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    Home » Recipes » Cake Recipes

    Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse Filling

    Published: Jan 26, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

    2.1K shares
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    • Yummly
    4.78 from 54 votes
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    pinterest image for chocolate cake

    The first time I made my 4-Layer Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse Filling it was a Valentine’s Day treat for my wife.

    slice of chocolate cake on a white plate with a strawberry

    But it’s such a delicious and easy-to-make cake it’s made appearances for friends and family throughout the year.

    whole chocolate cake frosted and topped with chocolate chips on a platter

    Wouldn’t this cake be a great way to say I love you? Even if you just make it for yourself, self-love is a good thing!

    What do I need to make a chocolate cake with a strawberry mousse filling?

    ingredients to make a chocolate cake, frosting and filling

    Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my chocolate cake, frosting and strawberry mousse filling. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.

    Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

    How do I make a Chocolate Cake?

    Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare four cake pans using parchment circles in the bottom of each pan and lightly coating the sides and parchment with butter.

    *I use 9-inch cake pans for all my cakes.

    four images showing to begin making the chocolate cake
    • Blend the flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa and sugar together, set aside
    • In the bowl of your mixer whip softened butter and yogurt together (make sure all of your wet ingredients, including the eggs are at room temperature).
    four images showing how to finish making the chocolate cake
    • Add the eggs one at a time fully incorporating before adding another.
    • scrape down your bowl in between each addition.
    • Add vanilla and mix until blended
    • Add the dry ingredients and mix just enough to blend them into the wet ingredients.
    two images showing unbaked and baked chocolate cake layer
    • Divide the cake batter between 4 cake pans,spreading batter evenly using an offset spatula.
    • Bake the layers for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
    • Let the layers cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove them from the pan to continue cooling.

    How do I make strawberry mousse?

    To begin start by sprinkling the gelatin over ¼ cup of water in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.

    four images showing how to make strawberry mousse
    • Add the strawberris and sugar to the bowl of a food processor.
    • Puree the strawberries and sugar until smooth.
    • Transfer strawberry mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
    • Remove from heat, and add gelatin mixture to strawberry mixture, stirring constantly until the gelatin dissolves.

    *Cover and chill the strawberry mixture until slightly thickened about 30 minutes, stir the mixture every 10 minutes to keep it smooth.

    four images showing how to finish making strawberry mousse
    • Whip cream at low speed until foamy; gradually increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form.
    • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well blended.
    • Cover and chill 30 minutes or just until mixture has firmed up enough to be used as filling.

    How do I make Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting?

    four images showing how to make chocolate frosting
    • In a double boiler melt chocolate, set aside.
    • Add Mascarpone to a large bowl and beat with ⅓ of the confectioner’s beating until smooth
    • Continue adding the remainder of the 10x sugar in two additions beating until smooth.
    four images showing the next steps in making chocolate frosting
    • When all the confectioners sugar has been incorporated add vanilla
    • Gradually add the melted chocolate to the mixture
    • Whip the frosting until light and fluffy
    two images showing how to frost the cake
    • Begin frosting the cake as soon as the chocolate mascarpone frosting is finished. If you wait or refrigerate the frosting it will set and be hard to work with.
    • Frost the entire cake and garnish with chocolate chips.

    If the frosting sets before you can use it rewhip it until fluffy.

    grouping of slices of chocolate cake on white plates

    Can’t you picture this on your table? Whether you make it for your significant other or a gathering of friends, it’s sure to be a hit!

    slice of chocolate cake on a white plate with a fork cutting a piece out of the cake

    This cake was as good as it looks. The strawberry mousse was light and flavorful and offered enough of a distraction from the chocolate to keep the flavors balanced.

    Baking tools I use

    This post includes affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    • offset spatula (essential for bakers)
    • 9-inch USA Pan Bakeware cake pans
    • 9-inch parchment cake circles
    • silicone spatulas
    • wire whisk
    • mixing bowls

    Recipe FAQ’s:

    Can I make Chocolate Frosting with Cream Cheese?

    Yes you can. Cream cheese can be substituted the frosting recipe, I prefer the creamier texture and less pronounced flavor of mascarpone to cream cheese but they are easily substituted.

    Can I use other fruit to make the mousse filling for the cake?

    yes you can. Raspberries or blackberries would make a delicious mousse filling, but you would want to strain the seeds out of the pureed fruit before making the mousse.
    You could also make a white chocolate mousse to use as a filling.

    Can I make this a two or three layer cake?

    Yes you can, just divide the batter between the number of pans you want to use. You will have to adjust to a longer cooking time depending upon how much batter you use in each pan.

    Can I make a thicker mousse filling between the cake layers?

    Yes you can. Make one and one-half times the recipe to make a thicker layer of strawberry mousse filling.

    Kitchen tools I use for my cakes

    • offset spatula (essential for bakers)
    • 9-inch USA Pan Bakeware cake pans
    • 9-inch parchment cake circles
    • silicone spatulas
    • wire whisk
    • mixing bowls

    More Cake Recipes You’ll Love!

    • Best Chocolate Mousse Cake
    • Hummingbird Cake Recipe
    • Ultimate Pomegranate Mousse Cake Recipe
    • Best Cannoli Cake Recipe

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

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    slice of cake on a spatula being taken out of the whole cake
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    4.78 from 54 votes

    Chocolate Valentines Day Cake

    You don’t have to wait for Valentines Day to make this Chocolate Cake with strawberry mousse.  But it would make the perfect dessert to say I love you!
    Prep Time45 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time1 hr 10 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 697kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    Chocolate Cake

    • 2 ⅔ cup all purpose flour
    • 2 cups granulated sugar
    • 8 oz unsalted butter softened
    • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
    • 1 cup Greek yogurt
    • 2 teaspoons baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • 3 large eggs

    Strawberry Mousse Filling

    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 2 cups strawberries fresh or frozen
    • ½ cup graulated sugar
    • 1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin

    Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

    • 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chopped
    • 16 ounces Mascarpone
    • 4 cups 500 g confectioner’s sugar
    • 2 tablespoons milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup mini chocolate chips to garnish top of cake
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Chocolate Cake

    • Prepare 4 cake pans using parchment circles in the bottom of each pan and lightly coating the sides and paper with butter. I use 9 inch round cakes pans.
    • Preheat oven to 350
    • Blend flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa and sugar together, set aside
    • Make sure all of your wet ingredients are at room temperature.
    • In the bowl of your mixer whip softened butter and yogurt together .
    • Add the eggs one at a time fully incorporating before adding another, and remember to scrape down your bowl in between each addition.
    • Add vanilla and mix until blended
    • Add the dry ingredients and mix just enough to blend them into the wet ingredients.
    • Divide between 4 cake pans,spreading batter evenly using an offset spatula
    • Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
    • Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan to continue cooling.

    Strawberry Mousse

    • Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes.
    • In a food processor, puree 2 cups sliced strawberries and ½ cup granulated sugar until smooth.
    • Transfer strawberry mixture to a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and add gelatin water mixture to strawberry mixture, stirring constantly until gelatin dissolves.
    • Cover and chill until slightly thickened about 30 minutes, stir the mixture every 10 minutes
    • Whip cream at low speed until foamy; gradually increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form.
    • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes or just until mixture has thickened enough to be used as filling
    • Spread about 1 cup Strawberry Mousse between each cake layer, cover and chill 3 hours or until mousse is set.

    Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

    • In a double boiler melt chocolate, set aside.
    • Add Mascarpone to a large bowl and beat with confectioner’s sugar in three additions until smooth.
    • Add vanilla and gradually add the melted chocolate.
    • Whip frosting until light and fluffy and frost cake immediately, before chocolate can set.
    • Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of cake.
    • Refrigerate cake until serving, but allow it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 1000IU | Vitamin C: 10.6mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2.3mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

    More Restaurant-Style Cakes

    • Blueberry Coffee Cake
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    • Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. The second phase of his reinvention from chef to blogger has earned him a place at the Worlds Dinner Table. Join him on his Culinary Journey enjoying his easy to make Restaurant Style recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anna

      December 30, 2022 at 4:36 am

      Hi Chef. Can I substitute frozen strawberries for fresh ones? If yes, what adjustments in the recipe and/or procedure do I make? Thank you very much.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 30, 2022 at 12:37 pm

        You can make an even swap with the frozen berries, let them defrost a little before measuring, so you get a full measure. No adjustments are necessary.

        Reply
    2. Gabrielle

      December 01, 2022 at 12:45 pm

      Could the fresh strawberries be substituted for preserves? If so, how would the recipe be altered? Thank you so much!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 01, 2022 at 12:54 pm

        Preserves will work in place of the fresh strawberries. Simply replace the strawberries and sugar with about 1 cup of strawberry preserves. If the preserves are too thick, you may need to thin them out a bit with water. You still need to use gelatin to make the mousse

        Reply
        • Gabrielle

          December 03, 2022 at 11:16 am

          Thank you so much for your reply–I’m thrilled to give this a try this afternoon! Again, thank you.

    3. Gimena

      April 23, 2022 at 10:24 am

      After I frost the cake, how long can it be left out of the fridge without collapsing? Making the cake for a graduation party and it will be on display for a while. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        April 23, 2022 at 12:21 pm

        it all depends on how hot it is where the cake will be. If it’s in the low 70’s it should be okay to leave out for a few hours. If its in the 80’s or 90’s it could last an hour

        Reply
    4. Don Greenberg

      February 08, 2022 at 1:14 pm

      Can you use blueberries instead of strawberries? My wife loves blueberries!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        February 08, 2022 at 4:27 pm

        you sure can, although you may want to puree the berries and run them through some type of sieve to get rid of the skins.

        Reply
    5. Tracy

      October 22, 2021 at 9:08 am

      Hi Dennis. I am making cupcakes ahead of time and freezing. I want to use your strawberry mousse as the filling. Can I add the mousse ahead of time also before freezing the cupcakes? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        October 22, 2021 at 9:12 am

        It should work. I’ve never frozen this particular mousse, but have frozen my chocolate mousse on numerous occasions.

        Reply
        • Tia

          February 15, 2022 at 4:57 pm

          my question is .. i’d prefer cupcakes over cake. it’s just easier for me and my son to eat. i didn’t make cupcakes because of the mousse and this is my first time making it and it mentioned something about setting for 3 hours. how do i do that for a cupcake if i use the mousse as a filling? do i inject them and let them sit in the cupcake for 3 hours ?

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          February 15, 2022 at 7:23 pm

          the only reason it needs to set is to give the mousse time to set up in between the layers. If you’re making cupcakes just frost the cupcakes with the mousse. You can inject mousse into the center of the cupcakes if you like, that would be a nice treat.

    6. Karin

      June 17, 2021 at 7:40 pm

      Your recipe states 2 eggs but the video shows using 3 eggs. When I prepared it with 2 eggs it was too sticky and dry-more like cookie dough. I added an extra egg (total 3) after finding it too dry. It baked up beautifully using 3 eggs.
      Is it supposed to 3 eggs?

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        June 17, 2021 at 8:47 pm

        thank you so much for catching that. I updated the recipe and that was my mistake on the amount of eggs.

        Reply
    7. Sandy

      June 15, 2021 at 1:48 pm

      Hi Chef – I’m using your strawberry mousse as filling for another cake and it blended well but it’s not setting up as firmly as I’d hoped. I’ve refrigerated for almost 2 hours – is it okay to whip more even though the strawberry puree/gelatin have been incorporated? I don’t want to risk breaking down the gelatin and ending up with a liquid mousse!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        June 15, 2021 at 2:28 pm

        hi Sandy

        you can try it, at this point you have nothing to lose. If it didn’t firm up on the first go, it probably won’t. But instead of wasting it, you could always freeze it as a pie, or make a layer in a springform pan and create another dessert with it.

        Reply
      • Sandy

        June 16, 2021 at 9:19 am

        Disregard my earlier question. After sitting in the fridge for several hours, the mousse set into a perfect texture!!!

        Reply
        • Chef Dennis Littley

          June 16, 2021 at 9:26 am

          thanks for letting me know Sandy

    8. Nev

      February 28, 2021 at 10:36 pm

      Thanks for this recipe! Could I use the mousse to lightly frost the outside of a cake? Making a 3 layer 6″, so there should be enough. Will then top with a chocolate ganache drip. I think the pink / chocolate will be a nice contrast but would prefer not having to make another icing. This would kinda be like a stabilized whipped cream, or too thick?? Thanks for your advice!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        March 01, 2021 at 6:30 am

        I have used the mousse as a frosting, it works well, you just need to do the frosting soon after you’ve made the mousse, so it doesn’t firm up completely.

        Reply
      • Sehrish Owais

        April 01, 2021 at 6:00 am

        Perfect recipe, I was looking for a long time… just a question, can I reserve the mousse in fridge and pipe mousse dollops with round 1cm tip over the cake?

        Reply
        • Chef Dennis Littley

          April 01, 2021 at 8:18 am

          you should be able to do that fairly easily. The chocolate in the mousse will make it firm up really well, you may want to let it warm up a bit before starting.

        • Christi

          May 06, 2021 at 12:06 pm

          Could I use fresh, frozen strawberries in the mousse or would it be too watery?

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          May 06, 2021 at 1:47 pm

          because you’re using gelatin it should be okay. Make sure to let the strawberries fully thaw and discard any juice that leaves the berries.

        • Nathalya

          May 22, 2021 at 5:26 am

          Hi Chef Dennis!
          Thank you for this recipes!
          I was searching strawberry mousse filling. Your recipe is my first tried and it was GREAT!!!
          Your strawberry mouse will be my recipe to go!!!! Thanks a lot!!! Cheers!!!

    9. Evah

      February 20, 2021 at 8:21 am

      Can I assemble this cake a day in advance?

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        February 20, 2021 at 8:47 am

        Yes you can, just keep it refrigerated.

        Reply
    10. Diane

      February 10, 2021 at 9:28 pm

      5 stars
      This sounds amazing! May attempt for granddaughters bday this weekend? She asked for a strawberry cake, which I found and gave it a test run but it was horrible! She has agreed to a chocolate cake and finding yours with strawberry mousse… Sounds like the perfect cake!!!! I, however have not ever used mascarpone in a recipe? Could you tell me the difference of taste if using that compared to cream cheese? And without owning a food processor, will a electric food chopper work to purée the fresh strawberries or how can I purée the strawberries? (That may be a silly question but I had to ask) thanks so much and for sharing

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        February 11, 2021 at 8:52 am

        Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese but without the tang, its smooth, creamy and works well with frostings. You can replace it with regular cream cheese if you like.
        the strawberries need to really be pureed (do you have a blender), you might want to buy frozen sliced strawberries a let them defrost overnight they will be easier to mash up.

        Reply
        • Diane

          February 12, 2021 at 1:33 pm

          Thanks so much!!!

        • Diane

          February 12, 2021 at 6:37 pm

          I did my best to what I thought was a good purée? I missed the last line in the cake recipe section about the water and gelatin😕 I’m assuming that was to be put in the removed pan of purée? I was wondering why my gelatin didn’t or wouldn’t dissolve and had clumps? I did my best and have it chilling overnight! I did taste it and it’s great! But…sort of lumpy?? Not sure if it should be that texture or I should try filling again?

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          February 12, 2021 at 8:01 pm

          I would try it again letting the gelatin dissolve

    11. Jessica Formicola

      February 08, 2021 at 10:45 am

      5 stars
      Those layers are absolute perfection! That strawberry mousse is calling my name and I can’t wait to make this for Valentine’s Day!

      Reply
    12. Swathi

      February 06, 2021 at 6:06 pm

      5 stars
      This perfect treat for Valentines

      Reply
    13. Sabrina

      February 06, 2021 at 5:58 pm

      5 stars
      Wow, this is great. That strawberry mousse is really special!

      Reply
    14. Maur

      February 06, 2021 at 12:26 pm

      5 stars
      Omg! Strawberry mousse! What my dreams are made of. That looks stunning, and perfect for The coming week.

      Reply
    15. Sunrita

      February 06, 2021 at 10:58 am

      5 stars
      This is pure indulgence and pleasure cake

      Reply
    16. Capri

      February 05, 2021 at 9:38 pm

      5 stars
      Such a decadent and delicious cake!!

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or "Chef Dennis" as I'm known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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