Vegan chocolate peanut butter mousse

After loving the effect of silken tofu in chocolate malt pie, I knew it wouldn't be long before I made another dessert with it. And, just 3 weeks later, here it is. This mousse is silky smooth, rich, satisfying, and a harmonious mix of chocolate and peanut butter tones. The mousse is not as firm as the pie filling (that incorporated coconut oil), but still holds its own on a spoon. Basically, it is a chocolate peanut butter cup in mousse form and I liked it very much.

I added some of my recently discovered peanut butter powder to give the peanut butter flavour, but you could use regular peanut butter if needed. There are also a few options for sweetening this. I used carob fruit syrup, which is another new discovery for me. It is made from fruits of the carob flower and has a neutral taste. Other options include agave, rice malt syrup or maple syrup, although the latter two will add a little of their distinctive flavour.

 

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Raspberry and rose mousse {vegan}

Chickpea brine, or aquafaba, is turning up everywhere as the latest craze ingredient. I can see why - it's a vegan alternative to egg whites and can be used to make meringues, pavlova, mousse, marshmallow fluff and many things besides. Given my love of mousse, I was pretty excited to hear about it.

I first tried using the liquid to make chocolate mousse, following this recipe from Mouthwatering Vegan. The recipe and photos really were mouthwatering, but unfortunately my mousse did not turn out quite so well! It was grainy, and tasted a bit beany, and didn't fully set. I blame user error rather than the recipe but it did dampen my enthusiasm for aquafaba for a while.

Fortunately, my enthusiasm rebounded and I tried a different type of mousse this weekend. This version is flavoured with fresh raspberries, almond essence and vanilla essence, and I scatted rose petals on top for good measure. To ensure the mousse set, I used some vegan gelatin as well as the chickpea liquid. There was no graininess, no beaniness, and plenty of fluffy joy.

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Magical everything chocolate pudding (vegan, raw, 100% whole foods, and refined sugar free)

I like to think that I'm honest about my vegetable dessert experiments that don't quite work. The green ice cream I made with spinach? Probably not for everyone. That (best forgotten) chocolate mint fudge with cauliflower? Clearly a disaster.

As for this chocolate pudding, though? Trust me when I say it's a vegetable containing dessert that you want to embrace.

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Returning to things much loved: Family, The Raw Kitchen, and a blackberry avocado chocolate pudding

It's been over 3 months since my last avocado-containing dessert, so I'm hoping it's acceptable to let another one grace these pages. It's hard to believe that only 2 years have passed since I discovered the wonder that is avocado in dessert form. I still don't like it in savoury dishes, but if you pair it with cocoa or fruit (or both!) and process it into mousse (or cheesecake, or ice cream!) then I am completely smitten.

My last avocado mousse recipe involved raspberries, and I have to confess that this version is not very different - except that instead of raspberries, we have blackberries, and instead of carob, we have cocoa. I wouldn't like to have to choose between the two options, and can see myself happily alternating between them for the foreseeable future.

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Triple chocolate product review: Orgran vegan chocolate mousse and Whittaker's Rum & Raisin and Dark Almond chocolate blocks

It's been a while since I've done a product review post. Today, I'm making up for lost time with a triple chocolate hit.

I'm a little excited.

First up is Orgran's vegan (and gluten free) chocolate mousse.

I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before, given my self-proclaimed love of chocolate mousse and my efforts to create a fluffy vegan version. I suppose I didn't believe that a packaged mousse mix could generate edible results.

I was wrong.

People, this was fluffy. I have no idea how the Orgran people managed it, but the texture of this mousse defied the vegan ingredient list and suggested egg white and/or gelatin. It was amazing.

As for the ingredient list?

It is a little on the long side, but free of animal products, soy, nuts, genetically modified ingredients, gluten, wheat and yeast.

Making the mousse is as simple as adding 1 cup of water to the provided powder, beating with an electric beater for 3 minutes, and then chilling in the fridge for as long as you desire (you can even eat the mousse without chilling if you want). It was also enjoyable from the freezer and would make an impressive cake filling or topping.

The mix generates 5 serves, which are low in energy (87 calories / serve), fat (0.3g / serve), and protein (0.5g / serve). In other words, this isn't a nutrient-providing dessert, but it is enjoyable if you're after something light but chocolatey.

My only complaint with this mousse was the flavour. The taste was of low-cocoa milk chocolate (it reminded me of Sweet William's dairy free milk chocolate) and my taste buds wanted something with a little more oomph. However, that may be easily rectified by adding a tablespoon of cocoa to the powder, which I will try next time I make this.

For now, chocolate avocado pudding might win in terms of dark chocolatey taste, but this most definitely wins in terms of fluffy mousse texture.

From mousse, we move to the Whittaker's chocolate range, and in particular their 50% cocoa Rum & Raisin block and 62% cocoa Dark Almond block.

I have been experimenting with Whittaker's chocolate lately, due to Lindt's insistence on adding dairy to all of their flavoured Excellence blocks. Sadly, Whittaker's doesn't provide chilli as a flavour, or coconut (edit - they do have coconut, and I have even tried it, but I was thinking of dark chocolate as I wrote this!), but rum & raisin and almond seemed worthy of trying.

The rum and raisin block is a sweet dark chocolate, with only 50% cocoa and a decent smattering of raisins (26% of the ingredients). The flavours are rounded out by gentle rum tones, vanilla, maple syrup, and a hint of berries.

It is very easy to eat, and very much a 'snack-y' chocolate.

Rum & raisin on the left; almond on the right

The almond block goes a little deeper. The cocoa percentage rises to 62% and the taste reflects that: it is less sweet (although still somewhat sweet), mellow, and very chocolatey. Hannah has done this range poetic justice with her reviews of the 62% mocha, 62% caramel, 62% dark cacao, and 47% peanut blocks, but for this block - well, I really couldn't convince my taste buds to offer me anything other than "chocolate".

Perhaps this is because the chocolate is offset, rather beautifully, by whole roasted almonds. I am not usually a fan of fruit and nut chocolate bars, because the fruit and nuts are often chopped too small to feature and thus manage to detract from the chocolate experience rather than add to it.

These nuts definitely feature, and they definitely add to the chocolate experience.

Every mouthful delivers a contrast between chocolate and whole almonds, in an experience that is akin to eating chocolate coated nuts. I like chocolate coated nuts, so I was rather pleased.

All in all, two vegan chocolate wins for Whittaker's (and at lower cost than Lindt...), and I can see these entering my chocolate rotation.

What chocolate products have you enjoyed lately? Have you tried any of the above?

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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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5 things I would like to make

This is a short-list of foods I've thought about making for some time, but not quite got around to. I'm hoping that by listing them here, I'll be motivated to give them a try sooner rather than later! My goal is to try all of them before the end of the year.

Rice paper rolls

I love these, but I don't love the $5 price tag per pack of 3. I have actually made them before, but it was some years back and I was a bit put off by the fiddly-ness. I think I've gained patience with age, so I'm hoping a repeat effort might prove more successful.

My favourite type are vegetarian with slightly spicy tofu mixed in with the vegetables. And mint.

Vegan chocolate mousse

One of my favourite childhood food memories is of discovering mousse. It was a joyous day!

Although there are lots of recipes for vegan chocolate pudding out there, I want to create the fluffiness of mousse. 

This texture would do just fine. As would this one.

Yum!

Almond milk

I'm not sure if I would make this on a regular basis, but I'd like to try it at least once. Again, the financial savings would be big. Being able to make the amount I want would also be nice, seeing as I rarely get through a tetrapack of milk in the recommended time.

Another motivator is that almond milk isn't that common in Australia. I've only ever seen one brand, and even that sometimes isn't available. I suspect the lack of variety contributes to the steep price tag.

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Yoghurt coated banana chips

These are also uncommon in Australia - to the extent that I have never been able to find them, despite searching hard. Readily available in English supermarkets and health food stores, they're one of the foods I most miss when I return from UK holidays.

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They aren't the healthiest substance around, so if I could figure out a way to reduce the sugar and saturated fat, that would be an added bonus. If not...well, I think I'd settle happily enough for the original.

Dairy free yoghurt

As I've mentioned before, I struggle to find dairy-free alternatives to yoghurt that appeal to me. The few soy varieties stocked near me are fruit flavoured and sugary.

I like plain, pot-set yoghurt and would love to make a soy variety at home.

I've also heard of coconut yoghurt in the US, which I find rather intriguing. I noticed this recipe for coconut milk through Oh She Glows today, so if I could generalise from that to yoghurt that would be fun too.

Do you have things you would like to make, but haven't yet got to? Or any tips for me regarding the above?!

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