Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake (vegan)

Hi baking friends!

If you were a fan of my vegan chocolate orange mousse cake then say hello to her sister, the almighty hazelnut mousse cake! Need I say more?! Hazelnut and chocolate are a match made in heaven and this cake is no exception.

This recipe features one of my favourite vegan chocolate brands – Vego! Absolutely not sponsored but I wish they would! I eat this stuff every week and it’s freakin’ delicious. If you’re a chocoholic like me then you can find all my chocolate recipes here!

I could talk about chocolate and cake all day but how about we skip to the recipe straight away??  

Troubleshooting:

Sometimes if you overbake or overmix the chocolate cake it will shrink slightly in the cake tin when you take it out of the oven. This is an issue because when you pour the mousse into the cake tin it might leak into the gap around the cake. There are three solutions for this:

• Create a new barrier with a piece of acetate (or foil or parchment) around the bottom layer of cake.
• Provided the gap isn’t larger than a few mm, you can also just wait for the mousse to set a little and then pour it in. As the chocolate starts to set the mousse will become a lot thicker and it is much less likely to squeeze down the gaps without external pressure.
• Instead of using the original cake tin, use a smaller cake tin (7″ if you have one) and cut the cake down to the new size. 

Ultimately if you cannot avoid a bit of leaked mousse, it doesn’t matter too much. You can just scrape the mousse off at the very end with a spatula before covering entirely with ganache so no one can see it!

I thoroughly recommend using a cake strip on the cake tin. Using a cake strip will allow the cake to bake in a perfect disc with minimal doming. This is optimal for us because we want as deep as cake as possible so we can get two thick layers of chocolate cake. If you want to make your own then check out this super easy tutorial by PreppyKitchen!

Once cooked, allow the cake to cool for an hour before you start cutting it. Ideally place it in your fridge to cool overnight. When it is cool, take the cake out of the tin and, using a wire cutter or serrated knife, cut the cake into two even layers. Leave one layer in the base of the cake tin, ready for the mousse to be poured on top.

For this recipe you will need:

• 8-inch loose-bottom cake tin
• food processor/blender

Enjoy!!

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Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

May 4, 2022

Servings: 12

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 40 min

Total: 2 hr

Difficulty: Medium

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Silky, creamy hazelnut mousse sandwiched between two decadent layers of chocolate cake. All topped off with a deliciously crunchy hazelnut ganache.

By: Project Vegan Baking

Ingredients

• Cake ingredients:
• 280g All-purpose (plain) flour
• 250g granulated sugar
• 35g cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 200ml hazelnut milk, warm
• 100ml strong brewed coffee
• 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 120g vegetable oil
• Mousse:
• 300g silken tofu
• 350g dark chocolate, chopped,
• 200g Vego hazelnut spread
• 150ml hazelnut milk (or other plant milk)
• pinch of salt
• Ganache layer:
• 100g chocolate
• 80ml plant milk (or cream)
• 50g chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Directions

• Step 1 Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
• Step 2 Sieve together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in a large mixing bowl.
• Step 3 Warm up the plant milk. 60 seconds in the microwave should be enough.
• Step 4 Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk to make a “buttermilk”. Leave to curdle for 10 minutes.
• Step 5 While you wait, line your 8-inch cake tin with parchment paper.
• Step 6 Add the wet ingredients (vegetable oil and brewed coffee) to the buttermilk.
• Step 7 Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Whisk together until fully incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
• Step 8 Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and put in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Use a toothpick at the 35-minute mark to see if it is cooked (should come out clean after a few pokes).
• Step 9 Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a few hours.
• Step 10 Once cooled, take the cake out of the tin and, using a wire cutter or serrated knife, cut the cake into two even layers.
• Step 11 Leave one layer in the base of the cake tin, ready for the mousse to be poured on top.
• Step 12 Mousse layer: In a food processor, add all the ingredients except for the chocolate. Blitz until smooth.
• Step 13 Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave using 30 second bursts.
• Step 14 Pour the melted chocolate into the food processor and blitz until it’s fully incorporated.
• Step 15 Pour the mousse onto the bottom cake layer in the tin. Place the cake tin in the fridge for 20 minutes to set.
• Step 16 Place the top cake layer on the mousse and leave the whole cake to set in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Step 17 Ganache: Meanwhile, heat up the soy cream or milk in saucepan on low heat. When it starts to simmer, pour it onto the 100g of chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes to melt.
• Step 18 Stir in the chopped hazelnut pieces and then pour the ganache layer on top of the cake.
• Step 19 Cut and serve!