Vegan Chocolate Mousse

The recipe, step by step

This vegan chocolate mousse is the perfect make-ahead no-bake dessert! Delicious, so simple to make and all you need are just six ingredients to create it.

The basis of this vegan mousse is aquafaba. Overlooked and underappreciated, this liquid gold is the leftover cooking water of any bean. Chickpeas are the most common choice, which may sound a little strange to some, but aquafaba whips up into an ultra-light and fluffy texture, making this mousse just like any other, but being that bit healthier and vegan. And for any sceptics, let me re-assure you this dessert does not end up tasting of chickpeas at all.

Aquafaba has become the perfect egg white substitute for vegan baking, and it even has its own website!

If you want to add some flavour twists, look at my variation ideas.

RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: simple and can be made in advance.
• FREE FROM: vegan, gluten-free and nut-free.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: fluffy, light, airy rich chocolate mousse.
• SERVING: I love this chocolate mousse served with my crumble topping, a dollop of fresh coconut cream, and fresh berries, such as raspberries or strawberries.
• QUANTITY: 4 portions
• TIME: 1 hour 14 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

For this vegan chocolate mousse, all you need are these ingredients:

• Aquafaba – as mentioned before, whips up into an ultra-light and fluffy texture, which gives this mousse its structure.

• Water – opens up and intensifies the flavours of the chocolate.

• Vegan dark chocolate – use a good quality dark chocolate as it is the star of this recipe. The high quantity of cocoa solids is important when mixing with water to ensure it sets correctly. I use a bar with 74% cocoa solids.

• Chocolate: There are now quite a few brands making vegan chocolate to choose from, such as these bars – Lindt classic milk chocolate, Ombar 55% coco mylk, Ombar 72% dark chocolate, Happi plain oat milk, Happi white chocolate, Montezuma’s Fitzroy 74% dark cocoa.

• Caster or granulated sugar – creates a little sweetness to the mousse as we use dark chocolate.

• Vanilla – I use Taylor & Colledge vanilla products, they add a delicious taste to your recipes and enhance the other ingredient flavours: pure vanilla extract, vanilla paste or vanilla pods.

• Salt – Here I want to add how just a pinch of salt can make a difference to eating chocolate. With the addition of salt, all the intrinsic flavours of the chocolate are brought to the surface faster. In a seemingly absurd or contradictory way, salt intensifies the mouth’s ability to taste sweetness. It is the sodium that sends signals to move glucose into the sweet taste receptor cells in our tongue, triggering the cells to register sweetness. The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds. I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

Try some of these flavour twists.

• Spices – add an exotic twist, by adding 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or a 1/4 tsp of ground chilli or ground cardamom to the water.

• Nuts – provide textural interest, increasing the moreishness element. Try crushed roasted nuts, such as pistachios, hazelnuts or peanuts. (Salted nuts also work well.) You can add them to the mousse at the same time as adding the chocolate mix.

• Espresso coffee – is a great compliment to chocolate. Replace the water with espresso coffee or dissolve one teaspoon of instant coffee powder into the hot water.

• Citrus fruit – for a zing, try adding the finely grated zest of 1 large orange.

NUTRITION

STORAGE AND FREEZING

You must keep the aquafaba mousse in the fridge until served. They will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days covered.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is a list of some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• Dessert Glasses, Set of 6, 300 ml

These glasses are perfect for making individual desserts for a nice dinner with friends or family. Plus if you are not using them for dessert you can use them for serving whisky 🙂

• Breville Classic Combo Stand and Hand Mixer | 3.7 Litre Stainless Steel Bowl | Swivel Control, Whisk, Dough Hooks and Beaters

I like this model of electric hand mixer because it comes with a large stand, meaning you don’t have to always hold it.

RECIPE TIPS

Use high quality chocolate for this recipe as it makes all the difference to the finished result. With there being no cream or other ingredients that have strong flavours, all the flavour comes exclusively from the chocolate. So, use a chocolate you love.

Not whipping the aquafaba long enough, will result in a split deflated soup. Aim to whisk for a good 9-10 minutes, to get a beautiful fluffy mousse.

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