Hey Lykkers, ready for a dessert that looks like it belongs in a fancy pastry display but can be crafted in your own kitchen?
This chocolate raspberry mousse cake is a true showstopper: tall, gleaming, and packed with flavor. It is a project-style bake, but every slice feels like a celebration of your skills.
This version builds on a beloved classic, scaled to a 9-inch cake so there is enough for sharing. Despite its dramatic height, the cake tastes surprisingly light, thanks to airy chiffon, silky mousse, and bright raspberry layers. It is designed for Lykkers who enjoy slow, thoughtful baking and crave that "wow" moment when the cake is finally revealed.
Cake Magic
From bottom to top, this cake is a parade of textures: soft chocolate chiffon, a thin crunchy chocolate-feuilletine layer, deep dark chocolate raspberry mousse, ruby raspberry crémeux, a vivid raspberry gelée, another blanket of mousse, and finally a glossy berry mirror glaze. Every forkful brings contrast—creamy, juicy, crunchy, and tender all at once.
This is not the kind of dessert chosen to save time or effort. It is more like knitting a sweater or shaping a piece of pottery: a creative ritual. Who enjoy multi-step projects will find satisfaction in each component, from blooming gelatin correctly to achieving a flawless mirror finish on top.
Tools List
- 9" x 3" cake ring, plus acetate to line the inside
- 8" cake ring or 8" round pan lined with plastic wrap
- 8" round pan for molding the gelée and crémeux insert
- 10" x 15" jelly roll pan for the chiffon sponge
- Digital probe thermometer
- Immersion blender
- 8" and 10" cake boards
- Sheet pan for freezer use
- Offset spatulas, mixing bowls, sieve, plastic wrap, kitchen scale
Key Ingredients
- Raspberry purée – strained and seedless
- Powdered gelatin – for gelée, crémeux, mousse, glaze
- Ruby chocolate – fruity and naturally pink
- Feuilletine or crunchy substitute
- Good dark chocolate
- Milk, cream, eggs
Step Guide
Ingredients at a Glance
Raspberry Gelée
- Raspberry purée
- Sugar
- Cold water
- Powdered gelatin
Ruby Raspberry Crémeux
- Ruby chocolate
- Milk
- Cream
- Egg yolks
- Corn syrup
- Powdered gelatin
- Raspberry purée
Chocolate Chiffon Cake
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Coffee or water
- Milk
- Oil
- Flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
Chocolate Crunch
- Feuilletine
- Dark chocolate
- Neutral oil
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mousse
- Dark chocolate
- Milk
- Powdered gelatin
- Raspberry purée
- Heavy cream
Berry Mirror Glaze
- Berry purée
- Sugar
- Liquid
- Glucose or corn syrup
- Condensed milk or cream
- Powdered gelatin
Build the Inserts
- Prepare the gelée mold: line an 8" pan with plastic wrap.
- Make the raspberry gelée: bloom gelatin, heat purée with sugar, dissolve gelatin, pour into pan, freeze.
- Make the ruby raspberry crémeux: bloom gelatin in milk, cook egg yolks with milk and cream to 180°F, dissolve gelatin, strain over chocolate, emulsify, add raspberry purée, blend.
- Freeze gelée + crémeux: pour crémeux over gelée and freeze until solid.
- Bake the chocolate chiffon: whisk yolks and sugar, add liquids, sift dry ingredients, whip whites, fold gently, bake 18–20 minutes, cool.
- Cut and crunch the base: cut an 8" circle, add chocolate-feuilletine layer, chill.
Assemble the Cake
- Prepare the main mold: line 9" ring with acetate and seal bottom.
- Make the mousse: bloom gelatin in milk, melt into warm milk, pour over chocolate, whisk smooth, add raspberry purée, fold with whipped cream.
- Layer the cake: place cake-and-crunch disc in mold, add mousse around and over.
- Add the frozen insert: place gelée-side up, cover with more mousse, fill mold, smooth top.
- Freeze overnight until rock solid.
Glaze and Serve
- Prepare the glaze: combine purée, sugar, liquid, gelatin, condensed milk; blend, strain, cool to 88–90°F.
- Unmold the cake: remove ring and acetate, place on raised stand.
- Glaze in one go: pour smoothly from center outward, let drip, trim base.
- Decorate and thaw: add splatters or glazed raspberries, move to clean board, thaw several hours.
- Slice and enjoy: use a hot tool, wipe between cuts, store leftovers in fridge.
Final Thoughts
Lykkers, this cake asks for patience, but it gives back in flavor, beauty, and confidence. Each layer you stack is proof that a home kitchen can absolutely produce a "special occasion" centerpiece.
Which part of this Berry Mousse Dream Cake are you most excited to tackle first—the chiffon, the mousse, or that glossy glaze?
