Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mousse (Vegan)


Hold the phone - is this a recipe post? Why, yes it is! I promise I do still bake. I've just slacked off big time this year with the whole "sharing recipes on the blog" concept. In fact, it was MARCH when I last shared a muffin recipe. Yikes!


There was a time where I shared one or two recipes a MONTH on this blog. What happened? Oh man, who even knows anymore? Weekends get busy and I have less time to create yummy things for you, I suppose.


Luckily, I am back to share this dairy-free mousse recipe! Made with aquafaba (the water that comes in the cans of chickpeas!), it's one of those crazy magical concoctions that seem too good to be true. It's rich, decadent, very chocolatey, and fairly quick to put together.


It doesn't take much time to whip up (pun SO intended) but it can be a little bit tricky if you're new to mousse or souffle. Hey, you can't tell me I'm not honest with you all. In fact, this didn't come out perfect for me when I made it. I'll admit that! Essentially, you drain the liquid out of your can of chickpeas (I had some from a dinner we made last week) and whip the bejeesus out of it as you would egg whites until it doubles in size and you get stiff peaks. Yup! Did you know the chickpea liquid did that? It's crazy cool!


You want it thick enough that if you turned it upside down, it wouldn't do anywhere. I don't think I quite got it that thick (oops) and I think I deflated some of the magical and airy-ness I did get when I added my melted chocolate. That part is uber delicate and a bit tricky. Not knowing what to expect, I poured the mixture into bowls and popped them into the fridge to set.


To my surprise, the bowls of mousse did set fairly nicely in just a few hours. However, I discovered just the top half of the mousse set and beneath it was still fairly loose. Ruined? Nah! I've just been gradually eating the top layers and then putting them back into the fridge to set the rest. It's not a bad thing - I get to stretch out my desserts to last longer! Win-win!


So I'm not sure what REALLY happened (I wouldn't call this a fail) but I definitely think mousse takes a bit of practice - especially if it's done with alternative ingredients like this one is!


Have you ever made a mousse recipe? Let me know your tricks in the comments!


Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mousse (Vegan)
Adapted from Vanillacrunnch

Ingredients
  • 1 can's worth aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas, about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup chopped dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon raspberry abstract
  1. Melt your chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave until fully melted
  2. Add sweetener and raspberry abstract and set aside to cool
  3. While chocolate cools, beat the aquafaba in a high speed mixer until thickened into stiff peaks
  4. Using a spatula, GENTLY fold the chocolate mixture into the aquafaba until combined
  5. Pour mousse into bowls and set in fridge for at least 1 hour