Can’t decide if you want chocolate mousse or cheesecake?
Make them both!
Chocolate mousse piled on top of creamy New York style cheesecake, baked on top of a fudgy brownie!
And if that is not enough it has loads of ganache icing and rum cake truffles!
The rum cake truffles never actually made it ONTO the cake, I thought it would just be overkill if I piled them on too; but served on the side?
Yes.
So this is an epic Building On Recipes extravaganza!
As with any over the top dessert like this one, you will have to prepare several recipes in advance.
In the video tutorial below I show you step by step how to tackle this project to make your life easier in the kitchen.
Literally everything can be made several days ahead of time, so when you are ready to slap it all together it is literally just that!
Once you have it all prepared the cake assembly is the easiest and of course the most fun part!
The Rum Cake Truffles are an optional garnish; but I had some leftover cake scraps from my most recent recipe for Girl Scout Samoa Cake!
Never throw out your cake scraps!
You can come up with some really fantastic ideas using them!
Or as I said in the video tutorial, if you make the full brownie recipe you will only need 1 layer, so you can turn the other layer into the rum cake balls!
Totally optional step, but totally worth it!
You will notice I am also using the Plant Based Egg egg replacementin this recipe, and while it is not imperative, I do think it adds great body to the final texture and creaminess of the cheesecake. If you do not have it or do not want to buy it, you can leave it out and add 2 teaspoons more cornstarch.
The agar in this recipe is not essential, this is a very sturdy mousse for molding so if you do not have agar- you can totally leave it out and it will still be great, sliceable and durable!
- ½ Recipe Fudge Brownies *You can make the full batch but you only need 1-7" layer for this recipe
- 1 Recipe Ganache
- For the Cheesecake:
- Vegan Cream Cheese 16oz (226g)
- Melted Vegan Butter 2 tablespoons (28g)
- Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Cornstarch 3 Tbs (40g)
- All Purpose Flour 2 Tablespoons (15g)
- The Plant Based Egg 1 teaspoon (2.4g)
- Plant Milk 1 cup (8 fluid ounces)
- Vegan Lactic Acid 1½ teaspoons (or 1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar)
- Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons
- For the Rum Cake Truffles:
- Leftover cake scraps 2 cups
- Ganache ¼-½ cup
- Rum 3-6 Tablespoons
- Vegan Semi Sweet Chocolate tempered *Or non tempering chocolate 8 ounces
- For the Chocolate Mousse:
- Semi Sweet Vegan Chocolate 8ounces (226g)
- Hot brewed coffee 2 Tablespoons (30ml)
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- Aquafaba *Chickpea Water from Canned Chickpeas ¼ cup (60ml)
- Agar powder ⅛ teaspoon *see note above
- Granulated Sugar 4 Tablespoons (50g)
- Cream Of Tartar ¼ teaspoon
- Coconut Milk Full Fat 1- 15ounce can (*refrigerated overnight)
- First prepare the brownie recipe as per the instructions on that blog post.
- If you made the full recipe, divide the batter in half and bake 1 half in a greased and parchment lined 7" cake pan.
- The other brownie batter can be baked as you wish 🙂 Get creative 🙂
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 18 minutes and meanwhile you can prepare the cheesecake batter.
- For the cheesecake combine all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender and process smooth
- Wait for the brownie to be done baking, and let it cool for about 30 minutes in the pan before pouring the cheesecake batter over top.
- Bake in a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven for 50 minutes.
- Turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecake inside to cool for another 50 minutes, then let it cool completely on the counter for about an hour.
- Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight before unmolding.
- Prepare the Rum Cake Balls by combining the cake scraps, ganache and rum together in a large mixing bowl and mix just until everything is combined.
- Scoop balls onto parchment paper and then roll them to perfect shaped balls.
- Dip in tempered chocolate and refrigerate until needed
- For the Chocolate Mousse:
- Combine the hot coffee and the agar powder and whisk smooth. Keep it warm or the agar will set and you will have to remelt.
- Meanwhile open the can of coconut milk that has been refrigerated overnight and carefully scoop out the fat that is on top and place in a mixer with a whip attachment, use the coconut liquid for something else (like a smoothie or a recipe that calls for no fat coconut water)
- Whip the coconut cream to soft peaks and reserve in the refrigerator
- Melt the chocolate in a large bowl over a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl
- Add the hot brewed coffee with the agar and the vanilla extract to the melted chocolate all at once while whisking vigorously to incorporate well.
- Add the reserved whipped coconut cream and whisk smooth
- Whip the aquafaba/agar with the cream of tartar to stiff peaks while adding the sugar slowly
- Take a small portion of the AF meringue and fold into the chocolate mixture to lighten.
- Fold in the rest of the AF gently
- Line a bowl that is 6" in diameter across the top with plastic wrap and pour the mousse into the bowl.
- Refrigerate until set - it will actually set within 30 minutes! (That agar is a dream!)
- Unmold the cheesecake, then the fully set chocolate mousse and assemble the cake as shown in the video tutorial
It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 10 days wrapped well to prevent drying out.
I do not like to freeze vegan cheesecakes, the texture changes to drastically
Why don’t you like Springform Pans?
I have 3- 9 inch pans I love them and bake a lot of cheese cakes. Never had a problem.
I Wouldn’t use a blow torch.
CLICK HERE
She has a video up about why she doesn’t like them.. I think they unfold better in regular pans using a blow torch but I forgot why she Durant use them. I use both methods and I like her method better as the final product comes out much easier and cleaner.
Yes thanks CLICK HERE
Nice Combination of mousse and cheesecake, it’s looking yum. I have eaten them separately on combined. I have made chocolate mousse at home. This dessert is unique and very interesting. I will definitely try this and let you know. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
Hello,
I have been following your blog for years and every Thanksgiving I would make your chocolate mousse recipe. However, when I decided just recently that I wanted to make it, I discovered that the non-vegan recipes are no longer on your website. Is there anywhere that I can find them? If not, is there any way that they can be shared with me? I really loved that recipe along with others and was hoping to continue to use it/
Hi Kristen, my non vegan blog is shut down
I couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
The cost to host such a huge database was close to $400 a month (with the maintenance cost, I needed to hire a tech guy to help keep it running smoothly)
So that cost was severely outweighing any small profits I had been making though running ads on the videos & blogsite.
I have not kept any of the non vegan recipes, since for over 4 years now I have been strictly vegan;
so for me they are of no use. They were all housed in the database and that has shut down.
Here is a video explanation I recently uploaded in response to the many emails I have been getting https://youtu.be/ghHVqNZuNaA
Thanks for your support and encouragement though the ages!
~Gretchen
Doesn’t the water in the coffee seize up the chocolate when mixed together?
Not at this ratio. If it were less water then YES! You are exactly correct!