Vegan chocolate mousse

This impossibly airy chocolate mousse happens to be vegan, but that is not why I created this recipe. At culinary school we made all sorts of weird and wonderful things from leftovers and scraps. Learning to minimise waste and maximise product output is such an important part of good cooking and kitchen management (and when it comes to using up byproducts, the more creative you can be the better). So this vegan chocolate mousse was born out of firstly, the mantra to only discard truly useless byproducts, secondly my undying love for chickpeas, and thirdly my inability to walk away from a creative challenge (ok lets be honest any challenge except where it involves physical activity). Challenge me to a marathon and you will get a good laugh out of me and maybe even a beautifully decorated banner to cheer you on in your sporting endeavours. Challenge me to make a deliciously enticing dessert from the brine leftover from a can of chickpeas and you have yourself a deal.

This vegan chocolate mousse is indistinguishable from the more common version made with eggs, except, honestly, it might be a bit better. The texture of vegan chocolate mousse is so light and fluffy yet intensely rich and chocolatey at the same time. I find a lot of chocolate mousse quite dense, heavy and overly rich so much so that I usually only manage a few spoonfuls. Not this one. It is like eating a magnificently chocolatey cloud and would round off even the most excessive banquets perfectly.

Notwithstanding it’s ethereal cloud like structure, this mousse continued to amaze me in its stability. After I had made it, leftovers sat in my fridge for 3 whole days. Second only to the miracle that something chocolate based survived more than 48 hours in my house without being inhaled, is the miraculous fact that this vegan chocolate mousse held its structure and shape perfectly in the fridge. Who knows how long it would have held up for were it not eaten after 3 days. This is a moot point however because this vegan chocolate mousse is so delicious that once it’s hiding place in the fridge has been compromised by a peckish explorer its seconds left on planet earth are numbered.

Another fun fact about this vegan chocolate mousse recipe is that it’s really easy to make. Possibly easier than the egg white version as the chickpea water is extremely robust and doesn’t deflate much when the melted chocolate is incorporated. It also only has 3 ingredients. Chickpea brine, 70 percent dark chocolate and a dash of maple syrup.

If you are using an already sweetened dark chocolate you might be inclined to ditch the maple altogether. The bitterness of the chocolate along with its light texture make it all the more sophisticated a mouthful. And with an espresso? Oh stop it.

Vegan Chocolate mousse recipe

serves 4 generously

Ingredients:

1) The liquid from one can of chickpeas

2) 100g unsweetened 70% dark chocolate

3) 2 tablespoons of maple syrup

4) Berries or fruit of your choice

5) Sprinkle of freeze dried raspberry powder to decorate

Method:

1) Gently melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a simmering pan of water. Set aside to cool.

2) Beat room temperature chickpea water with an electric whisk or stand mixer until the mixture becomes a stiff white foam (around 10 minutes). Chickpea water takes slightly longer to whip up than egg whites, and is done when you can turn the bowl upside down without the whipped chickpea foam sliding out.

3) When fully whipped pour the maple syrup in ring on top followed but the cooled melted chocolate and fold. Place the chocolate mousse in small bowls, cover with cling film and refrigerate.

4) When it is time to serve the mousse bring them straight from the fridge to the table and serve with fruit of your choice and a little granola if you like it.

5) Alternatively. If you have silicon moulds, you can fill them with mousse and freeze them for 6 hours. 10 minutes before you wish to serve, simply pop them out of the moulds, onto the plate and decorate with fruit and granola. You can also serve the mousse straight from the freezer for a semi-fredo vibe and it is absolutely perfect.

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