Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake with Mousse Filling and Chocolate Frosting

I've posted this Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake once before, but I am posting it again as I have added a mousse filling that brings this cake to an entirely new level.  It is very rich, chocolaty and elegant. If you want a cake that's made to impress, give serious consideration to this beauty. 

The flavor of this cake is over the moon good.  You will think you are riding the tail of a comet, taking you to the place where chocolate dreams are made and come true.  You will not want to come back.

Trust me.

I kid you not.

Ole Sweetie-Pi and I were invited to spend the weekend with his older sister, Susan (who, in her own right, is an excellent cook) and her Significant Other.  I am a little intimated by her.  Susan is the eldest and is accustomed to being In Charge.  I, too, am the oldest sibling in my family and accustomed to being In Charge.  However, as she's had more practice at being the eldest, I am not in charge. Ole Sweetie-Pi and Susan have a family member who was referred to as Fort Gra-Gra.  Apparently, this is a dominant gene that is passed on to the females in the family; this gene does not skip generations.

When this cake was served, and the first forkfuls passed everyone's lips, I waited...and waited for a reaction. Silence...a moment of reverence.  Smiles broke out around the table.

I get to be in charge of making the chocolate cake from now on.

To begin, make the mousse and set aside in the refrigerator.  Bake the cake and mix the frosting.  (Recipes to follow.)  When the cake is baked, let cool thoroughly, and then cut in half horizontally. I think it might be a good idea to slightly freeze the layers for ease in handling.  Place one of the cake layers on your serving plate and pipe a dam of frosting around the circumference of the cake.

 

Fill inside the inside of the dam with a generous portion of that gorgeous mousse and smooth. 

Do this with the remaining layers, leaving the top of the cake plain as it will be frosted.

Frost the outside and top of the cake with the frosting. Decorate as desired; I don't have any real cake decorating skills, but I have dressed this up with chocolate covered strawberries when strawberries were in season. Refrigerate any extra mousse and frosting.  Finished cake should also be refrigerated and taken out just before serving time. 

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350* Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients into large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  (Batter will be thin.)  Pour into pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  About 2 cups frosting.

Chocolate Mousse

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups cold, heavy cream, plus an additional 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the confectioners' sugar and 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Stir over low heat. 

Add the semisweet chocolate chips, stirring frequently as they melt and the mixture becomes well blended.

Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and set this mixture aside.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the remaining 1 1/2 cup heavy cream on medium speed and gradually add the granulated sugar.  When all the sugar has been incorporated, beat the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, taking care not to overmix.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before using on your cake.