Vegan chocolate mousse raspberry tart (almost raw)

Vegan chocolate mousse raspberry tart (almost raw)

vegan chocolate mousse raspberry tart top down

As I might have already mentioned in passing, I am not a Valentine’s Day kind of girl. It feels a tad forced to celebrate love on demand, on a randomly prescribed day when love is such an individual and deeply personal thing. I think an anniversary is much more of an occasion to celebrate. You’ve ‘survived’ another loooong year together despite your (charming) quirks and his annoying character traits 😉 ! Yay!

The most I am willing to do on Valentines is to cook a nice meal together or at the very least make a scrumptious dessert (not that I need any encouragement, mind you!) Enter this indulgent vegan chocolate mousse tart with a layer of raspberry and a good pinch of chilli to awaken the senses.

This baby is sweet, yet not overly so. It’s airy and light. It’s also super easy to make, so no excuses please!

The base is raw so if you used to mould things out of Plasticine as a child (or still do 😉 ) you’ve got all the skills covered. The filling consists of shop-bought jam (if you can spread jam on your toast, you’ll nail that part) and finally the mousse layer requires a little bit more skill, but it’s not a rocket science, just follow the instructions. Once you’re done, chill it in the fridge and decorate away! Once you bring this baby out, every respected chocoholic will be yours for the taking 😉 …

vegan chocolate mousse tart side view

vegan chocolate mousse tart uncut

vegan chocolate mousse raspberry tart

vegan chocolate mousse tart macro shot

vegan chocolate mousse tart slice

makes
25.5 cm / 10"
PREP
40 min
COOKING
0 min
makes
25.5 cm / 10"
PREPARATION
40 min
COOKING
0 min
INGREDIENTS
BASE

  • 150 g / 1 cup dried dates, halved and pitted
  • 140 g / 1 cup almonds
  • 90 g / 1 cup rolled oats (GF certified if required)
  • 3 tbsp cacao powder
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

FILLING

  • 125 g / 4.5 oz dark (70 % cacao) chocolate
  • 90 ml / ¼ cup + 2 tbsp aquafaba / chickpea brine homemade or from a tin
  • 90 ml / ¼ cup + 2 tbsp coconut cream (separated from full-fat coconut milk)
  • ¼ tsp hot chilli powder, adjust to taste (optional)
  • 240 ml / 1 cup good quality raspberry jam

DECORATION (optional)

  • chocolate shavings
  • almond flakes
  • mini meringue kisses (recipe here)
  • freeze-dried raspberries
METHOD

BASE

  1. Place pitted dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave them for 10 minutes to soften.
  2. Place almonds and oats in a food processor and grind them both into flour. If you don’t have a powerful food processor, you may want to grind them separately. Transfer ground almonds and oats to a large bowl. Add cacao and salt and mix well.
  3. Squeeze excess moisture out of the dates and place them into the food processor. Process until you get a smooth, sticky mixture. Add them to the dry ingredients and knead by hand until you get a uniform dough.
  4. Finally, add melted coconut oil.
  5. Line a tart tin with a piece of baking paper and line the tin with the dough you’ve just made. Make sure you press it really well so that it’s compacted and holds together well. Pop into the freezer for 10 mins.

MOUSSE LAYER

  1. Chop your chocolate very finely (unless you are using chocolate chips) and place into a glass bowl together with coconut cream. Place over a water bath (on the lowest heat) and allow the chocolate and coconut cream to melt gently into each other. Do not stir until most of the chocolate has melted, then turn the hob off and allow the rest of the chocolate to melt under the residual heat. Gently mix the two together and add chilli powder at this stage (if using). Chocolate is a temperamental beast to work with, if it happens to seize (gets thick, oily and grainy), see NOTES below. Take the bowl with chocolate off the pot with hot water to allow the chocolate mixture to cool down.
  2. Place room temperature 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 the whipped aquafaba should not budge an inch, if it does it means that it hasn’t been whipped enough.
  3. Make sure chocolate is lower than body temperature before mixing into aquafaba. Gently fold whipped aquafaba into the chocolate ganache – 2 tablespoons of aquafaba at a time.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Take the base out of the freezer and spread the jam on the bottom. Next pour the chocolate layer on top. Let the tin sit at room temperature for around 30 minutes and then pop it into the fridge overnight or for several hours (at least) to set.
  2. Decorate and cut into slices. Store in the fridge and consume within 1-2 days.

NOTES
Melting the chocolate and coconut cream together should stop the chocolate from seizing (as per this article) but if the chocolate does seize, bring it back by adding small amounts (a teaspoon at the time) of hot water and mixing the two vigorously. If you need to add more than 4 tsp of water to bring your chocolate back, use this batch to make truffles, or dilute further and use as a chocolate sauce and start a new batch for this tart. Adding too much water to the chocolate will impact the texture of the mousse negatively.

The exact dimension of my tart tin are top: 25 cm / 10 inches , bottom 22 cm / 8.5 inches and side 3.5 cm / 1.4 inches

This recipe is based on a few earlier recipes of mine – chilli chocolate and raspberry cups, this aquafaba mousse and my raw brownies.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
244
12%
sugars
22 g
25%
fats
11 g
15%
saturates
4 g
21%
proteins
5 g
9%
carbs
36 g
14%
*per serving
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4.9
8 reviews, 38 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Vlad:
Thanks for this recipe, the taste was delicious. Two things I struggled with however: the base was a little bit crumbly, and I ended up with not enough mousse, I was barely able to cover the cake in a thin layer. Any ideas how to fix these? I guess for the mousse I underwhipped aquafaba.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Vlad,
    I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed it, but sorry to hear that you've encountered some issues. I am assuming you used the same size tin and that you half-filled it with jam layer? I am not sure why that is, possibly you aquafaba has deflated although if that had happened it would not really set. As for the crust, its sound like you needed to add a touch more moisture (water or coconut oil). The crumbliness might be due to your dates being less sticky than mine or maybe dry ingredients were not as finely processed and bigger chunks of would make the crust crumbly. Hope this helps! Ania
Anna:
Hi, do you think it’s a good idea to bake the base in the over for a bit to make it more crunchy?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Anna,
    I don't think it will work in this case, you need a crust containing fat and sugar to do that, but you are welcome to try. Ania
Beatrice:
Hi, just wanted to let you know that I made this recipe for our friendsgiving celebration with my non-vegan friends and it was an absolute hit. I used hazelnuts instead of almonds and I made a sugar free raspberry jam (my friend can't eat any sugar) and it still tasted delicious! Definitely saving this recipe for future use :) Thank you for sharing!
P.S. also I'm in awe of the aqua faba. I've never tried it before but it worked like magic!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks Beatrice, I am so delighted to hear that you enjoyed this tart! Yes, aquafaba IS magic, I am still in awe - nearly 5 years on ;) x Ania
Heather:
Due to allergies, I can really only use rice milk or oat milk. Are either of these heavy enough to work here? I suppose I could try making a bean milk, but never have before. Allergies are coconut, soy, nuts and seeds.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Heather,
    I don't think so, I am afraid, as this particular mousse needs fat for structure. Having said that, you could top the tart with a regular vegan chocolate mousse and use oat milk instead of almond milk (recipe here), it will be a little less creamy, but should work well too. The technique is shown in the video under this recipe. Hope that helps! Ania
Les:
can I use egg whites in place of the aquafaba would it be same amount
    Ania
    Ania:
    I have not used eggs for over 5 years so I cannot help with this question. Ania
Arielle:
Thank you! It worked really well and was a hit with both vegans and non-vegans alike!
    Ania
    Ania:
    I am delighted to hear that, Arielle! Many thanks for taking the time to let me know that you and your guests enjoyed it! x Ania
Arielle:
How long can it be left at room temp before serving? As in, will the mousse loose it's stability if not cold. Planning to use the mousse in a cake but not sure if the cake will need to be kept cold right up until serving.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Arielle,
    Once the mousse has fully set, it should be fine out of the fridge for a bit as long as it isn't exposed to direct heat, strong sunlight, for example. Hope that helps! Ania
Allison Strnad:
Can I make the mousse the day before? I want to use it for a chocolate mousse cake but hoping to make what I can ahead of time. Thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Allison,
    Do you mean making it, letting it set fully and then spreading it on the cake the day after? It should work fine although some of the bubbles will get knocked out in the process - it's best to let it set on the cake (the cake needs to be stone cold). Hope that helps! Ania
Marie-Claire Ross:
This recipe is amazing. I made it for a New Year's Day celebration. The chocolate mousse was light and fluffy. I made a strawberry jam (there in season an so cheap). The result was extraordinary. Congratulations on creating such a magnificent recipe. My whole family loved it and we are looking forward to having our second piece. There will be fights over the size.
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm delighted to hear that it was such a success! Thank you! x Ania
Ana:
Any suitable substitute for the aquafaba?
    Ania
    Ania:
    I have not tried making it with anything else, I'm afraid!
Doreen:
Looks beautiful..
Do you think I can omit the coconut cream? Husband hates it but I would love to make this recipe this week...
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Doreen,
    My feeling is that the mousse will not have enough structure without coconut cream, but you can try as I do make this mousse without it too (recipe here), it's just a bit delicate. Having said that, I don't think coconut taste comes through at all as chocolate is the dominant flavour so I would encourage you to simply make it as it is and not tell your husband what's in it ;) He will never know... Ania
Mohini:
Out of curiosity, why use cayenne pepper? How does it effect the dish? I’m interested in making it but as I am relatively poor I can’t afford too many mistakes and trials!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi,
    Hot chilli pepper adds a touch of spiciness to the chocolate, which some people (me including) like. It is totally optional though. Hope that helps! Ania
Chloe:
Thanks for this recipe. I made it over Christmas and it went down really well. I did have issues with the chocolate, however. It didn't go grainy, but the oil (presumably from the coconut milk) separated from the chocolate. I tried two batches, and it happened with both. I didn't have any more chocolate so I drained off the oil from the second batch and used it as it was. It seemed to work OK, just not sure why this happened!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Chloe,
    Glad to hear that the tart went down well with you and your guests. Sorry to hear that you had issues with chocolate. It sounds to me like it was possibly overheated. Did you melt it over a low flame together with coconut milk? What sort of chocolate did your use (what percentage of cacao solids?) Basically, chocolate is a very tricky ingredient that reacts to overheating, overstirring, even a tiniest drop of moisture so it can be a pain in the neck sometimes. I've had it seize plenty of times, but not the issue you are describing. Ania
Bri:
This was so easy and delicious! My husband said that this was one of the best desserts I've ever made. I sent it with him to work so we'll see what a bunch of brewers say about it!! I will definetly be making this again and again!
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's so lovely to here, Bri! :) Thank you! Ania
Jennie Lynn Read:
Hi Ania
Could I make the tart base a day ahead and freeze over night?
thanks Jennie
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Jennie,
    Yes, absolutely, you made make it a day ahead and simply storing it in the fridge is sufficient - no need to freeze. Ania
Ros:
Just unsure of ingredients as 90mls isn't 1/4cup
Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Ros,
    I'm not sure which bit of the recipe you are referring to as the only two instances I can find are both correct. It says: 90 ml / ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (...). With ¼ cup being 60 ml and 2 tbsp being 30 ml, it is definitely correct. Hope that makes sense. Ania
Sherri:
Just made it and tasted it, delicious! Thank you
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Sherri! That's so nice to hear! :) Ania
Franziska:
I just found your blog and can't stop pinning all of these delicious recipes! This tart also looks incredible and I will definitely try it. Do you know if this tart freezes well? Or does the freezing destroy the mousse texture? Thank you for all the wonderful food inspiration. I look forward to explore your page more. :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Franziska! Comments like this make this whole blogging thing immensely fulfilling, so thank you! :) I have not tried freezing this tart so cannot say with full certainty, but I would personally be worried that it may destroy the mousse as, despite the fact that coconut cream gives it some body, it is still pretty delicate. I kept it in the fridge for 3 days with no issues, but freezer MAY be too aggressive. If you do try freezing it, I would love to know how the tart held up. Ania
      Franziska Schleiter:
      Thank you for the reply Ania! I think I will make a little extra mousse when I make the tart and then simply freeze some mousse to test it. Will definitely let you know if it works! :)
        Ania
        Ania:
        Thank you! I look forward to it! Ania
Judith:
I want to make this beautiful tart tomorrow but I was wondering if I can replace the almonds with another nut? My mom is allergic.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Judith,
    Of course you can! The substitution would be hazelnuts, pecans or walnuts (I would avoid fatty & creamy nuts like cashews though). Good luck and hope your mum will love it! x Ania
Anastasia:
It is my birthday today and I've been looking for a good recipe as a cake alternative. I just finished making this and it is now sitting in the fridge, I cant wait to try it!!! The instructions were simple, easy to follow and all went as planned. If it tastes half as good as it looks I will be happy with it. Fingers crossed!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Anastasia,
    First of all, Happy B'day for yesterday! I'm so glad you picked my recipe to do on your special day and pleased to hear that it all went well. I hope you'll love the flavour and texture! Would love to know what you thought! x Ania
Maikki | Maikin mokomin:
This tart looks perfect! I love the way you have decorated it :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Maikki! So pleased to hear that as I was fretting over that decoration a fair bit ;) You know how it goes! x
Sarah | Well and Full:
This is such a gorgeous tart, Ania, like a work of art! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you so much! <3
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