I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some great dairy-free/vegan chocolate mousses. Rich, delicious ones made with avocado or cashew nuts, or silken tofu or almond butter. And don’t get me wrong, I love them. You’d love them. Smooth, chocolatey goodness. I mean, there’s nothing not to love.
But sometimes, just sometimes, you need something different. Last week, I found myself missing the light bubbliness of a traditional chocolate mousse. You know – the kind made with eggs and cream and I wondered if there was a way to make plant-based version.
Of course there was. The vegan population is really good at innovating! A quick google search revealed a whole host of bubbly chocolate mousse recipes made with aquafaba. For those of you who don’t know, aquafaba is the brine you get from soaking chickpeas (or other beans) – you know, the part that you drain off from a tin and usually throw away. Aquafaba (literally meaning ‘bean water’) makes an amazing egg substitute and can also be whipped up to make fluffy meringues and yes, chocolate mousse!
So far, so good. I immediately tried one of the many simple aquafaba mousse recipes I found (basically just aquafaba and dark chocolate) – but whilst it was realllllllyyyyy good, I was still missing something. That richness. The richness you get from egg yolks, cream or yes, avocado. So I looked for a recipe that used both. Nothing. Hmmmm. Time to do my own innovating, I thought, combining the two elements myself.
The results were even better than I could have imagined. It looked and tasted just like a traditional chocolate mousse. In addition, it uses an ingredient you might otherwise have thrown away, is super easy, can be made ahead and – as an extra bonus – is even pretty good-for-you! Success! The chocolatey bubbles are ours!!
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium avocados, peeled and de-stoned
- ½ cup/50g raw cacao powder ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp (90ml altogether) maple syrup
- Seeds from 2 vanilla pods (or 1½ tsp vanilla extract)
- A pinch of salt ½ cup/125ml aquafaba (from a tin of chickpeas with no added salt)
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar (or a healthy powdered sugar substitute to taste – stevia or ground coconut sugar)
METHOD
- Place the avocados, raw cacao, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a food processor and blend until very smooth. Set aside in a large bowl.
- Put the aquafaba in a large glass bowl and use a electric hand whisk to whisk until soft peaks form (this took me about 5 minutes).
- Add the cream of tartar and whisk again for 1-2 minutes. Add the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition.
- Add a quarter (or a little less) of the fluffy aquafaba to the chocolate mixture and fold in gently with a large metal spoon.
- Fold in the remainder of aquafaba, taking care not to overmix.
- Pipe or spoon into glasses and cover before refridgerating.
- Leave to firm up for at least an hour before serving – garnished with raspberries and flaked almonds or toppings of your choice (or just plain!).
