15 chocolate mousse cake recipes

This is one of those "ooooof!" cakes. Between the chocolate ganache and the chocolate mousse filling you might break out in some butter sweats, but it is very worth it. The cake is fluffy and moist, the mousse cool and airy, and the ganache smooth and creamy. A great show off cake for special occasions. Best of all, really easy to make!

This is a wonderful, dense, almost brownie-like cake.

Frozen white chocolate mousse cake with a vanilla wafer crust, Grand Marnier whipped cream, chopped pistachios, and fresh raspberry sauce. An elegant make-ahead dessert.

Rich flourless chocolate mousse cake spiked with Cointreau or Chambord, baked in a water bath and topped with billowy whipped cream. An Italian-style showstopper dessert.

Torta Divina is a rich Italian flourless chocolate cake laced with Cointreau, baked in a water bath, and finished with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Gluten-free by nature.

Intensely rich chocolate silk mousse cake baked in a water bath with a pound of semi-sweet chocolate and a glossy ganache glaze. Make up to 3 days ahead. Serves 8.

Flourless chocolate mousse cake with a baked base and raw mousse topping, using 16 eggs and a full pound of semi-sweet chocolate. Gluten-free, intensely rich, and meant to fall.

Chocolate mousse torte tops a deep devil's food cake with a silky coffee-liqueur chocolate mousse and a cloud of whipped cream. A make-ahead chocolate dessert with a grown-up Kahlua kick.

Chocolate cake layered with peanut butter chip mousse and dripping chocolate ganache glaze, topped with mini peanut butter cups. A three-component showstopper.

Frozen chocolate peanut butter mousse cake shaped in a tilted loaf pan to form a dramatic triangular cross-section. A restaurant-style showstopper dessert.

Chocolate raspberry cream cake layers a flourless almond-chocolate base under silky raspberry mousse, finished with lightly whipped cream and fresh berries. Elegant springform dessert built for special occasions.

A no-bake icebox cake layering sliced pound cake with a chocolate-fig mousse made from butter, cocoa, dried California figs, and fluffy egg whites, then crowned with fresh whipped cream.

Parisian Sophisticates: almond-vanilla buttermilk cupcakes hollowed out and filled with airy chocolate truffle mousse, topped with toasted cake crumbs. Vintage tea-party fancy.

Rich bittersweet chocolate cake that makes its own mousse-like frosting from the same batter. Just 8 ingredients, no mixer tricks, and it keeps in the fridge for days.

No-bake Twinkie pie layered with chocolate mousse, chopped pecans, and whipped cream in a buttered casserole. A retro icebox dessert that turns store-bought snack cakes into something spectacular.