Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

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Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Photo: Natalie Levin

Passover is getting closer by the minute, and in less than a month Seder night is coming. To tell you the truth? I’m not a big fan of this holiday, especially because of the big dinner and meals, but I do like a festive atmosphere. Many of you have already asked me for a recipe of a festive cake without wheat flour that would be great for Passover – and here’s one right now!

This next cake is gluten-free, impressive, festive and so flavorful. If you like coffee and hazelnuts, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this coffee mousse cake. This beautiful coffee mousse cake is made of a chocolate brownie base, milk chocolate coffee mousse layer and a lot of caramelized hazelnut bits on top.

Don’t let its impressive appearance fool you – this cake is actually not so complex and mainly requires a little patience for cooling between the different layers. The nicest thing about this recipe is that you can make it even now for Passover and keep it in the freezer (well wrapped of course) until then.

Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Photo: Natalie Levin



Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

For chocolate brownie base:

  • 100 grams dark chocolate
  • 100 grams (1 stick) butter
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 50 grams (1/2 cup) almond meal

For milk chocolate coffee mousse:

  • 4 grams (1 tsp.) gelatin powder
  • 20 ml. (1 tbsp. + 1 tsp.) water
  • 250 grams milk chocolate (chopped)
  • 100 grams (3-4 heaping tablespoons) praline paste
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • 8 grams (2 tsp.) instant coffee powder
  • 30 ml. (2 tbsp.) boiling water
  • 500 ml. (2 cups) very cold whipping cream

For the whipped cream:

  • 125 ml. (1/2 cup) very cold whipped cream
  • 20 grams (2 tbsp.) sugar powder

For decoration:

  • 100 grams caramelized hazelnut bits
  1. Chocolate brownie base: preheat oven to 170c degrees and grease the pan.
  2. Chop the chocolate and put in a bowl. Add butter and melt together in the microwave or over double-boiler until everything is melted and the mixture is uniform.
  3. Add sugar and salt, and whisk well until combined.
  4. Add eggs and whisk until they are incorporated in the batter.
  5. Add almond meal and mix until uniform.
  6. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake the brownie for 20-25 minutes or until set at the edges but still slightly soft in the center.
  7. Cool completely at room temperature.
  8. Milk chocolate coffee mousse: in a small bowl, mix gelatin and water and set aside for about 10 minutes at room temperature until the gelatin absorbs the liquid.
  9. In a medium bowl, put chopped chocolate, praline paste and milk and melt in the microwave or over double-boiler until everything is melted and mixed.

  10. In a small separate bowl, mix coffee and boiling water until coffee dissolves and add to the melted chocolate mixture.
  11. Dissolve the gelatin in the microwave for a few seconds and add to the chocolate mixture. Mix until combined.
  12. In a mixer bowl whip cream until you get a firm whipped cream.
  13. Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture and mix well until combined.
  14. Add the rest of the whipped cream and fold gently until you get a uniform, relatively thin coffee mousse.
  15. Pour the mousse over the brownie base and straighten the top with a palate knife.
  16. Freeze for 4-5 hours or until the cake is completely frozen.
  17. Remove the frozen cake from the pan and refrigerate.
  18. Whipped cream: in a mixer bowl whip cream and powdered sugar until very firm whipped cream is obtained.
  19. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a smooth 2 cm piping tip and drizzle small mounds of whipped cream on top of the cake.
  20. Sprinkle caramelized hazelnut bits at the top of the cake.
  21. Keep the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
  • You can make the cake without the whipped cream topping and hazelnut decoration and keep in the freezer well wrapped for up to a month.
  • Praline paste and caramelized hazelnut bits can be bought from baking shops.
  • I wanted to get a very high cake, so I made the recipe in a 20 cm cake pan, but and you can definitely make the recipe in a 24 cm cake pan, the cake will just get a little lower.
  • In the brownie base, the almond meal can be replaced with the same amount of ground hazelnuts.
  • It is important not to bake the brownie too much in order to keep it soft and fudgy in texture.
  • Keep the cake in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.

Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Photo: Natalie Levin

Coffee Mousse Cake with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Photo: Natalie Levin