Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

4.91 from 61 votes

Incredibly light and fluffy vegan chocolate mousse cake topped with a layer of glossy chocolate ganache. Decadent but super easy to make!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Cooling Time3 10

Total Time3 30

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: All, American, English

Servings: slices

Calories: 419kcal

Author: Richard Makin

Equipment

1 20cm cake tin with loose bottom
1 stand mixer or hand beater
2 Medium bowls
1 small bowl
1 wire cooling rack
1 microwaveable bowl

Ingredients

For the Cake

50 ml vegetable oil or sunflower oil
35 ml plant milk unflavoured and unsweetened, ideally soy milk
½ teaspoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50 g light brown sugar
25 ml boiling water
2 teaspoon espresso powder
60 g plain white flour aka all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda aka bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
15 g cocoa powder

For the Chocolate Mousse

180 g dark chocolate chips or finely chopped dark chocolate (see note 1 below)
130 ml plant milk unflavoured and unsweetened, ideally soy milk
250 g vegan whipping cream (see note 2 below)
2 tablespoon caster sugar

For the Chocolate Ganache

85 g dark chocolate chips or finely chopped dark chocolate (see note 1 below)
85 ml plant milk unflavoured and unsweetened, ideally soy milk

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To Make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 160 °C (fan). Grease and line a 20cm (7.8 inch) cake tin with baking parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, plant milk, white wine vinegar, vanilla extract and light brown sugar. Whisk until smooth.
50 ml vegetable oil, 35 ml plant milk, ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 50 g light brown sugar
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the boiling water and espresso powder until dissolved then add to the other wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
25 ml boiling water, 2 teaspoon espresso powder
In a separate medium bowl, sieve together the remaining dry cake ingredients. Add the wet ingredients mixture to the bowl and mix together until you just have a smooth batter.
60 g plain white flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 15 g cocoa powder
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake tin and place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack. Carefully remove the cake from the tin, remove the baking parchment and leave to cool fully on the wire cooling rack.
Once cooled, return the cake to the cake tin and place in the fridge.

To Make the Chocolate Mousse

Place the dark chocolate chips and plant milk in a microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts, whisking in between, until the chocolate and plant milk are melted together into a smooth glossy ganache. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
180 g dark chocolate chips, 130 ml plant milk
Place the vegan whipping cream and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Alternatively place in a bowl if using hand-held electric beaters.
250 g vegan whipping cream, 2 tablespoon caster sugar
Whip the vegan cream and sugar to the stiff peaks stage.
Once the chocolate plant milk mixture is cooled, pour half into the whipped vegan cream and use a spatula to carefully fold it in until no pale streaks remain and it is uniformly brown. Repeat with the second half until completely combined.
Spoon the chocolate mousse over the cake in the cake tin. Firmly tap the cake tin on the counter to remove any large air bubbles then smooth out the top with a spatula or pallet knife.
Place the cake tin back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To Make the Chocolate Ganache

Place the dark chocolate chips and soy milk in a microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts, whisking in between, until the chocolate and soy milk are melted together into a smooth glossy ganache.
85 g dark chocolate chips, 85 ml plant milk
Remove the cake from the fridge and pour the ganache over the top. Spread the ganache to the edges, if necessary, then place in the fridge to set fully for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving.

Notes

Note 1: Be sure to use vegan chocolate. Most chocolate over 54% cocoa solids is vegan, but be sure to check the ingredients. A chocolate around 54% - 65% cocoa solids works best for the flavour of this cake.

Note 2: For this recipe you can choose to use my recipe for vegan whipping cream or you can use store bought. My favourite brands of store-bought vegan cream are Elmlea and Coconut Collaborative.

Nutrition