Chocolate Mousse Cake

I cannot take full credit for this recipe, more for the assembling of it.  The sponge recipe is actually one of my Mum's, which looks like it may have been a Delia recipe originally but I love the format I have it in, which is hand written by my Mum with her own little message to me at the bottom.

It is a fab and dead easy recipe though and I would encourage you to use it as a basis for any sponge cake you want to try.

The dark and deliciously sweet chocolate mousse is actually a BBC Good Food recipe.  This is a great website if you have one or a few ingredients in the house and are looking for inspiration on what to do with them - you just type in the ingredients and a full list of recipes is given.  This particular chocolate mousse is very very easy, which is good because this is quite a labour intensive recipe once you have made and then assembled all the components.  Check out the chocolate mousse recipe here.

Chocolate sponge cakes, as per Mum's recipes above but here is a neater version just in case:

110 grams self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

110 grams softened butter

110 grams caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Chocolate Mousse (as per BBC Good Food recipe above)

Strawberries (enough to cover the top of the cake)

First make the sponge:

Pre-heat the oven to 170 Degrees.

Grease and line two 7 inch cake tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large roomy bowl.

Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and whisk them till thoroughly combined.

If the mixture does not drop off the spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, then add a couple of drops of warm water and whisk again.

Divide the mixture between the two baking tins and cook in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.

Once ready leave to cool.

Meanwhile, as the cakes are baking make the mousse but don't put it into small glasses, just leave it in the bowl and pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  It should be starting to set but still slightly runny.

Place one of the sponges on a plate and put some of the mousse on top.  Keep the mousse in the centre, as it will spread out when you put the other cake on top.

Place the second sponge on top of the mousse and top with the remainder of the mousse.  In my (careless) world, the mousse usually drops down the sides and creates a chocolate mountain on the plate but really - who is going to complain about that?!

Add sliced strawberries to the top, or any other berries you fancy.

Chill in the fridge for another couple of hours and serve either as it is or with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Additional Notes

The Good Food recipe probably makes a bit more chocolate mousse than you need so if you don't want to completely envelope your cake, make a bit less or keep some for later to enjoy as a mousse on its own or with some berries.