Chocolate Pumpkin Mousse Cake

Chocolate Cake Layer

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients for the cake.
3. Add in the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Add in the hot water and mix until everything is combined.
5. Prepare a 9” cake pan (8” would also work) by lining the bottom with parchment paper and spraying with non stick baking spray.
6. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
8. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely.
9. When your cake has cooled, slice the top off to create a very flat surface.
10. Place the cake cut side down either onto a serving plate, cake stand, or a round cake board.
11. Fit the cake with a cake collar and trim down if necessary. Set aside.

Pumpkin Mousse

1. To create the two mousses start by whipping 1.5 cups heavy cream with the powdered sugar until it has formed stiff peaks.
2. In a separate bowl mix together the pumpkin, pumpkin spice, salt, and ½ of the vanilla pudding mix.
3. Take about ⅓ of the whipped cream and add it to the pumpkin mixture
4. Fold to combine.

Cream Cheese Mousse Layer

1. Remove the whipped cream from your mixer and set aside. (no need to wash/rinse the mixing bowl)
2. Add the butter and cream cheese to the now empty mixer.
3. Whip to combine.
4. Add in the other ½ of the vanilla pudding mix, as well as the melted white chocolate chips.
5. Once the mixture has come together and is smooth, fold in the remainder of the whipped cream.

Building the Cake

1. Have cake ready inside collar with pumpkin and cream cheese mousse ready.
2. Spoon dollops of the pumpkin mousse onto the chocolate cake inside of the cake collar, starting in the middle.
3. Slowly press the mousse to the edges so that it presses against the cake collar.
4. Try to smooth it out as evenly as possible.
5. Do your best.
6. Spoon the cream cheese mousse over the top of the pumpkin mousse, if the pumpkin mousse is too soft and it feels like you cannot easily spread the cream cheese mousse on top, stop and put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes, then try again.
7. Spread the cream cheese mousse into an even layer and put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

1. Once the cake has chilled, make the chocolate ganache by heating 1 cup of cream in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl and heat just until it almost boils, then remove from heat and add in the dark chocolate chips. Let this sit without stirring for a couple minutes, then gently mix together until combined.
2. Repeat this process in a separate container for the white chocolate chips and the 2 Tablespoons of cream. When the white ganache is ready, pour into a small squeeze bottle or piping bag.
3. Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cream cheese mousse, lift the cake and gently/carefully tilt the cake to let the ganache cover the top.
4. Use the squeeze bottle of white ganache to create circles like a bullseye on the top of the cake.
5. Using a chopstick or blunt side of a skewer, draw a line in the ganache starting from the whit center, all the way out to the edge. This will create a cobweb design, continue to draw lines out from the center of the cake, wiping off any excess ganache from your chopstick each time, until you have as many lines as you desire.
6. Place the cake back into the fridge, covered, for at least 8 hours.
7. When it is time to serve remove the cake collar.