Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

If you're looking for a super decadent chocoholic's dream of a dessert, then you've come to the right place. I happened to notice this recipe on the cover of a Kraft Foods magazine, and I immediately wanted to try it. I made it for my family's "Halloween, Dad's Birthday, Pick Christmas Pollyanna Quailapalooza" a few weeks ago and it was a MAJOR hit. After all, what's not to love? Rich chocolate syrup drizzled over a velvety layer of chocolate mousse on top of a delectable chocolate cake....Scrumptious! It was pretty easy to make too! It does take a little extra time to bake and then extra time for chilling in the fridge, but that just makes it the perfect dessert to make ahead. Oh, and the cool thing about this cake is that the mousse layer and the cake layer trade places in the pan when you bake it. Pretty cool, huh? So, the next time you have a special occasion or a dinner that requires a showstopper of a dessert, give this one a try. The chocoholics in your life will thank you!


1/2 cup chocolate syrup

1 pkg.  (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup  oil

7 eggs, divided

1/2 cup  sour cream

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 cup  sugar

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Whipped cream or nondairy whipped topping, if desired

Heat oven to 375F.

Spray 12-cup fluted tube pan with baking spray. Pour syrup in pan.

Beat cake mix, water, oil, and 3 eggs with mixer for 2 minutes or until well blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour over syrup in pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Add remaining eggs. Mix well. Blend in milk and chocolate. Gently spoon over cake batter. Loosely cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray, sprayed side down.

Place tube pan in a large pan. Add 2 inches of water to the larger pan to create a water bath. Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate 2 hours. Invert onto cake plate, remove pan.

Serve with whipped cream or non dairy whipped topping, if desired.

Tips from Kraft Kitchens:

The cream cheese mixture sinks to the bottom of the cake batter in pan as the cake bakes, forming the mousse layer at the top of the unmolded cake. To unmold cooled cake, use long thin spatula to loosen cake from side of pan. Place plate over cake pan; invert cake onto plate. Gently remove pan. Spoon any chocolate syrup remaining in pan over cake.

Important Note

To prevent overflow, check cake pan to confirm it is the required 12-cup size. Just measure 3 qt. (12 cups) water and pour into empty pan to verify the volume before using as directed. If you only have a 10-cup fluted tube pan, reserve 2 cups cake batter before pouring remaining batter into prepared tube pan. Continue as directed. Reserved cake batter will make 9 cupcakes. Bake as directed on cake mix package. 

Tips from Joey:

When I made this, the bottom of the cake wasn't exactly level. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but since the mousse layer is so soft, the uneven bottom caused it to crack when I turned it out onto the plate. To make sure this doesn't happen, just slice off an even layer of the cake before you invert it onto your cake plate. Use The side of the tube pan as your guide. This will insure a perfect presentation with no crackage!

Oh, and one other thing, I posted the picture of the one I made, but I also included the Kraft picture so you can see the pretty layers. As you can see, I decided that more is more with the chocolate syrup!