Let the cakes cool completely for at least an hour before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Chocolate Mousse Layers
The base recipe for both of the chocolate mousses is the same, so for efficiency, I have made the recipe so you make a big batch of the mousse and then split it into two at the end to mix with the different chocolates and make one dark chocolate mousse and one white chocolate mousse.
Chop the dark chocolate and white chocolate finely and set aside in two separate bowls.
Put the egg yolks in a small bowl and whisk until they become slightly thick and pale (about 40 seconds). Don’t throw your egg whites away, you can use them in another scrumptious recipe – such as Baileys Chocolate Mousse.
In a saucepan over medium heat, warm half of the cream and vanilla gently until they just start to heat up. Once it is warm, drizzle a little of the cream mixture into the beaten egg yolks and whisk it in.
Drizzle a little more and keep drizzling and whisking until all of the cream has been added to the egg yolks. This is tempering the eggs – bringing them up to temperature slowly so they don’t scramble. It’s important not to add the cream too quickly, or when it has become too hot, or you’ll get lumps of cooked egg in your mousse.
Once all the cream has been incorporated into the egg yolks, pour the whole thing back into the saucepan and continue to heat. Stir the mixture constantly – not to incorporate air, but just moving it enough to keep it moving so the bottom doesn’t burn.
Keep going until the mixture thickens slightly, then remove from the heat.
Pour half of the mixture into the bowl with the dark chocolate, and half into the bowl with the white chocolate. I did this by eye, but if you prefer to be completely accurate you can pour the entire mixture into a bowl so you can weigh it, then measure out half to add to each chocolate bowl.
Mix the dark chocolate bowl together until the chocolate has completely melted and incorporated. Then do the same with the white chocolate.
In a separate bowl, whip up the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Divide the whipped cream evenly between the two chocolate mousses and fold it in gently until completely combined.
Assemble the Tuxedo Cake
I recommend doing the first three steps of this assembly before you start making your chocolate mousses – this is because you don’t want to wait too long after the mousse is ready to pour it into the cake ring, or it might start to set already and won’t be lovely and smooth.
Place a dessert ring on top of a cake board or serving plate. I use an expandable cake ring so I can adjust the size to my cake, but if yours isn’t adjustable, make sure it is the same size as the cake pan you baked your chocolate cakes in. if you don’t have a dessert ring, see the section below on how to make this recipe without one.
Cut any dome off of your cooled chocolate cake layers so they are nice and flat. I like to do this with any layer cake, but it’s especially effective with this tuxedo cake, as it’s all about those pretty layers.
Depending on how much your chocolate cake rose in the oven, you may end up with a pretty thick layer for the chocolate cakes. Ain’t nothing wrong with a thick layer of cake, but if you’d like a thinner layer, for aesthetics or elegance, simply trim the chocolate cake down to the thickness you’d like it to be. Make sure both layers of chocolate cake are the same thickness though.
To form the first layer of the tuxedo cake, take one of the layers of chocolate cake and place it inside the dessert ring. There is no need to line or grease the dessert ring with anything.
I would do these things first, and at this point, I would start making the chocolate mousses, so the cake ring and first layer are ready to go when your mousses are done.
Once your mousses are ready, pour the dark chocolate mousse on top of the chocolate cake layer and spread it out evenly to form the 2nd layer.
As the dark chocolate mousse is likely to be thicker and sturdier than the white chocolate mousse, you should be able to pour the white chocolate mixture right on top without the two mixing together, but if the dark chocolate mousse still seems super liquid, let it sit in the fridge for 5 minutes before pouring the white chocolate mousse on top.
Place the three-layered cake in the fridge for 30 minutes, then add the second cake layer of chocolate cake on top of the white chocolate mousse. Place the whole cake back in the fridge and leave to set for at least 4 hours.
Decorate the Tuxedo Cake
Once your tuxedo cake is completely set, it’s time to decorate! The top layer is made of delicious chocolate ganache.
Chop the chocolate into fine pieces. I used milk chocolate but you can use dark chocolate or semi-sweet – whatever you like.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, just until scalding (tiny little bubbles just starting to form on the surface).
Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate – let it sit for a minute then use a spoon to stir together until the chocolate has completely melted and the ganache is glossy and smooth.
Let the ganache cool and thicken slightly, just until it is thick enough not to run off the side of the cake, but still thin enough that it will settle into a beautiful smooth surface. Timings on this can vary but it takes my ganache about 30 minutes, just keep checking until it seems right.
Remove your delicious chocolate mousse cake from the fridge and unmold it from the cake ring. This should reveal the very pretty sides of the cake with gorgeous contrasting layers.
Use a spoon or spatula to spread the chocolate ganache on top of the cake. Spread it out all the way to the edge of the cake, but be careful not to let it run down the sides and ruin that pretty profile view!
Top with whatever you like, you could use sprinkles, white chocolate curls, or maybe some chocolate shavings.
Voila! You have created a showstopping masterpiece of a dessert! Now dig in and enjoy all your hard work.
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