Happy Valentines Day, my little snookie-wookies, lamby-kins, and kitten-cakes! If overly-sweet pet names aren’t your thing, let’s head to the kitchen and temper the love-fest with a balanced approach to the day’s favorite confection: Chocolate.
I’ve always felt Valentine’s Day should be about gestures that fill the heart, not a square, and for me, cooking is where I share the love. But recently, I was told that my kitchen crush needs to include more dietary concerns and choices. That’s the trouble with growing up in a full-tilt dairy household; I never knew less could really be more. So I offer up two easy, albeit decadent recipes for my favorite chocolate pudding pots: one vegan, one dairy-free; and neither classic in preparation, as each is born in a blender. And remember, the better the chocolate used, the better the mousse eaten.
As a dedicated devotee of all things dairy, I embrace this Vegan Chocolate Mousse recipe with the enthusiasm of a sixth-grader winning a spelling bee. It’ so rich, delicious and velvety that your vegan Valentine will swoon in disbelief and ask to see the recipe for verification of ingredients. It’s that good. And for a little twist, add cinnamon and chili powder to it for a hot time in the old town tonight.
Velvety Vegan Chocolate Mousse
Print recipeIngredients
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cups water
- 1lb silken tofu (firm tofu works but makes for a grainier texture)
- 1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate (or dark chocolate)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| In a small sauce pan, add water and sugar and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. | |
| Step 2 | |
| In a blender add tofu and chocolate and slowly pour hot sugar water over it and blend on high for 2 minutes. Scrap down sides if necessary. Add vanilla, pulse a few more times. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Pour mousse into 4-6 small cups, chill for at least an hour before serving. | |
This easy dairy-free chocolate mousse combines simple syrup, chocolate and un-whipped egg whites into a froth of airy cocoa goodness. Say hello to Cloud 9 where the silver lining is chocolate. Within five minutes on prep, and an hour of chill time, you’ve set the stage for romance or at least, undying devotion!
Easy, Creamy, Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Dark Chocolate chips (semi-sweet or >64% cocoa)
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee or instant espresso
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 3 eggs (use egg whites only)
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Place chocolate in the blender. | |
| Step 2 | |
| In a sauce pan, heat water, sugar, and coffee until solution boils. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Slowly pour heated solution into blender, and pulse until chocolate melts and the mixture is creamy. | |
| Step 4 | |
| Add three egg whites and blend the mixture on high for 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla and pulse a few times. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Pour into 4-6 dessert cups and chill for at least two hours before serving. | |
Gonna try both of these!! Thanks!!
You bet, let me know what you think!
Don’t the chocolate chips contain milk? I think you’d have to use vegan chocolate to make it dairy free.
Really good point Fiona, not all chocolate is dairy free. I’ll update the post to say look at chocolate’s ingredient list. Usually you’re pretty safe with craft chocolate makers using over 63% cocoa, but you’re right it’s best to check. Thanks for catching that.
Yum! Love you candor, Tom 🙂
here is one of our go to dairy free/gluten free recipes. Though we are very pro dairy and gluten in our everyday lives https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149550/garbanzo-bean-chocolate-cake-gluten-free/
Wow Lauren, that looks delicious. Thanks for sharing and thanks for your kind comments.
I love you, your blog, your time in the garden, your stories, and all the recipes you lovingly create. Thank you for sharing these new releases, as I am vegan, but only recently. On that note, please don’t think its up to you to fill a need we can surely find elsewhere. No one should guilt you into making something you’re not used to making, either. I do applaud the fact that you have made vegan mousse, but to do it only to please someone else’s desire because they just might be a bit to lazy to do it themselves, is another thing. Your kitchen crush is just that, yours. Don’t let someone bully you into changing, that is unless, they have you wrapped around their little finger, and you like it that way.😉
Oh Wendy, thank you for kind and funny comment; as you can sense I’m a bit out of my element here. What was I thinking? I just realized I wrote serve it with whipped cream in the original post. Oh yeah, I think I’ll stick to what I know: dairy-laden desserts. 😉
Which mousse was your favorite, Tom? Visually, I’m leaning toward the dairy-free, because it looks darker, and thus more chocolate flavor perhaps?
Yes, I do like the dairy-free mousse (with egg whites) the best. It’s a little smoother and silkier. The chocolate flavor really comes through with addition of instant coffee powder. The vegan version is firmer, in fact sometimes I use it for the filling between layers in a chocolate cake.
Both look delicious, Tom! It’s great to see your spin on Vegan and Dairy Free which makes them extra special. I’m genetically programmed Dairy Dependent, but apparently my daughter isn’t and has been Vegan for years. She’s all grown up and flown the coup now but when she comes home I like to wow her with Vegan delicacies to show that her old mom can learn new tricks, so thank you!
Thanks Pam, yep, the tofu mousse if really good. You almost feel like you’re eating frosting. 😉
Thank you Tom for sharing this vegan mousse. I love how it is a desert and packed with protein!! I will be making this tonite to share with my Grandbabies! Happy February, You are awesome and I love your post!
Thanks Kristine, what a kind thing to write. Thank you, made my morning! Buddy is under the table snoring and I’m having my first cup of coffee, and you put the first smile of the day on my face. Well wishes!
Your blog and amazing recipes you post are really excellent Tom!!! Waiting for more such release. Thank you so much for sharing the vegan mousse. I shared the same with my bestie. The pictures are just yum!!! Definitely gonna try this dairy-free dessert for my potluck this week. Cheers, Blessings!!!
Thank you Andrea, appreciate the kind words of support, and so glad you’re trying out the recipes.
Thanks, Tom! I can’t wait to try the tofu version.
Yep, it’s pretty yummy!
Two other variations you might want to try….Avocado based chocolate mousse and Persimmon based chocolate mousse…I make either version with cocoa powder, vanilla, pinch of salt…Just whiz in blender and pour into cups. They will both firm up in the fridge… <3
Thanks so much Sal, what a great tip. I’ll investigate further and put on my mad kitchen scientist apron!