Vegan chocolate mousse, 2 ways

One of the features in my 5 Things I Want To Make post was vegan chocolate mousse.

As I noted then, there are lots of recipes out there for vegan chocolate pudding. However, they are mostly pudding-like: dense, smooth, and thick. I wanted to create something mousse-like - fluffy, aeroated, and light.

After trawling through various recipes, deciding against tofu (I didn't think it would fluff, and I would prefer to keep it for savoury dishes), and pondering the similarities and differences of agar, Cream of Tartar, guar gum, and pectin, I just went ahead and jumped in to experiment.

It's always fun.
 
Often it's messy.
 
In this case, I think it was worth the effort.

Let me present...

Vegan chocolate mousse, two ways.

Veganised chocolate mousse

Loosely based on two chocolate mousse recipes that didn't contain cream

Serves 2 - 3. Or 1.

Ingredients

• 50g dark or dairy free chocolate (I used 50% cocoa)
• 1/2 tbsp agar, dissolved in 1/4 cup of boiling water
• Egg replacer to the equivalent of 3 egg whites, made up with water according to instructions (see note)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

Note. I used Orgran egg replacer, which includes instructions for making up the equivalent of 3 egg whites: 2 tsp to 1 tbsp water.

Instructions

1. Dissolve the agar in the boiling water and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water, until smooth.

3. Meanwhile, combine the egg replacer (made up with water as per directions) and sugar in a medium heat-proof bowl. Ideally, the bowl should be narrow with high sides.

4. Beat the egg replacer and sugar on medium - high speed for 2 minutes, until well-combined and slightly frothy.



5. Add the Cream of Tartar to the egg mixture and beat for a further minute.

6. Add the dissolved agar (which will still be warm) to the egg mixture gradually, beating as you do so. Beat on medium speed for a further two minutes, until the mixture has thickened and is fluffy.

7. Gently fold ~1/2 of the egg mixture into the melted chocolate. Mix through carefully, avoiding over-mixing. Fold in the remaining egg mixture.

8. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Pre-setting, it was hard to get a sense of how this would turn out.

Post-setting?

I think it worked ok.

The texture of this wasn't quite the same as non-vegan mousse, or at least the varieties I remember. It was darker chocolate, for a start, and thus seemed richer. The texture was also slightly grainier, although it did have the aerated mousse feel.

I wasn't done there though. For comparison, I wanted to try a chocolate avocado mousse. This was really just chocolate avocado pudding with a few modifications, and well whipped. I wanted to see what avocado would do if I took to it with egg beaters for some minutes.

Chocolate avocado mousse

Adapted from Oh She Glows, although there are lots of versions around the place.
Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients

• 2 small avocados
• 1/4 cup agave (or honey)
• 1/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch salt

Instructions

  

1. Peel the avocados and beat on medium - high speed for 1 - 2 minutes, until well-mixed and creamy.

2. Add the agave, cocoa, vanilla and salt and whip for a further 2 minutes.

3. Chill before serving.

Spot the avocado fleck! Clearly I should have beaten just one little bit more...

The texture of this wasn't, if I'm honest, quite mousse. I didn't really think avocado would manage fluffy and airy, and I was right. However, it was incredibly delicious.

As in seriously, amazingly delicious. And I don't even like avocado (normally!).

When I fed Mr Bite a spoonful pre-refrigerating, I asked him to guess what was in it.

Cocoa? (Yes)

Cream? (No)

Milk? (No)

Sugar? (No)

Given the ingredients, I'm not sure it should taste as good as it does. But it does. 

My verdict?

I was happy with how the veganised chocolate mousse turned out, and it's nice to think that there are animal free alternatives to eggs and gelatin. I think that mousse is very dependent on the chocolate you use, as the main flavouring comes from that - so next time I would probably use Lindt instead of Whittakers, just to make it that little bit better. I wouldn't (personally) want more than 50% cocoa, as I think it would be too much.

Contrary to my expectations, though, I actually preferred the chocolate avocado mousse overall. The flavours were smoother, and the ease of preparation and 'real food' ingredient list won me over.

Are you a mousse fan? Have you experimented with vegan versions?

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