Vegan black forest chocolate mousse

Vegan black forest chocolate mousse

vegan black cherry chocolate mousse

I know, I know…I’ve been saying that it is way too hot for chocolate desserts these days, but it turns out that 6th of July was world chocolate day so this is a timely (almost) and a fitting tribute, don’t you think?

With the aid of aquafaba magic, I created an airy black forest-inspired chocolate mousse that’s 100% vegan. This intensely chocolatey and creamy mousse goes super well with some drunken cherries and a small dollop of whipped coconut cream.

It’s a pretty rich and decadent dessert so if you don’t have a massive sweet tooth, divide the mousse between 6 glasses and squirrel surplus portions away for the days to come – they’ll be a perfect little treat when your sweet tooth starts demanding something sweet again – trust me, I’m speaking from experience here 😉 .

To balance the sweetness and richness of this dessert, I recommend using sour cherries if you can find them as they will a provide a much needed contrast.

vegan chocolate mousse

vegan black cherry chocolate mousse top down

vegan black cherry chocolate mousse texture

vegan black cherry chocolate mousse closeup

makes
4
PREP
20 min
COOKING
10 min
makes
4
PREPARATION
20 min
COOKING
10 min
INGREDIENTS

MOUSSE

  • 170 g / 6 oz dark (70 % cacao) chocolate
  • 135 ml / ½ cup + 1 tbsp aquafaba, homemade or from a tin
  • 135 ml / ½ cup + 1 tbsp coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar (optional)*

CHERRIES

  • 400 g / 14 oz sour or sweet cherries*, halved and pitted
  • 4 tbsp Kirsch (subtly sweet cherry brandy)

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

  • 240 ml / 1 cup coconut cream**, chilled in the fridge for min 48 hrs
  • 1-2 tbsp icing sugar, to taste
  • chocolate shavings, to decorate (optional)
METHOD

MOUSSE

  1. Chop your chocolate very finely and place into a glass bowl.
  2. Heat up coconut cream and once it reaches boiling point pour it over chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside for 5 minutes – do not stir. After 5 minutes stir the mixture well to achieve a smooth ganache. If the chocolate seizes (which it is notorious for) bring it back by adding a few drops of warm water and stirring it in.
  3. Place cool aquafaba in a clean (that’s very important as any grease residue will prevent aquafaba from foaming) glass or metal bowl. Whip it until you achieve stiff peaks – you should be able to invert the bowl and whipped aquafaba should not budge an inch, if it does it means that it hasn’t been whipped enough. After you achieve stiff peaks incorporate sugar (if using) very gradually, whisking well after each addition.
  4. Fold whipped aquafaba into chocolate ganache gradually – 2 tablespoons of aquafaba at a time. Divide the mixture between 4 glasses and place in the fridge for several hours (or overnight) for the mousse to set.

CHERRIES

  1. Place pitted cherries in a small saucepan over very low heat. Pour alcohol into them and let them soften on a low heat, stirring from time to time. Once the cherries soften a little (don’t let them fall apart), take them off the heat, let them cool down and infuse with alcohol.

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

  1. Before you are ready to assemble the dessert, whip coconut cream. Place cool coconut cream in a glass bowl and whisk it until fluffy. Add sugar if desired.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Take set mousse out of the fridge, place a layer of cool stewed cherries on top and a dollop of whipped coconut cream. Decorate with chocolate shavings. Consume immediately.

NOTES
* You can use sour or sweet cherries for this dessert. I used the latter as these were the only cherries available here so I did not add any sugar to the chocolate mousse as I didn’t want the dessert to be too sweet. If you can find them, I recommend using sour cherries for a better balance of flavours.

** Coconut cream that has any additives or stabilisers will not whip so check the ingredients on the tin before purchasing to make sure it’s only coconut and water. Chilling the cream is important so make sure you do that for at least 48 hours before whipping. If you cannot find coconut cream, you can separate it from a can of full fat coconut milk. To do that simply place the coconut milk in the fridge for at least 48 hours (the longer the better). Carefully take it out of the fridge, open the tin and scoop out coconut cream that has gathered on top. Use the remaining coconut water in your smoothies or curries.

Mousse recipe is based on my earlier chocolate mousse recipe.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
436
22%
sugars
39 g
43%
fats
21 g
30%
saturates
16 g
78%
proteins
7 g
14%
carbs
51 g
20%
*per mousse
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5.0
4 reviews, 20 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Andra:
Made this today and it turned out beautifully, Ania! The only part I couldn’t crack is whipping the coconut cream. It is true I refrigerated it for only 24 h, but it just wouldn’t whip. Supposing I did refrigerate it, how long would I need to whip for? Also do I have to completely drain the water, although I bought coco but cream? (My coconut cream did not have any additives)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Andra, I am so happy to hear that. I am sorry you had issues with whipping coconut cream. I suspect it may be because you did not drain the water away - yes, you do need to do that even if using coconut cream as it's the fat that makes it whip so the fattier the better. Refrigerating it for a few days is better too, it needs to be properly chilled to the point where fat hardens and separates from the water completely. Hope this helps. Ania
Hi, wondering how long this keeps in the fridge?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi
    1-2 days for sure, any more and it may start to dry out a little. Hope this helps! Ania
Tina:
Would sour cherry jam also work for the topping?
Also yowza! 652 cals per serving. Triple the hazlenut mousse! I'm guessing it's the double doses of coconut milk tipping that up?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Tina,
    Yes, it totally would! And you are completely right about the calories being overly pessimistic - I corrected it now (and they are 4 big portions, hazelnut ones are smaller but totally sufficient). x Ania
ellahari:
thank you very much, this is what I was afraid of and your video is very helpful!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad to hear! Good luck! x Ania
ellahari:
how do you fold whipped aquafaba? just whisk it?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi,
    No, whisking it will deflate it once the chocolate has been added. I add it to the chocolate gradually making a folding motion with a spatula - this keeps the mousse airy and fluffy! See the video in this recipe for reference. Hope that helps! Ania
kalahari:
how do you fold whipped aquafaba? can I just whisk it?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi,
    No, whisking it will deflate it once the chocolate has been added. I add it to the chocolate gradually making a folding motion with a spatula - this keeps the mousse airy and fluffy! See the video in this recipe for reference. Hope that helps! Ania
Do you think this would work well as a cream puff or cake filling? (Ie, would it hold up through being piped after it was cooled?) Thanks! I’m still nervous about playing with aquafaba, but I am getting there ;-)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi CM,
    Yes, it should work fine apart from maybe putting too much weight on it (so not a thick and heavy top layer cake ideally). I make a tart with it as a filling (recipe here) and it works brilliantly coconut cream gives the mousse more robust structure. The key is grease-free utensils and not stopping before your get stiff peaks, I cannot stress this enough! And like with most things, practice really makes perfect! Good luck and please let me know how you got on! Ania
Boyan Minchev:
Vegan chocolate mousse sounds amazing. I will try to cook this for my girl, she will be amazed :) Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe with us.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks and hope she will love it! :) Ania
Brooke:
Just wanted to say that I made this for 8 people at a dinner party and it went down a treat. I didn't top with cream but the rest was absolutely delicious and you'd never be able to tell it was vegan. Will definitely be making it again!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much, Brooke! I'm sooo happy to hear that! It helps me to know that my tastebuds are still doing fine ;) Ania
Heather @HeatherChristo:
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try this decadent dessert!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Heather! Hope you'll love it! :)
Anita:
I am trying this recipe when I have 8 friends over for dinner. I am the only vegan in the group but they always say they enjoy eating at our house because the food is so great, and so unlike what they thought vegans eat! 😉
So I'm really looking forward to giving this recipe a go, as it looks amazing.
Thanks for sharing
Anita
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Anita,
    That's great that you are smashing that unfair stereotype about vegan food with your awesome cooking :) ! I usually share my sweet creations with several of my neighbours, none of whom are vegan and they never say 'no' when I ask them if they would like some off my photoshoot 'leftovers'. The same happened with this mousse so I'm hoping your guests will love it! Let me know what they said!
    Ania
Nicole:
This looks amazing! And coconut whip to top it off?! Oh my!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Nicole. Hope you'll try it! x
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