Fluffy vegan chocolate mousse with aquafaba
Fluffy vegan chocolate mousse with aquafaba
I’m so excited to bring this simple yet indulgent vegan chocolate mousse with aquafaba recipe to you, guys. As I’ve already mentioned in my previous posts, ever since I’ve read about the brilliant invention of aquafaba ‘egg whites’, I’ve been massively obsessed with it.
I’m part of an inspiring Facebook group solely dedicated to making things with aquafaba and I can tell you that every single person who tries to whip chickpea water like egg whites has the same reaction – that of amazement mixed in with excitement.
It’s because it’s a blooming genius invention. It opens up so many possibilities, not only for vegans, but also for people with egg allergies.
Who would have thought that something as basic as whipped chickpeas (most beans, in fact) cooking water can yield such amazing results. To make sure I have not gone mad and this thing doesn’t, in fact, taste vile, I made this mousse twice while a couple of our omnivorous friends were staying with us. Not only did they LOVE the dessert, but when I was making it the second time, they watched me whip up the chickpea water into stiff peaks as they couldn’t quite believe that it is as simple as it sounds. They were so impressed and vowed to make this dessert once they get home. It’s the best compliment I could have wished for.
For the sceptics amongst you, let me re-assure you, this dessert DOES NOT taste of chickpeas at all. If I hadn’t just told you what’s in it, you would have thought that it’s an indulgent chocolate mousse, just like your grandma used to make. Go on, try it for yourself – you’ll want to shout from the rooftops about it.
PS: you may also like one of these aquafaba-based mousses instead:
Vegan hazelnut mousse
Vegan raspberry mousse – 4 WAYS
Peanut butter caramel chocolate mousse
Vegan peanut butter mousse
Healthy vegan chocolate mousse
Vegan black forest chocolate mousse
- ¾ cup / 180 ml (room temp) aquafaba (from low-sodium canned chickpeas OR home cooked)
- 1 tsp lemon/lime juice or scant ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 140 g / 5 oz dark 70% cacao vegan chocolate
- 10 g / 2 tsp coconut oil (to help with chocolate seizing)
- 25 g / 2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar (optional, adjust to taste)
GARNISH (optional)
- 1 tbsp chocolate shavings
- a handful of pomegranate seeds
- a handful of chopped pistachios
-
This recipe contains a step-by-step VIDEO (see above).
- Place broken up chocolate and coconut oil in a glass or metal bowl suspended over a water bath. Make sure the bowl with chocolate does not touch the water underneath. The key to success is not to overheat the chocolate and to be gentle with it – it’s a temperamental ingredient.
- Allow the water to come to a simmer slowly. Once it does, turn the heat off and allow the chocolate to melt in the residual heat.
- Once chocolate looks melted, give it a slow and gentle stir. Take the bowl with chocolate off the heat and allow it to cool down – you want it as cool as possible but still liquid.
- Once chocolate is almost cool, drain room temperature chickpea water (aquafaba) into large glass bowl. The bowl and the utensils you’ll use to whip aquafaba need to be completely grease-free as even the tiniest grease residue can prevent aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks.
- Add acid (lemon/ lime juice or cream of tartar) to the chickpea water to stablise the aquafaba – it helps to reach stiff peaks.
- Using an electric egg whisk, whip chickpea water into stiff peaks – this is SUPER important as otherwise your mousse will deflate completely once the chocolate has been added. The best way to check if you have achieved stiff peaks is to invert the bowl with whipped aquafaba. If aquafaba slides down even a tiny bit, you are not there yet – keep on whipping until it does not move at all. I use an old, hand-held whisk and it takes me about 8 minutes to get stiff peaks. If you are a lucky owner of a stand mixer, it will happen quicker. The good news is that (as opposed to egg whites) aquafaba cannot be overwhipped.
- Once you reach stiff peaks, start adding sugar, bit by bit, whipping the whole time. If sugar has caused the stiff peaks to perish, whip the mixture until you get stiff peaks again. Caster (also known as superfine) sugar or icing sugar work well, other sugars are known to make aquafaba deflate.
- Check that the chocolate has cooled down sufficiently – it should not be warm to the touch or else chocolate is likely to seize and you will end up with grainy mousse.
- Gently and gradually fold a portion (approx. a third) of melted chocolate into whipped aquafaba – using a silicone spatula and a gentle folding motion. Continue adding the chocolate to the aquafaba in two-three more batches until all of it has been incorporated. Do not worry if your fluffy mixture deflates a bit once all of the chocolate has been added – that’s perfectly normal – but you should still see plenty small bubbles in the mixture. By the time you’ve added all of your melted chocolate, the mousse MAY have more of a pourable than spoonable consistency – that’s ok.
- Divide the mixture between 4 glasses. Gently stir the mixture between putting it into individual glasses as a bit of melted chocolate tends to drop to the bottom sometimes. Once in glass, give the mousses a gentle stir with a toothpick to ensure the mixture sets evenly.
- Put glasses into the fridge overnight for the mousse to set.
Here are some common reasons WHY CHOCOLATE TENDS TO SEIZE:
– being exposed to heat for too long
– being exposed to too intense heat (I therefore do not recommend using microwave to melt it)
– stirring too much or too quickly
– due to coming into contact with even a drop of water
– due to a thermic shock between ingredients (aquafaba needs to be as close in temperature to the chocolate as possible)
– sometimes it seizes for to apparent no reason at all…
To minimise the risk of CHOCOLATE SEIZING:
– melt the chocolate slowly and using as little heat as possible (switch the heat off once the water barely starts to simmer)
– stir gently and as little as you can get away with
– make sure aquafaba and melted chocolate are at similar temperatures
– you could add a splash of plant milk or plant creamer (like Oatly or full fat coconut milk) to the bowl with unmelted chocolate and allow them to come to temperature together, then mix gently to create a ganache prior to incorporating into whipped aquafaba. This will ensure that the chocolate does not seize when it comes into contact with aquafaba, BUT it does sometimes seize when plant milk/creamer is being stirred into the chocolate and the only way to rescue a mixture like that is to stir in some boiling water, which will make the mousse less stiff and more watery.
PS: you may also like one of these aquafaba-based mousses instead:
An hour? That sounds like an awful lot, it has never taken me that long. Did you use aquafaba from a tin or from homecooked beans? What equipment did you use to whip it? Perhaps I can suggest some improvements...Glad to hear that all your efforts haven't gone to waste. Ania
I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you. My read of the situation is that aquafaba wasn't at stiff peaks when you added the chocolate - did you invert the bowl to double check? I am absolutely sure that this recipe is sound as I've had hundreds of happy people on various social networks sending me photos of their finished mousse. It 100% works if done correctly so you could give it another go on a smaller portion. Ania
If you want to use cacao instead of chocolate and unrefined sugar, you may find this recipe for chocolate mousse more up your street. Hope that helps! Ania
It's your call really, but my guess is that it would need a bit of sugar. I would halve the recipe to get the sugar amount right first. Hope that helps, Ania
Pure cacao powder will cause aquafaba to deflate so you need to mix it into some sort of base first. Check this recipe out instead - sounds like it maybe more up your street. Any questions, shout! Ania
I messed up the chocolate step (it went all grainy for some reason) but I threw it in with the beautifully whipped magical aquafaba and then I added a freshly ground cardamom pod... into the freezer and half and hour later (cos it is hard to wait) we devoured it all... seriously YUM. Thanks. I'm keen to sign up and get the other recipes but it does not want to accept my New Zealand address ??
I'm glad that it worked so well! We had a minor glitch in our sign up form which looks to be resolved now...
Thank you so much for your support!
Thanks!
It will definitely hold if done properly. The most common reason why it sometimes weeps / water gathers at the bottom is that aquafaba hasn't been whipped stiff enough. Adding a tiny amount of acid (1/2 tsp lemon juice, vinegar) helps with that and make sure you do my test that I describe in the recipe. Also, make sure that chocolate is cooled down before being added and AF is at room temperature as otherwise chocolate might seize and you'll end up with tiny hardened chocolate particles in the finished product. If you are worried about that add a bit of warmed up plant milk to the melted chocolate first to stop chocolate from seizing. And melt the chocolate gently as overheating is another reason chocolate can seize. Hope that helps a little and good luck! :) Ania
One suggestion is to heat up the chocolate in a non-stick pot with the water bath. This would make the clean up a bit easier.
Thanks for the awesome recipe, great to have such a wonderful vegan option.
As for your suggestion, it's great but I already do it this way - perhaps it's not clear from my instructions, let me know and I shall have a look...
Ania
Have a look here - aquafaba.com provides you with a full nutritional breakdown. Hope that helps! Ania
Sure you can. It keeps 3-4 days in the fridge on average. You could also freeze it for later. Hope that helps! Ania
Thank You
There is some nutritional content on the aquafaba side: http://aquafaba.com/nutrition.html
Hope that helps,
Ania
I don't see why not! Of course, your mousse will be probably not that sweet unless you are planning to add some sugar. Ania
Do you think I could add some other spices and orange zest to the chocolate and maybe rub some vanilla in the sugar and the mousse would keep its structure? Really excited to try it.
I'm glad to gear that you are thinking of trying it. I've only just tried adding chilli powder myself and it has worked fine. I would say, it will be work fine, perhaps with the exception of orange zest (as orange skin has oils and aquafaba is sensitive to oil). I would fold it in very gently at the very end (maybe make a small sample to test first) to make sure it doesn't deflate the mousse. Hope that helps! Ania
Sorry to hear you didn't get it to work. As for the saltiness, it must be the tinned aquafaba. Good luck next time if you decide to give it another try! Ania
I'm sorry to hear that you had problems with the mousse staying fluffy. Have you used the same brand of chickpeas successfully before? My guess based on what you've described to me is that aquafaba has not been whipped enough - have you tried inverting the bowl with it to check if it's at stiff peaks stage? Or possibly the chocolate was too warm? In my experience the mousse tends to deflate a lot after I've added all of the chocolate but once chilled it is airy and fluffy, like you can see in my photos. Good luck next time! Ania
Thank you!
So glad you tried this amazing invention and glad it worked so well. When it comes to graininess, it sounds like your chocolate seized when added to cold aquafaba. I would bring aquafaba to room temperature before whipping it next time. Chocolate is a very difficult ingredient to work with and often seizes for seemingly no reason so don't get discouraged - I cannot tell you how many times it did that on me before I learned how to handle it. As for the other issue, perhaps try adding 1/2 tsp of white vinegar to the aquafaba stabilise the foam. I don't really do that for the mousse but it comes in handy for the meringues - produces stiffer peaks. However, if your mousse did not become runny at the bottom after chilling, then it souds like aquafaba had been whipped enough. Hope that helps! Ania
I'm not much of a cook but I have a crazy sweet tooth and a deep love for chocolate. I got a lightly sweetened baking chocolate for this.
I think I might've not cooled the chocolate enough, because the mousse wasn't entirely smooth and had some chocolate pieces in it, but for me it added to the texture and experience, so I didn't mind it at all.
Thank you for this awesome idea! I will be doing this more often.
And the best part is, I had a can of chickpeas left, and so I made a salad of it and had that for a meal.
I'm getting healthier while eating a yummy chocolate mousse!
Thanks so much!! :-D
Yes, you're quite right. I will amend the recipe. Thanks! Ania
Yes, that should work! The only thing I would be worried about is that the chocolate might seize when you do that - perhaps it's worth adding a tsp of coconut oil to the chocolate first (to prevent it from seizing) and then the syrup. Hope that helps! Ania
We haven't tried it but we have heard that cannellini beans also work just as well. Let us know how you go!
Thank you! I'm glad to hear that you like the mousse. I live in Greece so I've used a Greek chocolate brand, but I am pretty sure you will be able to find a 70% cacao chocolate that is dairy-free in the UK too. From memory, I think that Hotel Chocolat sells some vegan chocolate and possibly Green & Black's dark chocolate. Sorry I cannot be of any more help! Ania
My homemade one usually keeps for about 3 days in a jar. Don't worry you'll know once it has gone off as it starts smelling really bad ;) Ania
I'm sorry to disappoint but coconut sugar tends to deflate whipped aquafaba and so it may turn your 'mousse' into a 'mess'. There is solution though! Do not add any sugar and if your chocolate is sweet enough you should end up with a pleasant tasting, not too sweet dessert.
Tried making your mousse yesterday and for some reason after it had set in the fridge overnight it separated into a mousse-like part on the top and a liquid down the bottom. Any ideas as to what I might have done wrong?
From you description, it sounds like either aquafaba wasn't at stiff peaks stage (did it not move at all when you inverted the bowl? ) or perhaps it was overmixed when chocolate was added? Not sure as I have not had that happen to me so far. I really hope it works out nicer next time. Good luck and please keep me updated!
Ania
PS: You may also want to try this mousse - it's richer and creamier as it uses a bit of coconut cream as well as chocolate and whipped aquafaba.
My chocolate mousse hasn't worked. It's probably that the peaks weren't stiff enough after reading through comments.
Do you have any tips on what I can do with the mixture? xx
I'm not sure as you don't specify what state your mixture is at. My guess is stick it in the fridge overnight and see what happens, it may be still delicious. Ania
I have not tried it, but I am almost 100% sure that the mousse is too delicate to withstand the weight of the top cake layer. Even if you were to simply top the cake with it, I reckon it would need some extra tinkering, I'm afraid as it is quite an airy and light rather than heavy mousse.
Ania
The first time I made the recipe, the chocolate hardened into flecks as I was attempting to incorporate it into the chickpea foam. I think this is because my kitchen is fairly cool and my chocolate didn't fully loose its temper (a state of properly hardened chocolate) during the melting process. I did a some internet research and tried again.
The second time, I kept the chocolate at a warm temperature, about what you'd use to rise yeast. Then I took about a third of the foam and stirred it, briskly with a whisk, into the melted chocolate. Then I folded the rest of the foam into the chocolate mixture. The result is really good.
We achieved great success w/ the "whipping cream" from 1/2 a cup of cold liquid from the fridge, which I'd gotten from cooking chickpeas(no salt, no baking soda) in a pressure cooker for 1.25 hours(used the chickpeas to make hummus). It took quite a while to whip w/ an electric mixer(3rd highest speed). My wife then tried w/ a full cup of liquid, but it took forever and didn't get really to the stiff peaks stage.
She then added .5 a bar(50 gm) of 72% bittersweet chocolate & some sugar. To settle it, she placed the mousse in the freezer.
The whole thing is very light compared to the 1one from a whipped cream. It feels kind of watery, but it's OK w/o any chickpeas taste. She tried another load, but w/ less sugar - we've yet to taste the results!
I'd like to compare its nutritional value compared to the whipping cream version. I can't find anywhere the values for the chickpeas liquid! Can you help?
Thank you, Dany & Judith Friedman, Toronto, Canada
Thank for your comment. AF-based mousse is quite light and it resembles chocolate mousse based on egg whites, in my opinion, however it shouldn't taste watery. Sounds to me like you need to add more chocolate - I use 70g per 1/2 cup of AF. If you are after a creamier vegan chocolate mousse you may want to make it with whipped coconut cream, but it will taste a bit coconutty.
Unfortunately, no one knows what nutritional content of aquafaba is as until recently it wasn't consumed. I believe that money is being raised through this website to perform its nutritional analysis though.
Warm greetings,
Ania
Perhaps I'm doing something wrong ...
I am sure their delicious
I love the fact that they are vegan ! ! !
I fast most of the year So I am unable to have meats or cheeses
etc., etc., etc., I Love It
Thank You So , So Much