Gluten free chocolate mousse cakes are silky smooth mousse placed atop light chocolate cakes. If this doesn't say Valentine's Day, I don't know what does!
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I saw these little dome cakes being made by Julia Baker when she had a cooking show on the Cooking Channel called Sweet Julia. She called them Francois Premiers and I made them years ago when they first aired on the show. But, in true me fashion, I decided to shake them up a bit and change the gooey flourless brownie to a light chocolate joconde. The original, to me, was a little too rich with the very gooey brownie. The joconde made it perfect, in my opinion.
The Ingredients You'll Need
The Mousse
- Chopped semi-sweet chocolate
- Heavy cream
The Joconde Cake
- Almond flour
- Powdered sugar
- Gluten free flour blend -- I've only used my own blend, but a high quality store bought blend should work (although it hasn't been tested)
- Whole eggs
- Egg whites
- Granulated sugar
- Melted butter
- Cocoa powder
The Ganache
- Chopped milk chocolate (or semi-sweet chocolate if you'd prefer)
- Heavy cream
Breaking Down the Steps
These little beauties might look difficult, but they're rather easy if you follow the steps:
Make the Cake
- Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and gf flour.
- Blend the 5 whole eggs into the flour mixture until smooth.
- Whip the egg whites and granulated sugar to firm peaks.
- Fold the meringue into the batter.
- Whisk the cocoa into the melted butter and add to the rest of the batter. Fold thoroughly.
- Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and smooth top.
- Bake cake and cool. Sprinkle granulated sugar over top and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Use a small round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut rounds out of cake that will fit the molds.
Prepare the Chocolate Mousse
- Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and stir. Allow to cool at room temperature.
- Whip the rest of the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold into the ganache.
- Pour into half sphere molds (affiliate link).
- Cut small pieces of cake to fit on top of molds and press gently into mousse.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
Make the Ganache
- Remove cakes from freezer and carefully remove each from the silicone molds. Place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or piece of waxed paper to catch drips.
- Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and stir. Pour ganache over cakes, covering completely. Before ganache sets up, add gold leaf or sprinkles, if desired.
Chocolate Mousse Cake FAQs
Fancy a brownie base rather than the Joconde? Go for it! Julia Baker makes a flourless brownie as the base in the original recipe, so check out the link below for that recipe. Also, I have a few brownie recipes on my site, or you can use a box mix. Bake your brownies in a larger pan so they are on the thin side for these mousse cakes (you'll have to adjust your baking time as well). Or use just a regular chocolate cake recipe (plenty on the blog).
You can line small bowls or even a cupcake tin with plastic wrap before filling with the mousse. You won't have a true "dome" shape at the end, but it'll still taste amazing and have all the components.
Once assembled completely with the chocolate ganache, they will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. But you can make the mousse cakes and leave them in the silicone molds in the freezer for a month until you're ready to pour the ganache and serve them. That way, you have an almost ready-to-go dessert waiting in your freezer for unexpected guests.
Stay in and have a romantic dinner at home for Valentine's Day, and serve these gluten free chocolate dome mousse cakes for dessert. They're the perfect little chocolatey cake to share
Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse Cakes
Ingredients
Joconde Cake
- 2 cups (224 g) almond flour
- ¾ cup (170 g) powdered sugar
- â…“ cup (46 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested)
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2½ tbsp (30 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp (70 g) butter, melted
- 2 tbsp (15 g) cocoa powder
Chocolate Mousse
- â…” cup (160 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup (170 g) milk chocolate, chopped
- â…” cup (160 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Joconde Cake
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF.  Line a jelly roll pan (15 by 10 inches) with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift together your almond flour, powdered sugar, and flour so you don't have any lumps. Blend in the 5 whole eggs into the flour until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks and slowly add granulated sugar. Continue whipping to firm moist peaks. Fold your meringue into batter until just combined.
- Whisk cocoa into melted butter until smooth. Slowly fold the melted butter and chocolate mixture into batter. Spread the mixture onto prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched.
- Once your cake is cooled, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar over the surface of the cake and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight in the fridge. The sugar will dissolve into the cake and keep it moist.
- Cut the cake into rounds using a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter that is the same size or a little smaller than the half sphere molds.
Make the Chocolate Mousse
- Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Place the chocolate in a large bowl and pour over the hot cream. Let stand for 1 minute to melt the chocolate. Stirring from the middle of the bowl outwards, stir together the chocolate and cream until shiny and smooth. Let cool slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Whip the heavy whipping cream to soft peaks. Stir one scoop of the whipped cream into the mousse to temper and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
- Pour the mousse into silicone molds and top with the cake rounds. Freeze until solid, at least 6 hours or overnight. When completely frozen, unmold and set on a wire rack over a baking sheet or piece of waxed paper for covering with ganache.
Make the Ganache
- Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Place the chopped milk chocolate in a medium bowl and pour over the hot cream. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for one minute to melt the chocolate. Stirring from the middle of the bowl and outwards, stir together the chocolate and cream until shiny and smooth.
- Transfer the ganache to a small pitcher with a pour spout. Carefully pour the ganache over each of the mousse cakes to cover. Garnish with gold leaf, if desired.
Adapted from Julia Baker's Francois Premier recipe
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