two triple chocolate mousse cakes with raspberries

I made these two triple chocolate mousse cakes two summers ago (where does the time go?!), but never had a chance to blog about them until now! The first one was an 8-inch version, which I made for a co-worker who was leaving the company (he went to work for Google - so jealous!).

And then second one was a smaller 6-inch version, which I made for a casual dinner/playdate with my good friend Cecila. Our kids get along so well, which works out great because then the adults can catch up while the kids play!

I've made this particular cake many, many times, and I always love it each time. I've decorated it simply with just a bit of whipped cream. Or I've made them into individual cakes like these, for a fun and elegant dessert. I've decorated the rim with fresh raspberries or halved strawberries like with this cake, which adds a nice colorful decoration as well as a nice tang of fruit to go with the rich chocolate cake. I've done a piped decoration on top, in this case a cute wreath mousse cake for Christmas. I've even made them in different shaped molds, such as this Hello Kitty triple chocolate mousse cake. So versatile! And the cake components themselves are pretty simple to make, you just need the time to be able to let each layer set before adding the next.

The cake starts with a rich chocolate cake for the bottom layer. The original recipe from America's Test Kitchen uses a flourless chocolate cake, but I prefer to use a regular chocolate cake recipe instead. Then the middle layer is a rich chocolate mousse, made with melted bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder which is folded into freshly whipped cream. And finally, the top layer is a simple white chocolate mousse, with a bit of gelatin to help it set properly.

I don't know about you, but my mouth is watering just thinking about this cake again!