June 30, 2010

Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

by IsaChandra

Makes 12 cupcakes

Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

A rich chocolate cake with a creamy mousse topping, this is a classic cupcake combo for chocolate lovers. Of course, you can use this cupcake without the mousse for all your basic chocolate cupcake needs. Prepare the mousse first so that it has time to set, and garnish the cupcake with a berry and chocolate shavings, if you like! This recipe is modified from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.

For the mousse:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (one package is usually 12 ounces)
12 oz extra firm silken tofu (the vacuum packed kind)
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tablespoons agave syrup or maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

Prepare the Mousse:
Crumble the tofu into a blender. Add the soy milk, agave and vanilla extract. Puree until completely smooth. Set aside.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Obviously you don’t have a double boiler so take a small sauce pan and fill half way with water. On top of that place a small sauté pan. Fill the sauté pan with chocolate chips and bring the water to a boil. Use a rubber spatula to mix the chocolate as it melts. Once melted, remove from heat and let cool for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chocolate to the tofu and blend until well combined, use the spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender every so often.

Transfer the mousse to an air tight container or a bowl covered in saran wrap and let chill for an hour.

Prepare the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).

Lightly spray the liners with cooking spray and pour batter into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To assemble:
Once the mousse is chilled and set and the cupcakes have cooled, remove from the refrigerator and stir with a fork to a spreadable consistency.  Fit a pastry bag with a wide decorating tip. Fill the bag with mousse and pipe it onto the cupcake in a spiral, starting from the outside in or in. Add chocolate chips or chocolate shavings if you are feeling especially fancy pants.

Chill the cupcakes or a half hour to let the mousse set again and serve cold.


  • June 30, 2011 at 3:37 am: Karen Faivre

    This looks crazy-good! Got – to – make -now!!

  • June 30, 2011 at 3:11 pm: veganTyrien

    Yummy! Will have to make these this weekend!

  • June 30, 2011 at 5:29 pm: cat

    I am allergic to soy so is it ok to substitute for rice or almond milk, or will it always have the wrong texture? I break out like a madwoman ALL over from soy and it is in EVERYTHING.

    • June 30, 2011 at 6:57 pm: IsaChandra

      Yes, I actually use almond milk now, too.

  • June 30, 2011 at 11:38 pm: Ashley

    My mousse topping didn’t come out as firm as the picture appears – any ideas why? Still very delicious though, just not as pretty. I had to make them gluten free and I used Bob’s Red Mill baking mix and a little xantham gum and they are perfect!

  • July 14, 2011 at 11:25 pm: Sarah

    Awhh nuts, same! I tried making the mousse and it was more or less a chocolate pudding. I do believe I did everything correctly?

  • July 22, 2011 at 10:11 pm: Alyssa

    Plan to make this weekend…any tips on the mousse in reference to the above two posts? Do you need to press the water out of the tofu first? Thanks!

    • July 22, 2011 at 10:26 pm: IsaChandra

      Honestly, this recipe has been published for over 5 years now and this is the only time I’ve heard that it isn’t firming up. I would just make sure to give it enough time in the fridge! It will firm up. If it’s in the fridge for an hour and still hasn’t firmed, just give it a but more time, I promise.

  • July 23, 2011 at 6:53 pm: danielel

    These look awesome! Quick question- i could only find Firm silken tofu at the store…can i use that?

    • July 23, 2011 at 9:39 pm: IsaChandra

      Yep!

  • July 31, 2011 at 2:45 am: Leah

    Does the tofu have to be drained & pressed?

    • August 2, 2011 at 3:54 am: IsaChandra

      Nope!

  • August 22, 2011 at 5:31 am: Jenna

    Would it be ok to substitute coconut oil for the canola in this recipe?

  • August 29, 2011 at 8:20 pm: Kate

    I absolutely LOVE your Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World! I am new to vegan everything and am just getting my feet wet. I am a long time baker but have a question about your cupcake recipes. I made both chocolate and lemon recently. Upon removal from the oven, they are perfect. I cool them thoroughly and then put them in a covered container…they always get extra moisture on the top, which wasn’t there before. Does this happen to you as well? Any solutions? Of course, I guess it’s better than being dried out! :) Thanks Isa.

    • August 31, 2011 at 5:39 pm: IsaChandra

      Yes, condensation is totally normal. Try putting a paper towel loosely on top, that at least will absorb it somewhat.

  • September 6, 2011 at 6:18 pm: Hillary

    These cakes are absolutely some of the best I have ever had. I took them to a birthday party of my dubious in-laws and they all loved them. I did have the same issue with the mousse as some of the other bakers though. I had actually chilled for three hours and it was still very loose. Suffice to say, it looked nothing like yours! :(

  • October 2, 2011 at 11:34 pm: Amber

    Made these today and they’re fantastic! I had no problem with the mousse–it’s very similar to a pie filling I make. Will definitely make these again. Thanks for sharing!!!

  • October 7, 2011 at 7:11 pm: Simi

    These were amazing! I’m very new to the vegan lifestyle and these helped in the persuasion of my family… especially my hubby. I was wondering though, do you have any raw cupcake recipes?

  • October 26, 2011 at 1:55 pm: jbelaine

    This has become my new go-to recipe for cupcakes!!! They’re amazing. I made them with coconut milk instead of soy milk when I first made them and it added a really nice flavor to them. Thanks for the recipe!

  • November 10, 2011 at 7:11 pm: Andrea

    I made these this morning and the mousse came out excellently firm! I made them for a lactose intolerant coworkers birthday and they were all very amazed! Some had two (I made a double batch). Thanks for the recipe.

    BTW if the mousse isn’t setting as firm as you’d like it, either leave it in the fridge longer or reduce the non dairy milk.

  • November 14, 2011 at 4:32 pm: Leslie

    The mousse took about 3 hours to be perfect for me. It is SO good. I made it for the Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes, which my 10 year old son has deemed “God’s perfect cupcake”. The only thing is, I cannot get them to not sink in the middle. It is so frustrating. I have checked my oven temp. and really tried hard not to overmix. I made two different batches yesterday. Any ideas????

  • November 16, 2011 at 9:10 pm: Adrianne

    I love all the cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I make them all the time and always have success. I have had many people tell me they are the best cupcakes they have ever eaten, not just the best vegan cupcakes. Anyway, I turned this chocolate cupcake recipe into my wedding cake. It was awesome! I made the batter into cakes, then poured a little amaretto and raspberry jam mixture over the cake to keep it moist. I then made the chocolate mousse from the book adding more amaretto and espresso powder. The frosting was vanilla buttercream, also from the book but made with amaretto instead of milk. Anyway, thanks.

  • November 23, 2011 at 2:33 am: steph

    The mousse is fantastic! I brought a batch of mexican hot chocolate cupcakes to work, and people raved about the frosting. It was so satisfying telling them that the frosting contained an *entire* box of tofu.

  • December 11, 2011 at 4:21 am: Leah

    I don’t have any mori-nu on hand, can I use regular firm tofu?

  • December 21, 2011 at 7:14 am: Anna

    The cupcake part of this was perfect, but the mousse was TOO firm. I almost considered rolling it up in little balls and dipping them in melted chocolate and cocoa to make vegan truffles because it tasted so delicious, but it was a little much on top of the cupcakes. I guess next time I’ll just thin it out with more non-dairy milk. I like the idea of using coconut milk, too. Sounds like a delicious substitution.

    Anyway, thank you for an awesome recipe!!

  • December 23, 2011 at 2:31 am: Marissa

    Everything was so moist and delicious and oh my god. I decided to make these for a Secret Santa at work for a girl who can’t have the animal proteins in milk, but who I was told liked Junior Mints. I used “vegan chocolate chips”, replaced the extract in the mousse with mint extract, and did the same with the almond/extra vanilla in the batter itself. Everything came out perfectly. I think this just became my go-to cupcake recipe, way more than anything non-vegan.

  • December 27, 2011 at 2:49 am: KZCakes

    I make both the mousse and cupcake all the time, but the first time i made the mousse it was a little too drippy for piping, then the next time i made it, I left it in the fridge overnight before making the cupcakes and it piped just as pretty as in the picture! It also tastes amazing. As a fun addition I’ve been filling the chocoloate cakes with ganache for extra moistness. Killer.

  • January 2, 2012 at 3:35 am: Sue

    I just made the Brooklyn Brownie cupcake recipe from your book. Awesome. Raving reviews. I love it.
    Thank you.

  • January 21, 2012 at 5:16 am: Robyn

    I made these with the basic chocolate frosting but since I had no shortening I used earth balance margarine and coconut oil. That worked okay, but I will try this frosting instead :) love the book!

  • January 31, 2012 at 11:03 pm: Linda

    Is there anything you can substitute the tofu with.

  • February 6, 2012 at 4:05 am: Nathalie

    Based on people’s reviews, I made sure to chill the mousse for several hours before I needed it, especially because I used firm rather than extra-firm mori-nu, and it was ahhhh-mazing. I only iced the cupcakes with a knife though, so although I made a double batch of cupcakes, I needed less than one batch of mousse (I used about 2/3). I could see how you could use more of it though if it was piped on. I also discovered the hard way how important it is to let the cupcakes cool completely before icing, as my first attempt almost tore apart one the puffy cupcakes.

  • February 11, 2012 at 1:40 pm: Carol Loftus

    Are there any recipes in the book with no oil? i am vegan and also don’t do oils.

    • February 11, 2012 at 6:52 pm: IsaChandra

      Nope! You can replace oil with applesauce or other standard subs, but they will be more like muffins.

  • February 11, 2012 at 6:33 pm: Amanda

    I made these the other day. They are INCREDIBLE! I brought them into work for our office potluck and didn’t tell anyone that they were vegan. Everyone loved them! One of my co-workers said that they were the best cupcakes that he had ever had! When I told them they were vegan, everyone was so shocked! It was great! :D Thanks for the awesome recipe!

  • February 13, 2012 at 10:41 pm: Katie @ Powered by Hummus

    Do these need to stay refrigerated?

  • February 14, 2012 at 9:15 am: Jessica

    Amazing! The best cupcakes I have ever had. I thought I’d give some away, but changed my mind :) SO GOOD!! I only had 3/4 of the tofu for the topping (used the other 1/4 went to chocolate bottom macaroons) so I used a little less almond milk and a little less chocolate, and let it sit in the fridge for like 3-5 hours, turned out great! I keep the cupcakes in the fridge, and the topping is firm but creamy and the cake part is so moist. Thank you!

  • February 19, 2012 at 1:27 am: Samantha

    I’m allergic to both soy and almonds, so neither of those milks work for me. Instead, I always use SoDelicious coconut milk (either vanilla or original) in this recipe and it turns out perfectly! I still haven’t tried the mousse because I’m wondering if I’ll be allergic to the tofu due to the soy. Is there any other way I can make vegan mousse topping for this cupcake?

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