Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake
An easy chocolate mousse and toffee filling is sandwiched between moist layers of chocolate cake and finished off with rich, gooey ganache and more toffee bits.
Servings slices
Equipment
- 8-inch round cake pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 package Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake prepared as directed and baked in two 8-inch round pans
Ganache
- 8 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate by weight in ounces
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream measured by weight in ounces like the chocolate, NOT fluid ounces
- 2 teaspoons butter optional, for a rich, glossy ganache
Chocolate Mousse
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 2 tablespoons boiling water just heat it in a small bowl in your microwave
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Additional Toppings
- 8 ounces Heath English toffee bits or crushed Heath bars
- Optional: extra sweetened whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
Bake Cakes
- Bake cake according to cake mix instructions in 2 8″ round pans. Allow to cool and set aside. This can be done several days in advance; just freeze the cakes when you’re done.
Make Chocolate Mousse
- In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring about 1 cup of water to a boil in the microwave and measure out 2 tablespoons. Discard the rest. Whisk the 2 tablespoons of boiling water into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Make Ganache
- Be sure to measure your chocolate and heavy cream using the same units on a kitchen scale. For more information on this, see this Easy Chocolate Ganache recipe linked in the notes below.
- Place chocolate (and butter if desired) in a heat-safe bowl.
- Heat cream either in the microwave or on the stovetop, until small bubbles start to appear around the edges but not to boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit undisturbed for 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
Assemble Cake
- With a serrated knife, carefully slice the dome-iest part of each cake layer off so the layers are level. Place one layer on the serving plate and spread chocolate mousse over the cake (see note below). Sprinkle with Heath bits.
- Place second layer on top of Heath bits.
- Spoon ganache over the top layer, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with additional Heath bits and refrigerate until ready to serve. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream (and additional Heath bits if desired) before serving.
Notes
- Because of the Heath bits, this cake should be served within 24 hours of assembly, ideally within several hours of assembly, as the Heath bits will soften over time.
- If you have leftovers, store them tightly wrapped in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- This recipe makes more mousse than you will probably need. Feel free to use as much or as little as you desire in the filling and snack on the rest! You could also spoon the extra on top instead of whipped cream.
Make Ahead Options
One of the great things about this easy chocolate cake recipe is that you can just use a boxed cake mix. I figure that there’s so much going on here that you don’t need to bother with a from-scratch chocolate cake, you know? And if you make the ganache ahead of time and just heat it up, and make the cake ahead of time, by a few hours or a day or even a few days (just wrap the layers in plastic wrap and freeze them), the rest comes together in no time.Nutrition
Calories: 544kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 384mg, Potassium: 319mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 39g, Vitamin A: 599IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 97mg, Iron: 4mg
Calories: 544kcal
Cost: $15
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