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This No Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake delivers the flavor and texture of a proper chocolate mousse cake, but with only 4 ingredients, zero baking, and 20 minutes of work! The chocolate “cake” base is made with chocolate biscuits (like chocolate graham crackers or bourbon creams) soaked in milk to create a cake-like texture. It is then topped with my easy, light and creamy 2 ingredient chocolate mousse made with cream and chocolate. Optionally finished with a shiny chocolate ganache, this cake looks impressive, tastes divine, and is the perfect no bake dessert for chocolate lovers.
2 easy components of this cake
This cake is made of 2 very simple components:
- Chocolate mousse. This is my go to, 2 ingredient chocolate mousse made with heavy cream and chocolate – no eggs, no gelatin – and is unbelievably silky, creamy and chocolatey
- Chocolate “cake” base. In order to create a no bake chocolate cake, we use chocolate biscuits soaked in milk at the bottom of the cake
Chocolate biscuits I recommend
I recommend chocolate graham crackers or Bourbon creams , but you can use any chocolate biscuits or cookies that you like, as long as they’re rectangular in shape. Another option is Tim Tams, but you’ll need to split them into halves so they can absorb the milk easily. I have also tried using double chocolate wafers, as pictured in this post, but don’t recommend them as wafers take on a stale texture with time.
If you can’t find any of these biscuits easily, you can use ladyfingers and soak them in chocolate milk (combine milk and cocoa powder), or just make a genoise chocolate cake like I do in my easy chocolate mousse cake.
Step by step photos
Let’s quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this simple recipe:
Cover and chill the cake for 4-6 hours or until the mousse is fully set. Then, optionally, add a layer of ganache on top. Slice, serve and enjoy!
3 ways to serve this cake
There are 3 ways you can assemble and serve this cake:
- Demold and serve like a cake. This is what I did! Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper and assemble the cake inside. Let it fully set and freeze for 10-15 minutes. Then lift out using the parchment, carefully flip upside down and remove the parchment, flip again and place on a serving board. It’s not hard but requires a little more technique, and you need to make sure the cake is fully chilled!
- Like a tiramisu. Assemble in a tiramisu dish and serve straight from it, no need to demold
- Individual cups. You can also assemble in individual dessert cups or coupes, and serve straight from them
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Ingredients
Chocolate Mousse:
- 420g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (~50% cocoa, or use an equal mixture of milk and dark chocolate)
- 3 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (840g); chilled and divided into 11/2 cups (360g) and 2 cups (480g)
Cake base:
- ~32 chocolate graham crackers (single cracker) or ~36 bourbon cream biscuits*
- 3/4 cup milk
- Optional: 1 tsp instant coffee
Ganache (optional):
- ½ cup heavy cream (120g)
- 150g milk or semi sweet chocolate
Instructions
Chocolate Mousse:
- Start by making a ganache. Add the chocolate and 1 1/2 cups (360g) of heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is fully melted and a smooth ganache forms. If there is any unmelted chocolate, microwave the ganache for 10-15 seconds until all the chocolate has melted. Let the ganache rest for 5 minutes while you whip the cream
- Add the remaining 2 cups (480g) heavy cream to a large bowl. This cream must be straight from the fridge and chilled. Use an electric hand mixer to whisk the cream for a few minutes until it reaches soft / medium peaks. This means the cream will thicken up and form “ribbons” behind the mixer attachments, and when you turn off the mixer and lift it, the cream will form a soft peak which slowly falls back down. Stop whisking immediately at this stage
- Add about a third of the whipped cream into the ganache (which should not be hot at this point), and use a rubber spatula to very gently and very slowly fold it in. Be extra gentle, and stop when they are mostly combined
- Add the rest of the whipped cream to the mixture in 1-2 batches, and continue to gently and slowly fold. You want to fully mix the two without knocking out the air in the cream. If you see any lumps of whipped cream, press down on them with your spatula to break them. Stop mixing as soon as the cream has fully mixed with the ganache. You should have a smooth and fluffy chocolate mousse
Cake base:
- Line a 9×9″ pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper extending to the top edges of the pan (you will use this to lift the cake out of the pan once it has cooled down). You can also assemble in a serving dish and serve straight from it, like tiramisu
- Add the milk and instant coffee (if using) to a wide bowl and mix to combine
- If using graham crackers, dip each cracker into the milk quickly (in and out) and add a layer at the bottom of the pan. Repeat and add another layer on top. Fill any gaps by trimming the crackers
- If using bourbon cream biscuits, dip each biscuit into the milk for ~2 seconds per side (they are thicker and need more time to absorb the milk), and add one layer on the bottom of the pan. Fill in any gaps by trimming the biscuits
Assembly and serving
- Pour the chocolate mousse on top of the chocolate cake base and spread it out. You can lightly tap the pan to get rid of any air bubbles
- Cover with cling wrap (it shouldn’t touch the mousse) and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or until the mousse is fully set
- Once the cake has chilled, place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm it up. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan. Carefully flip it upside down on your hand (you can place a paper towel on your hand to avoid sticking) and remove the parchment paper. Then flip it back and place on a serving stand
- At this point you can add the optional ganache on top. Add the chocolate and cream for the ganache to a bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until a smooth ganache forms. Let it rest for 3-5 minutes so it’s still runny but not hot. Pour the ganache on top of the chilled cake and quickly spread it out
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Notes
- Quantity of chocolate biscuits: The exact quantity of graham crackers or bourbon cream biscuits will vary depending on the exact size of pan you use. The quantities provided are for a double layer of graham crackers or a single layer of bourbon cream biscuits in a 9×9″ pan. If you want, you can add even more layers of the biscuits for a thicker “cake” base. Trimming may be required to fill odd gaps at the edges of the pan
- Alternates for chocolate biscuits: If you can’t find chocolate graham crackers or bourbon cream biscuits, you can use any other chocolate biscuits/cookies of rectangular shape that you like, such as shortbread cookies or even Tim Tams. Although the images depict wafers, I don’t recommend wafers as they develop a stale texture with time
- Make ahead: You can easily prepare this cake ahead of time and keep covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge
Comments
N
Can I chill the cake in the fridge overnight and pour ganache on it the next day?
Zoha Malik
Yes, you certainly can!
Sheri
Just WOW!
The best chocolate dessert I’ve had in a long time. I used a high end dark chocolate to make the mousse and ganache. I had the chocolate on hand so I used it. Also used the chocolate grahams as suggested.
Zoha Malik
WOOO thank you SO much, Sheri! Made my day!
Linda
Do I soak both sides
of graham crackers or just one side
Zoha Malik
graham crackers are thin so you can just dip the whole cracker and take it out quickly, no need to flip and dip again
Sam
This was SO GOOO, like DIVINE. I mean I’m not surprised cause Zoha’s recipes have never let me down. But the s is so easy and SO good. For anyone wondering if Oreos work for this they most certainly do. I don’t particularly like using Oreos for these kinds of things but they were the closest thing I could find easily to what was recommended. So I scraped out the filling but still stacked two pieces one on top of the other and made the base like that (I also dipped them in the instant coffee mixture)I used smaller pieces to fill in the gaps since they are circular, but it turned out great. Will definitely be making this again and again.💕
Zoha Malik
Hi Sam! Thank you for the kind review and so glad to hear this worked with oreos! I was considering chocolate cream biscuits like oreos too, but decided against it due to the shape. But it really doesn’t have to be that perfect 🙂
Fatema
Hi Zoha,
Made this no-bake chocolate mousse cake and it turned out amazing. I will definitely try your recipes in the future. Thank you so much.
Zoha Malik
Aw thank you so much, Fatema! Glad to hear that 🙂
Nicole Roberts
For some reason my mousse didn’t set and stayed sloppy after freezing for over an hour the next day once I had it in the fridge overnight, I could remove it from pan but putting it in the fridge it turned to soft mousse that I had to scoop with a spoon
Where did I go wrong that it didn’t set?
Thank you
Zoha Malik
Hi Nicole! I am sorry to hear that. What kind of chocolate did you use? Was your cream whipped enough? Did the texture of the mousse look similar to mine in the video?
Shafiq Bashir
hy it’s marym shafiq.Really like ur recipes and also love ur way of testing ur own recipes .
Zoha Malik
Thank you so much, Marym! 🙂