No-Bake Pumpkin + Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

Try this stunning seasonal vegan mousse cake made with layers of rich and creamy maple pumpkin mousse and hazelnut chocolate mousse on a crunchy base. Everyone will be fighting for the last bite.

Give this fall entremet the seat of honour at your Holiday table. Serve it at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or at your next friends and family gathering.  This vegan mousse cake looks incredible and is very easy to whip up.

This easy vegan entremet is made of: 

• Crunchy chocolate hazelnut base
• Rich chocolate praliné mousse that tastes just like Nutella
• Creamy maple pumpkin mousse
• Dark chocolate ganache layer

This no-bake cake looks very elegant and is very easy to make. It is also 100% vegan which means no egg, no dairy and no gelatin.

RELATED: Are you a pumpkin lover? Check out my Bourbon pumpkin loaf!

📋 Ingredients

This pumpkin and chocolate mousse entremet has ingredients that you might not have seen before. I added some extra info to explain their functions in the recipe and substitution ideas.

However, I can’t guarantee the results if you make significant changes to the recipe.

• High-quality dark chocolate - I used Valhrona Caraïbe 66%. Using a different cocoa content could result in a different texture.
• Hazelnut praliné paste - Praliné paste is made of caramelized nuts (usually hazelnut or almond) that are turned into sweet nut butter. This gives the mousse its Nutella-like flavour. You can make some yourself following this praliné paste recipe or use pure hazelnut butter, but you will need to add some sweetness to the recipe.
• Vegan corn flakes type cereal - I use the Nature’s Path Envirokids Amazon flakes.
• Vegan heavy whipping cream - I use Ambiante by Puratos which is sweetened and holds firm when whipped. You can use other types of vegan heavy whipping cream but I can’t guarantee that the mousse will have the same texture or that it will hold as firm. 
  • If your feel like experimenting, I recommend testing out Flora dairy-free multipurpose crème, Country Crock plant cream or Elmlea double plant cream alternative (and share the results in the comments). I do not recommend using Silk heavy whipping cream.
• Soy milk. I do not recommend substitution for other plant-based kinds of milk.
• White granulated sugar - Make sure it is bone char free.
• Canned pure pumpkin puree - I do not recommend using homemade pumpkin puree since it has a higher moisture content.
• Maple syrup
• Agar agar replaces gelatine usually found in mousse recipes. Be careful when measuring it as a little mistake in quantity can drastically change the texture of the mousse.
• Food-grade deodorized cocoa butter pastilles (or buttons) - I use the Cacao Barry brand cocoa butter. This gives some body and structure to the mousse
  • Substitution: You can use the same amount of vegan white chocolate.
• Vanilla extract
• Fine sea salt and ground cinnamon

See recipe card for quantities.

🥣 Tips for making vegan double mousse cake

This double mousse cake is relatively easy to make and doesn't really have any difficult steps and everything is well explained in the recipe methodology so instead of walking you through the steps, here are a couple of tips to keep in mind while you are whipping up this recipe.

1. When making the mousses, make sure the preparation doesn’t feel warm to the touch before folding in the whipped cream, if not you risk melting it.
2. Emulsify the ganaches by making small circles in the center of the bowl and slowly working your way outward as demonstrated in this excellent ganache 101 instruction video by Hanbit Cho.
3. Refrigerate the cake for a full 8 hours before releasing it from the pastry ring. The cake should stay cold as much as possible at all times.
4. The cooked pumpkin mixture splash a lot while it is boiling so be careful!

🔪 Equipment

• Small, medium and large bowls
• Hand mixer, or whisk for the cream
• Pastry ring, 7-inch diameter or an adjustable one like the one I use.
• Small saucepan
• Flexible silicone spatula and whisk
• Small offset spatula
• Instant read digital thermometer
• Rhodoïd - This is a strip or ribbon of sturdy plastic that is used in pastry to line pastry rings or to make chocolate shapes. Chose one that is preferably the same height as your pastry circle.
  • Substitution: you can skip it and swipe a blow torch on the outside of the pastry ring when you are ready to release the cake. The outside of the cake might "smudge" a bit.
• Plate, cake board or cake drum
• Pastry bag and Wilton 6B Pastry tip

TIP: If you use the weight measurements, you can whip all the cream all at once and use to scale to divide it between the 2 mousse

I highly recommend you use a digital scale and weight measurements when following my recipes as it is more accurate, especially with more complex recipes like this one. The only exception is with very small quantities where I recommend using teaspoons.

🌡️ Storage

• Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 6 days.
• Do not freeze. Agar agar seeps its liquid when it is frozen.

Recipe

Print

Vegan Pumpkin and Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

Try this stunning seasonal vegan mousse cake made with layers of maple pumpkin mousse and hazelnut chocolate mousse.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 7 inch cake

Ingredients

Crunchy base

• 40 g dark chocolate (1½ oz or ¼ cup, chopped)
• 45 g hazelnut praliné paste (3 tablespoons)
• 40 g vegan corn flakes type cereal (1 cup)
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Chocolate hazelnut mousse

• 150 g high-quality dark chocolate , with around 66% cocoa content (5⅓ oz or approximately 1 cup, finely chopped)
• 120 g hazelnut praliné paste (½ cup)
• 190 g soy milk (¾ cup)
• 50 g white granulated sugar (¼ cup)
• 375 g Ambiante by Puratos , or vegan heavy whipping cream* (1 ½ cup)

Pumpkin mousse

• 245 g canned pure pumpkin puree (1 cup)
• 85 g maple syrup (¼ cup)
• 85 g soy milk ( ⅓ cup)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4 g)
• 1 ¼ teaspoon agar agar
• 35 g food-grade deodorized cocoa butter pastilles (¼ cup, unmelted or 1 ¼ oz)
• 375 g Ambiante by Puratos , or vegan sweetened heavy whipping cream* (1 ½ cup)

Chocolate ganache

• 75 g high-quality dark chocolate ,with around 66% cocoa content (2 ⅔ oz or ½ cup, chopped)
• 75 g soy milk (5 tablespoons)

Instructions

• Place a 7-inch pastry circle on a plate or cake board covered with parchment paper. Line the inside of the pastry circle with a strip of rhodoïd.
• Melt together the dark chocolate and praliné paste in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds interval, until completely melted and homogenous. Stir in the cornflakes and the salt until completely coated.
• Transfer the crunchy base mixture into the prepared pastry circle. Compress and flatten out the mixture evenly, making sure it reaches all the way to the edges. Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate hazelnut mousse

• In a large bowl, melt together the dark chocolate and praliné paste in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds interval, until completely melted and homogenous.
• Mix together the soy milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. Pour the hot milk over the melted chocolate. Using a silicone spatula, emulsify the ganache.
• Leave the chocolate mixture at room temperature until it reached 95°F (35°C), or until the mixture doesn’t feel hot to the touch. During that time, whip the whipped cream until you reach medium peaks.
• When the chocolate is at the right temperature, gently fold in the whipped cream in 3 additions.
• Right away, pour the mousse on top of the crunchy base. Even out and smooth out the top of the mousse with a small offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake while you make the pumpkin mousse. Optional: set aside 1 cup of chocolate mousse for garnish later.

Pumpkin mousse

• In a saucepan, mix together the pumpkin, maple syrup, soy milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Sprinkle the agar agar on top of the mixture and whisk it in.
• Cook the pumpkin mixture on medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture starts to bubble consistently - 1 bubble every 1 or 2 seconds. Be careful as it can splash you and burn you. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa butter until completely melted.
• Transfer the pumpkin mixture to a large bowl and leave it at room temperature while stirring from time to time until it reaches 95°F (35°C), or until the mixture doesn’t feel hot to the touch. During that time, whip the whipped cream until you reach medium peaks.
• When the pumpkin mixture is at the right temperature, gently fold in the whipped cream in 3 additions.
• Right away, pour the pumpkin mousse on top of the chocolate mousse. Even out and smooth out the top of the mousse with a small offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake for a minimum of 8 hours.

Chocolate ganache

• Place the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer and pour over the chocolate, covering it completly. Let the mixture rest for 1 minute without stirring. Using a silicone spatula, emulsify the ganache.
• When the ganache doesn’t feel warm to the touch anymore, pour it on top of the pumpkin mousse and tilt the cake to spread it out evenly. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until the ganache is firm.
• Release the cake from the pastry circle by sliding a sharp knife between the metal and the rhodoïd, or swipe a blow torch on the outside of the pastry circle until you can slide out the pastry circle. Optional: Pipe dollops of the reserved room-temperature chocolate mousse on top of the cake. Enjoy!

If you have more questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section and I'll do my best to answer them.

Did you try this vegan mousse cake recipe?

Don’t be shy and let me know how it went! Leave me a comment below and share a picture on Instagram! And most importantly, leave a rating to help me and let other people know how much you like this recipe!