ve never made a mousse cake but this looks amazing and pretty doable. I know my chocoholic hubby will love it. Going to try it out for New Year’s!

    • Erin

    Mousse-y foods. Haha. I’m with you. But this looks amazing, just like you said! I would totally go for a few pieces of this cake. 🙂

    • Debbie
    • 5 stars

    You had me at Triple Chocolate !! This is an amazing mousse cake, perfectly cool and creamy. All three layers are great all alone but put them together and its a perfectly chocolate dream cake. This is a chocolate lovers dream!!

    • Marta
    • 5 stars

    We are chocolate lovers and this recipe was on point. Intense chocolate flavor, with a very smooth mousse. The only argument was about the size of the slice some greedy person (my husband) cut for himself. LOL…
    Thanks for sharing.

      • chewoutloud

      LOL, yes, some may be more “greedy” than others 😉 🙂

    • Jen
    • 5 stars

    The mos impressive gluten free cake I have ever made. It is a show stopper but really wasn’t that hard to make. And it has such a rich flavor. Don’t skip the espresso powder, it really highlights the chocolate.

      • chewoutloud

      YAY, Jen! So glad you guys liked this cake! 🙂

    • Eva
    • 5 stars

    This cake is fantastic! I am a big lover of mousse-style desserts so this really hits the right spot. And you can never have too much chocolate in your life anyway. Perfect!

    • Alice | SkinnySpatula
    • 5 stars

    I absolutely love this mouse cake — it’s not too difficult to make and it has so much chocolate it’s impossible not to love it!

    • Laura

    This looks amazing! I’ve been eating Keto and was wondering in your opinion if you think I could substitute the brown sugar and granulated sugar for Swerve? ( a sugar replacement made from erythritol). Thank you!

    • shanthi

    do you think I could do this in a mini muffin pan? I did your raspberry cheesecake bites and they were amazing! Wondering if that would work well w this recipe. Thoughts?

      • chewoutloud

      I think that would be fun to make them in mini muffin pans! You could try them using liners in mini muffin pans so that they come out easily and cleanly. Would be super cute bites! 🙂 So glad you loved the raspberry cheesecake bites, too!

    • stacey lynne cormier

    is it 7 oz of chocolate by weight or cup

      • chewoutloud

      By weight

    • Ashley

    This cake was AMAZING! I made it for a dinner party of 10 last night and everybody raved about it! It was so good I could hardly believe I was the one that actually made it! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!

      • chewoutloud

      Yay, that’s awesome, Ashley! Thanks for coming over to let us know how much you all loved this. Happy holidays and hope you continue finding recipes you enjoy here 🙂

    • Memoria

    I love mousse cakes! Your cake looks so tempting!! I love that it is GF!

      • chewoutloud

      Thanks, Memoria! 🙂

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