The best chocolate dessert I've had this year*

What do cocoa, avocado, cherries, and quinoa have in common?

They can all be considered super foods.

They are all relatively unprocessed.

They are all vegan.

And they all feature in today's dessert.


Oh yes indeed.

I think we've established (several times) that my kitchen experimentation can go well, and that it can go badly.

Sometimes very badly.

Today, I'm pleased to say, I think we are in the "well" category.

This dessert has a total of five ingredients, there is minimal washing up, no oven time, and no advance preparation. It uses avocado for creaminess and quinoa flakes for substance, but you wouldn't know it from the taste. The flavours are all chocolate, with a hint of cherry, and just enough sweetness from maple syrup.

Life can be good.

Chocolate cherry quinoa mousse

Rich, smooth and deeply chocolatey, this dessert is easy to prepare and can be served chilled or frozen. 

Makes 4 - 6 small serves.

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 small or 1/2 large avocado (I used an avocado that weighed about 120g with peel and stone)

1/2 cup quinoa flakes (oats would also work)

1/2 cup, heaped, frozen cherries (raspberries would also work)

1/4 cup good quality cocoa

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)

Method

Add the avocado and quinoa flakes to a food processor and process until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth (if desired) or nearly smooth (if you're like me and don't mind some cherry chunks).

Divide between small bowls or ramekins and set in the fridge or freezer, for 2 - 4 hours.

I used small individual silicon ramekins, and put 3 in the fridge and 3 in the freezer. The fridge ones chilled to a creamy, rich, mousse-like pudding. The frozen ones chilled to a creamy, rich, mousse-like ice cream. I liked the frozen form best.

As noted, I also left my cherries semi-processed, which kept them noticeable in the final product.

Whilst similar to chocolate avocado pudding, this is lifted by the quinoa and cherry. The result  is a dessert that is less dense than chocolate avocado pudding, but somehow deeper and more intricate in its flavours.

Although this should keep for some time in the freezer, I found that the quinoa became more noticeable after 2 - 3 days (in terms of texture and flavour). I am sure there is a chemical explanation for that, but as identifying it is beyond me, I will just suggest you eat it within 1 - 2 days of making it. If you enjoy it as much as I did, that probably won't be too hard.

This isn't ideally suited to winter weather, but I liked it so much that I don't care at all!

On other matters, Kristen at Swanky Dietitian has kindly nominated me for the Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling. Thank you, Kristen!

The Food Stories Award requests that you share one random fact about yourself, and then nominate five others to do the same. I always find it difficult to pick people to pass these things on to, but in this case I selecting bloggers who I feel I know relatively little about and would like to know more. I am pleased to nominate (in alphabetical order, coincidentally by name and by blog name!):

• Angharad at Eating for England
• Ellie at Fit for the Soul
• Lena at Fit on the Rocks
• Lou at Fridge Scrapings
• Mel at Veganise This

As for my random fact? I have never drunk a beer or a glass of wine. Truly!

I have had sips of both, but only in the way that children do when given secret tastes (in my case, by my UK grandfather). I am not a big drinker and after drinking pre-mixed, flavoured vodka drinks in my late teens, for the sole purpose of fitting in socially, I moved on to not worrying about the social aspect and pretty much giving up on alcohol. Having never got into it, I just don't think about it these days.


What is the best dessert (or dish) you've had in 2012? 


*Possibly also the only chocolate dessert I've had this year, but let's not get caught up in that.

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