So this weekend I made a cake. A four layer intense chocolate cake filled with hazelnut mousse and topped with toasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate curls. It’s a mouthful to say and definitely a mouthful to eat…
It was my dad’s birthday on Saturday, and although he loves his sweets, he’s very particular about what he likes. He thought Scott’s chocolate peanut butter cake was way too rich and he doesn’t care for super sweet frosting, so I combined his love for chocolate and the hazelnut mousse I made over winter break to create this massively delicious cake.
The cake was really good — decadent and moist, with the addition of coffee adding another level of depth to the chocolate. I will definitely use this chocolate cake recipe again! The mousse was a perfect balance for such a rich cake, and the hazelnut flavor was divine. I sprinkled toasted hazelnuts between each layer, which offered a pleasantly crunchy surprise throughout the smooth mousse.
For the top of the cake I used the Pioneer Woman’s tutorial for chocolate curls and I think they added a very fancy and professional touch. I planned on wrapping the cake in a solid band of chocolate, but it didn’t work out as I had hoped and scrapped the idea altogether. I could have frosted the outside of the cake with more mousse, but I liked the look of the layers, and there was already plenty of mousse/calories throughout the cake.
Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Mousse
For the Cake: adapted from I am Baker
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
For the Hazelnut Mousse: double recipe from this previous post
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare you 8″ cake rounds by greasing and flouring them
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl and mix until well combined
- In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry
- With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine
- Split the batter into the prepared pans
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean
- Cool in pans for 30 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack to cool completely
- Once cooled, use a large serrated knife to evenly split each layer into 2 and level off any domes from baking
- Layer cakes and mousse, sprinkling toasted hazelnuts between each layer for a nice crunch
Aw, the pic of you and your dad is so cute! The cake looks delicious…I would never be able to make this because I wouldn’t be able to stop eating the leftovers for days!!!
What a great pic!!!!!!
incredible cake!!
what a cute picture! i hope your freshman year is ending up nicely :)
this cake looks amazing! my dad’s birthday is coming up also. maybe i should make this for him(:
Ah…. I am licking the screen. My birthday is on Saturday and that is what I want!!!!! That is killer! Thanks for the post!
I’m so glad he liked the cake! It looks great. The next time I make my chocolate overload cake, I’m going to divide it into four layers like you did. It looks fantastic!
There are so few cakes that I think I. MUST. TRY.
But this is one of them, Erica! It’s gorgeous.. so edible looking. :)
That sounds delicious, and I love the many layers!
You all have to try this recipe — it’s as tasty as it looks! Thanks so much for all the super nice comments :)
Amazing looking cake. Chocolate and hazelnuts..I am all for it. Your dad is a lucky guy!
I made this cake and mousse for my family get together this weekend and everyone LOVED it!!!! I highly recommend making extra mousse because it’s sooo good on its own too! I used skim milk instead, and wasn’t confident enough in my skills to cut the layers in half, so I used three separate round pans, and just stacked those as the layers of the cake as they were. This recipe is amazing! The cake is so nice and moist and flavorful. And the mousse is incredible!
This cake is not only beautiful, but looks ridiculously delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
This is soooo decadent tasting. Wish I could reach into my monitor and grab a slice! ♥
xoxo
Rodellee
http://www.adorevintage.com
I made this cake for my wife’s birthday. She and everyone else loved it, but I have to say that she liked it even more leftover. I have to say that she loves cold cake in general but it seemed to let the mousse setup well.
Wow, looks very delicious. I want to have this one. Every layers of the cake are good.. I like it. Thanks for sharing.
Wowza– this looks amazing!
you are truly blessed, your father has such a beautiful daughter who has a good heart and bakes up such wonderful treats! i just started reading your blog, kinda forgot how i got here. you are doing a great job, keep blogging and i will keep reading!
-Fan from Malaysia
Hi, I just mixed up the batter for this cake, and it is very runny… is that how it is supposed to be? I put the batter into cupcake tins, so I’m anxious to see if they turn out!
Anonymous, yes the batter is very runny but they’ll still turn out great!
Thanks, Erica! :) They smell great in the oven!
How long do you suggest I leave the cupcakes in the oven? I was thinking about 22 min?
can i use cake flour?
I don’t see why you couldn’t use cake flour – give it a try and let me know how it comes out!
I emailed the link for this webpage to my mom with the picture of the cake, and the recipe for it and the mousse, to see if she’ll make it. It’s gorgeous, and looks delicious, especially the rustic layered look. Which in my opinion looks better than the frosted one, although I certainly wouldn’t turn down a piece of it. =) Wish me luck on getting my mom to make it. Thanks for making such a lovely dessert site, hopefully I’ll be trying out a few of these awesome looking recipes!
Can I just make this cake in a cake form and then let cool and cut the pieces after? Also, can I add some almond flour for a more nutty taste? Thank you for an amazing idea! Looks amazing and unique from the typical chocolate cake.
Erica — March 26th, 2012 @ 12:13 pm
I’m not sure what a cake form is but sounds good to me! And almond flour would probably also be great. Good luck!
Just finished making the cake, it looks great an the mousse tastes fantastic! Can’t wait to have my slice tonight with family and friends! Really enjoying your blog from down under!
AMAZZZING!!!! i cant wait to try this!!! thank you soooo much!
Looks super good. I can’t wait to try this out for my anniversary next month!
Hi Erica,
How many pans did you use?
Looks delicious, will make it this weekend for my sons birthday.
Erica — August 1st, 2012 @ 5:34 pm
I used 2 pans and cut each layer into 2 to make a total of 4 layers. Good luck!
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How many people does this cake feed?
Erica — November 19th, 2012 @ 1:39 am
Probably about 16-20 depending on how big of slices you cut :)
I came across this and when it came to the Nutella right when I added the Kaluah the Nutella got hard and clumpy! The second time I added the coffee mixture it did the same thing! Why?
Erica — November 26th, 2012 @ 3:38 am
I’m sorry the mousse didn’t work out for you. Did you beat the Nutella and Kahlua together for awhile? It might take a few minutes to get them both evenly incorporated and smooth. It also might help to microwave the Nutella for 10-20 seconds just to loosen it up a bit. Other than that I’m not quite sure what could have gone wrong, sorry!!
Too funny! I went searching for a hazelnut mousse recipe thinking it would be sublime with Ina Garten’s “Beatty’s chocolate cake” recipe and it appears it has been done together and with great success. I am a HUGE fan of I am Baker, which actually led me to your blog. But to give credit where credit is do, this AMAZING best in the world chocolate cake recipe is Ina Garten’s.
I was wondering how many cupcakes do you think this will make? Thanks for the recipe, it looks and sounds delicious. Can’t wait to bake.
Erica — January 30th, 2013 @ 3:51 am
About 24 – I actually just made this recipe into cupcakes and will be posting it tomorrow! Enjoy :)
Do you have to refrigerate the cake overnight?
Erica — March 12th, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
Yes, I would recommend that because the mousse should be kept cool. Good luck!
My friend made this cake and says it is to die for.
Subscribed to your blog! Gotta make this cake to-nite!
I made this cake twice so far and it has been a huge hit! Just wanted to say thanks for the awesome recipe! I also wanted to say that I absolutely love your blog as well. =) Keep up the great work!