This insanely decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake may taste like a rich dessert indulgence but it’s made from just a few healthy whole-food ingredients right in the blender!
You are going to think I am exaggerating when I say this, but this cake tastes like chocolate frosting. On top of a crust. And it’s low fat. And I am not exaggerating at all, that was typed with a completely straight face. I even ate the last trial straight with a spoon like I used to do with frosting to be sure–it’s a perfect match!
And not just any chocolate frosting either, I’m talking about the chocolate fudge kind that comes in the plastic canister with the red lid and peel-back silver top. The kind that seems way too creamy and perfect to be true. And if by “true” you mean made from actual real naturally-occuring foods then it’s not. The kind with corn syrup as the first ingredient. Yep, that hate-to-love it stuff.
This cake has the same dreamy texture and decadent taste, but created with a completely different mix of ingredients. Not only are the ingredients leaps and bounds healthier, there are fewer of them too. The filling is actually made with just four simple ingredients: a fruit, a root, chocolate, and non-dairy milk. And just two for the crust, inspired by my favorite tart crust.
To turn this oddball mix of things into the dreamiest of creamiest frosting-like fillings requires some serious blending power. Which brings us to the other, non-edible part of what makes this recipe special: my Vitamix.
You may have noticed a slightly different blender starring in my recipe videos lately, the new clear plastic top is kind of a dead giveaway. That beautiful machine is the Vitamix A3500, part of Vitamix’s new Ascent Series.
After having the chance to get to know this new model over the past couple of months, I must say I love it. I love it all the way from its streamlined base to it clear snap-on lid that makes overhead blending shots 10 times more interesting to watch. And trust me the blades and blending power are as sharp and strong as ever!
Touch controls. Start, stop, faster, slower, pulse–it’s all done by touch. Except for the main dial, the entire control interface is touch screen (hello flat and easy to clean!) It took me less time to figure out the basics of how to operate the touch screen display than it did to unwrap the users manual. It is very intuitive especially if you are used to the controls on previous Vitamix models.
Built-in programs. In addition to the usual 1-10 dial, this blender comes with 5 different built-in blending programs as well as a timer that either shows you how long you’ve been blending (great for writing recipes!) or can be set to blend for a certain length of time.
Of the built-in program options, I definitely use the frozen dessert and smoothie ones the most. I usually stand by for a bit to add more liquid or use the tamper as needed with those, but once it gets going it comes out creamy and perfect every time. It is especially nice if you are like me and make the same go-to smoothie frequently so you know the amounts already. I can clean-up and put stuff away while it blends without having to worry about over-blending, which I love. It’s like smoothie autopilot! And the countdown timer is nice too so I’m not just guessing how much longer it has to go.
A quick note. Because of all these smarter features, the containers from previous models do not work interchangeably with this base. Only Self-Detect containers do. I was a little surprised by this at first as I used to use my smaller 32oz container most of the time. However, I’ve gotten used to using the 64oz container and this one has quickly become my go-to blender for pretty much everything. And supposedly more Self-Detect containers/sizes are coming soon, so that’s exciting!
The bubble button! I can’t even tell you how much I love this. If you are anything like me and too often give in to the rinsing-is-good-enough temptation, then this little feature will save your beautiful blender container from getting the dreaded cloudy-not-clean look. One button, walk away, and 35 seconds later it’s clean. The lid, the sticky stuff on the sides, the bothersome bits under the blades–all of them = gone.
In the past I would turn my blender on to clean, walk away, get sidetracked, and come back to bubbles overflowing out the top. The fact that it shuts itself off saves me from cleaning up the clean up. And makes it impossible to rationalize just rinsing.
In action. Like I said, this machine has already made it’s debut in a few of my videos.
You can see it…
-Here making an extra frothy matcha latte
-Or here making cupcakes
-And here turning breakfast into a piece of (pan)cake
-And in many more soon-to-be-posted recipes!
This post is not sponsored, but I was sent this product in exchange for my honest review. If you want to learn more about this smart little self-sufficient superstar of a kitchen appliance, you can check it out -> here
Now let’s get to the elephant moose in the room, this Chocolate Mousse Cake!
One bite…okay let’s be honest, I didn’t stop to breathe think about anything until the whole first slice was demolished. One slice in and I was already thinking that THIS is the sort of elegant-meets-decadent, always-appropriate dessert that I will be whipping up for any and every special occasion from now until chocolate goes out of style (which we both know will never actually happen!)
Happy frosting-by-the-slice eating!
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Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 6 " round cake 1x
Description
This insanely decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake may taste like fudge frosting but is made from just a few healthy whole food ingredients right in the blender!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups almonds
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp water (if needed)
Mousse
- 1 cup baked and mashed sweet potato
- 1 cup Medjool dates
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
Instructions
- Grind the almonds in a blender until they resemble a fine meal.
- Add the maple syrup and blend until you have a clumpy mixture. Add 1 tbsp of water if necessary so that it sticks together when pressed.
- Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 6 inch spring-form pan. Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine all the mousse ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until very smooth and creamy.
- Pour on top of the crust and smooth the top.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350F.
- Remove from the oven. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.
- Serve chilled from the fridge with berries or whipped cream on top!
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Girl pleaseeee. This is INSANE. That fudgy mousse texture is just too much for my chocolate loving heart to handle. I might just have to make a batch of that to put on just about everything.
Such a fancy blender!! It’s so beautiful and so dreamy. Also makes my heart ache for my vitamix… Definitely should have packed it again this year. I underestimated my love for it 😉
The crust is really just there to make it look like a composed put together dessert, a blender full of that filling + a spoon is all that’s really required! It’s crazy how much I miss that thing when I travel…if only they weren’t so heavy I would probably pack it with me everywhere?
Oh my. Oh. MY. Oh my, my my!! I just cannot stop saying it, thinking it, and totally for sure annoying Erik by repeating it as I look upon this most glorious post!! How did you know that I NEEDED like 500 cups of chocolate frosting–I mean chocolate mousse cake–by the Mondays grumps I’ve been experiencing today? Just look at this heavenly slice of All Chocolate Lovers Dreams come true is turning around my entire day. Oh, and your vitamix looks AMAZING!! Do you think it could handle making multiple batches of all my favorite FoF recipes? Ahem. Hint hint… ? ? I mean, the container is 64oz… 😉 Happy Monday, my dear! Muah!
Do you narrate all your comments out loud as you write them?? Oh poor Erik? Ha just kidding! Well it’s monday and I know how hard you work, so of course you NEED frosting by the cup…I mean cake-full! Plus I think maybe our bestie connection tipped me off 😉 Big bowl + slice (half) of this cake + double chocolate PB coconut no-bake bites + mix it all up till it’s a chocolatey mess = monday grumps solved! Whadya say?❤️?
A cake, that tastes like frosting, made easily in a blender. HELLO I’ll take approximately 17. First of all the texture looks freaking majestic and luxuriously creamy!! Thanks for taking the time to write that review, I’m officially won over – a blender that cleans itself?! I’m so on board with that. The ingredients in this cake are literally everything that I love! Seriously dreamy, and I’m pretty close to drooling all over my laptop. Looks insanely good, Natalie!!
Bahahaha! Approximately 17–I’ll get right on that 😀 Might need a bigger oven. Luxurious is the perfect word for it! And not a word I use often to describe sweet potatoes lol. But the chocolate part definitely helps with the luxurious part. Between the two of us I think we will soon turn chocolate + dates into every possible edible form 🙂
Feasting on Fruit + Sweet Potatoes = Always magic. This looks sooooooooooooo so so good, I am dying to reach out and take a slice right now. And that blender looks awesome too.
Sweet potatoes in dessert does usually lead to delicious ends! They have that thick, creamy, spoon-worthy texture sweet stuff needs sometimes 🙂 Thank you Aimee!
Wow Natalie, so yum! You know I love this! Sweet potatoes and chocolate are magical together. This is similar to how I make chocolate sweet potato pudding so I can only imagine how yummy it is chilled as a cake! Does it hold together well at room temp?
Haha, I laughed, of course chocolate is never going out of style!!
That vitamix looks and sounds amazing. Having a vitamix is such a needed appliance in any kitchen in my opinion!
Ok, I need a slice of this now!! I’ll be dreaming of chocolate tonight, lol!
They are a magical combo indeed! It’s pretty much pudding (spoon required) at room temp, looses the cake element lol. The whole recipe is actually inspired by the sweet potato pumpkin pie filling I did a few months back, so very much like a cream pie texture. Chocolate dreams–the best kind! Especially when they lead to recipe inspiration 🙂
O My! The minute I read this recipe I went in the kitchen to make the mousse. Alas, I tasted the mousse and it never went into a crust to bake – sooo delish as just a pudding!. Guess I will need to make another batch and bake it in a crust in the oven.
Hehe I love it!! I’ve actually made he mousse all on it’s own on purpose a few times myself–too easy and too good? I am so happy you like it, good luck with the actually baking the next one part!
If served just as a mouse/pudding, would you just chill it prior to serving?
Without baking it won’t set up to be as firm. But yes, you can still serve is as a pudding and it will be thicker if you chill it first but yummy warm or cold 🙂
OMG. OooooMmmmGgggg!!! Where do I even begin?!?!! When I opened up the email to this recipe, I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t expect this level of dreaminess!!! First of all, this WILL be my next Vitamix. Too bad I just got a replacement one last year ? I’ve been hearing wonderful things about this model, but your review took it over the top. I’m in love. OK…moving on to this heavenly, dreamy, gorgeous mousse cake!!!! Not even kidding, Willow and I ran to the kitchen to see if we had all of the ingredients so we could make this NOW. I may have cried a little when I saw we were down to three dates. Three. We will make this as soon as we restock on dates. You continue to amaze me, friend. Not only is this the shortest list of ingredients for a decadent treat, but it looks insanely easy to whip up. I’m sure waiting to eat it will be the hardest part. Willow and I watched the video (twice) because Willow couldn’t believe it was something we could actually eat – she’s so used to watching cake videos that use dairy and eggs, so she was over the moon with excitement. I can’t believe the dreamy texture of this cake! How many times did I type dreamy?? ?? I can’t wait to make this! ❤
It’s almost as bad as the new iPhones–just when you think you are satisfied with the one you have they come out with a newer and cooler one dang it! The blender upgrade struggle hahaha 😀 Ahhh only 3 dates, that is dangerously low. I should’ve warned you last week not to make the cookie dough and save all your dates for the chocolate that was coming. Waiting is always hard for me, but honestly not eating it all from the blender was even harder with this one. Ha now if only I could do all the magical decorating things those youtube pros do with sweet potatoes and dates only 😀 Never too much dreaminess–you are so sweet <3
Hello Natalie, can I use almond meal instead of sliced almond processed? Another query – after refrigerating overnight – can you still slice into pieces / or holds its shape or does it become all gooey. Thanks for the recipe. I intend to make this weekend. Thank you kindly
Hi Jen! Yes you can use almond meal or flour instead of the whole almonds, you will need about 1 3/4 cup. And yes it is sliceable after chilling overnight, but needs to be kept and served cold still. The texture you see in the sliced photos is after being out of the fridge for about 30 mins while I was taking photos, so directly from the fridge it is actually firmer than that and holds its shape even better. It’s very similar in consistency to a cream pie if that gives you a better idea. Hope that helps!
Thank you Natalie. Much appreciated your prompt reply. I will keep you posted and love your webpage and thank you again for sharing your time, effort and recipes. Kindest regards Jen
Can I add agar to help it hold shape?
Thanks 🙂
Hmm I suppose you could, I haven’t tried it personally though so I cannot say how much or what the finished texture will be like. But I would suggest thoroughly dissolving it in the non-dairy milk first to avoid lumps and then blending. A tbsp or two of corn starch or arrowroot starch would work as well for a firmer texture. Good luck!
Natalie!! What? The blender cleans itself? I SO need this. And no wonder this cake is low fat – the potato! I couldn’t believe it, utter brilliance. I wondered if you’d use cashews or avo and if so how could you make it low fat. And I’m really sold on this recipe because of how few ingredients, it is so easy to grab these out of the pantry. In fact….Thank you for sharing sweetie! Dee xx.
I tried coconut and cashew actually, but then the potato idea finally hit me! Avocado didn’t even cross my mind, but that’s an interesting idea. I’ve seen lots of raw avocado mousses but never baked…hmmm? Between your no churn ice cream and this cake we have easy + date-sweetened + chocolate covered! 🙂
I’m in LOVE…seriously. This chocolate mousse cake screams my name…and it’s so easy to make! I’ve made chocolate ice cream in a blender with sweet potatoes and loved it, so i’m sure I will love this cake as will my family! The new blender looks wonderful! And yes…that whole turning it on to rinse and forgetting about it, coming back to bubbles all over is totally what happens in my house all the time. I’ll be adding this to my long list of recipes to try =) somehow i have a feeling it’ll creep up to the top on its own though ha!
Chocolate sweet potato blender ice cream–now that sounds spectacular!! And totally blog-worthy, is it on your site somewhere? Ha the overflowing bubbles…good times. It’s amazing how much of a mess soap can make 😀
the fact that this tastes like chocolate frosting is making me swoon! Oh this looks so creamy, rich and decadent I could DIE! I wanna make this for my bday <3
It really does! Like I might consider making the mousse and spreading it on my b-day cake…or just make this cake again, I mean the frosting is my favorite part of birthday cake anyways 😀
I’ve been looking forward to making a new potato cake one of these days, but the trouble is cooked potatoes = eaten potatoes around here ?? I can’t even tell you how many times I got started and ended up cakeless ?. I love the mousse / frosting texture. It looks so lush and fluffy.
I’m curious about the new Vitamixes. I’ll be the first to admit that although my old one is my most prized possession, I am often accosted with its not so counter/kitchen cabinet friendly height. I’ve considered going for one of the new shorter ones, but I heard that it doesn’t handle tiny amounts of nuts very well and since all my cakes are tiny these days it would be challenging. Have you tried blending very tiny batches of things? How did it do?
Oh I know that problem quite well, especially when said potatoes happen to be japanese sweet potatoes. Just like they say not to grocery shop on an empty stomach, you shouldn’t make potato cakes on an empty stomach either I guess 🙂 As for the Vitamix, I’ve only ever had the shorter wider blender jar models. I got my first one right after they switched. And no, they do not do well with small amounts. I actually bought a separate small dry goods container for just that reason that I use quite often with my old machine. It appears they have some very small containers coming out soon to go with this new one too, so maybe scope it out again in a couple of months!
Interesting. Well, thanks for sharing. I’m curious about the smaller pitchers — sounds like a good idea.
This looks amazing! Can you taste the sweet potato at all? I know I’m in the minority but I really don’t like sweet potatoes. Also, do you have a recipe for the chocolate sauce stuff drizzled over the raspberries in your pictures? Thanks for all the great recipes! I love your website!
Hi Jenni! No you can’t taste the sweet potato in here. I know sometimes we are more sensitive to flavors we don’t like so I can’t say for sure if you would be able to detect it, but personally I think the chocolate and dates over-power it completely. And the sauce on top is just melted chocolate with a little bit of coconut oil added in to thin it out and make it drizzle-able. Hope that helps!
Yes, thank you! I’ll go but one sweet potato tomorrow and try this out, yum! I agree with you that the best part of cake is the frosting ?
Well, I’m the minority too! My friend raved about chocolate sweet potato desserts, and I have tried them and none were for my tastes. I did try your frosting hoping I could get through, but I can totally taste sweet potato- which would be fine if I liked them! I think it’s a fantastic recipe, but if you dislike sweet potato, where their taste is super strong, you may want to try a small amount, or have others ready to eat this!
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Very true!! Even chocolate can’t quite FULLY mask that flavor if its not a flavor you like. Appreciate the feedback Denise 🙂
This looks insanely good! Will have to try it sometime! my sister and I love sweet potatoes and we eat a lot of tofu chocolate mousse!
Thank you for sharing it! lOve all your guilt-free treats. My sister and I only started a healthy food blog last year and we are so inspired by your ideas! Pinned this!
Mmmm tofu chocolate mousse is so good! Probably my favorite way to eat tofu to be honest 😀 Thank you for the sweet comment Zoe!
A decadent chocolate mousse made of sweet potato?! Are you a genius or are you a genius? Bless you for sharing these unreal vegan recipes. I will make this for my coworkers soon… I have a feeling I’ll become the most popular person in the office.
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Making friends with chocolate mousse cake–VERY good plan!! 😀 I seriously wouldn’t have thought sweet potatoes could be so decadent, this one was a delightful surprise even for me. I hope you love it Emily and your coworkers do too!
I am SO jealous! I wish I had a VM but its nowhere near my budget. Going to try the filling out with my cuisinart though… hre’s hoping!
It should work as long as you are patient and let it process for a long time to get super smooth and creamy! Also blending when the sweet potato is still warm and possibly soaking your dates first might help. Good luck!