This rich, decadent, quadruple layered Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake with Brownie Bottom recipe takes a little extra work to prepare, but the end result makes an amazing and beautiful low carb occasional treat!
The inspiration behind this indulgent dessert is a recipe that I have been making for years that is very similar, but loaded chock full of real sugar and flour! It is a dessert I have often made around Valentine’s Day because it just looks Valentinesy.
Make it Neapolitan
You could easily make this like a Neapolitan cake if you prefer strawberry instead of raspberry. To do this, just swap the raspberries with strawberries. Easy peasy!
Presentation
This Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake is great for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, or any other occasion where it sounds good to enjoy!
To amp up its fanciness, you can place it atop a lovely cake stand such as this one from Amazon (this is the same one I used). You can also garnish it with fresh raspberries, mint leaves, or even edible gold leaf (I used edible gold leaf as a garnish on this Healthy Carb Ube Ice Cream recipe) if you’d like.
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake Video
If you’re a visual learner or you just like recipe videos, here is the official recipe video for this cake.
A Note About This Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake
Something to note about this Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake with Brownie Bottom recipe is that, yes, it is Trim Healthy Mama friendly, but it is pretty rich in heavy fats. That means it’s not something you want to have every evening after a heavy meal (or even every evening after a light meal, though that might be more preferred). It’s more for a rare, once in a while treat–something that is super yummy without diving into an off plan dessert. Eating too much of it in one sitting or eating it too often would be sending you into calorie abuse.
If you’d like to lighten this recipe up a bit (make it less of a heavy S), you can omit the ganache drip and the chocolate shavings. The ganache drip and chocolate shavings are really more for decoration and visual appeal than for taste (although they do taste good, too!).
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake with Brownie Bottom
Ingredients
For Brownie Bottom
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup
THM Gentle Sweet or equivalent sweetener - 2 large eggs
- 1 cup
fine almond flour - ⅜ cup
cocoa powder - 2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
aluminum free baking powder - ½ teaspoon mineral salt
For Mousse Cake Layers
- 24 ounces ⅓ fat cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese, softened
- 3 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup
THM Gentle Sweet or equivalent sweetener - 1 tablespoon
pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon mineral salt
- 1 teaspoon
cream of tartar - ¼ cup
cocoa powder - 6 tablespoons
white chocolate chips (such as ChocZero or Bake Believe) - ½ cup puréed raspberries, puréed strawberries, or half puréed raspberries and half puréed strawberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain them before puréeing; if using fresh, aim for ripe raspberries so they taste better)
pink or red food coloring, optional
For Chocolate Ganache Drip (Optional)
- ⅓ cup
milk or dark chocolate chips (such as THM, ChocZero, or Bake Believe) - ¼ cup heavy cream
For Garnish (Optional)
- fresh raspberries
- fresh mint leaves
- on plan chocolate bars (any kind), made into shavings and curls (you can use a vegetable peeler to achieve this)
Instructions
For Brownie Bottom
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease one 10-inch round springform pan with coconut oil spray and line bottom with parchment paper; set aside. - Beat together the butter and sweetener until fluffy.
- Add the eggs and mix until incorporated.
- Add the almond flour and cocoa powder, mixing until well incorporated.
- Add and mix in the remaining brownie ingredients.
- Press brownie batter evenly into the bottom of prepared springform pan. Let rest for 15 minutes to hydrate the almond flour.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. DO NOT remove the ring. After it has cooled to room temperature, pop it into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm it up for the addition of the remaining layers.
For Mousse Cake Layers
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese until fluffy.
- Add the cream slowly and beat just until incorporated then add the sweetener, vanilla, salt, and cream of tartar. Mix for 10 minutes or more until the mixture is fluffy and thickened (don't overmix or the cream will separate into butter).
- Split the mousse into thirds.
- In one third, add the ¼ cup cocoa powder and beat until well blended. Spread this chocolate mousse layer over the chilled brownie bottom.
- In a microwave safe glass or silicone bowl, melt the white chocolate chips for 30 seconds and stir. Melt for an additional 20 seconds and stir again. Repeat melting for 20 seconds and stirring until the chocolate chips are mostly melted; the last few chunks should melt after a good stirring.
- Pour the melted white chocolate into the second third of mousse. Mix until well incorporated. Spread this white chocolate mousse layer over the chocolate mousse layer.
- In a food processor or blender (or in a zipper bag with a rolling pin to mash it), purée or partially puree the raspberries until you have ½ cup worth of purée. Some chunks are okay. Add this purée to the final third of mousse and mix until incorporated. If desired, you can also add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to make a richer pink color. Taste and add more sweetener a bit at a time as desired if it doesn't taste sweet enough to you. Spread this raspberry mousse layer over the white chocolate mousse layer.
- Pop the whole cake (still in its pan) in the fridge. Chill until firm–about 4 hours or overnight.
For Chocolate Ganache Drip
- In a microwave safe glass or silicone bowl, melt the milk or dark chocolate chips and cream together for 30 seconds and stir. Melt for an additional 20 seconds and stir again. Repeat melting for 20 seconds and stirring until the chocolate chips are mostly melted; the last few chunks should melt after a good stirring. The ganache should also be smooth and shiny.
- Remove the thoroughly chilled mousse cake from the springform pan. Set it on a regular plate or a fancy cake plate.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the ganache along the top edge of the mousse and nudge it a bit to get it to drizzle down the sides. Pop the mousse into the fridge and leave in there until the ganache has set, about 20 minutes.
For Garnish
- Arrange some raspberries around the edge of the mousse. Speckle it with some fresh mint leaves and sprinkle on some chocolate shavings/curls.
Could it be made with half and half instead of heavy whipping cream to lighten it up?
Hi, Rebecca. Half and half has milk sugar (lactose; carbs), so depending on which brand and how many carbs it has, that might bring the recipe into Crossover mode (still on plan, but not as conducive to weight loss). I’m also unsure if it would thicken up as firmly as the cream does (since the cream is beaten to hold the shape). That said, you’re more than welcome to try it that way. If you do, please let us know how it goes!
Amazing! Loved it, TJ!