Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse

by ALEXA

For it being dairy-free and easily vegan, this rich dairy free chocolate mousse will knock your socks off!

For it being dairy-free and easily vegan, this rich chocolate mousse will knock your socks off!

This super-simple mousse chills in an ice cream maker. For it being dairy-free and easily vegan, this rich chocolate mousse will knock your socks off!  If you have veered away from recipes that call for ingredients like hemp seed, coconut oil, and Stevia, you will be delightfully surprised that the use of those ingredients will yield such a rich and “creamy” mousse that is quite healthy!

Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse
Serves: 2

In small saucepan, bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes:

1 teaspoon AGAR AGAR powder (available at Asian markets and natural food stores)
1 cup filtered WATER

In high-powered blender, blend on high for 1-2 minutes:

1/4 cup filtered WATER
1/4 cup liquefied virgin COCONUT OIL
3 tablespoons runny HONEY (vegan diets should substitute with another sweetener)
1/2 teaspoon instant COFFEE – optional (I use Starbucks VIA Ready Brew ® instant coffee packs)
2 teaspoons VANILLA EXTRACT
20 drops SweetLeaf Chocolate LIQUID STEVIA
1/2 cup raw CASHEW NUTS (soaked in filtered water 2-4 hours and rinsed well)
1/4 cup hulled HEMP SEED
1/4 cup high quality COCOA POWDER
Pinch CELTIC SALT
AGAR AGAR mixture

Pour mixture into an automatic ice cream maker such as the 1-1/2 quart Cuisinart® Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. Churn for 15-20 minutes or until mousse-like in texture.

This mousse holds up real well. For this photo, I scooped the mousse into a Ziploc bag, snipped off one corner and piped it into two serving dishes. The chocolate stars were made using melted  Enjoy Life® chocolate chips piped from a small Ziploc bag (with a small snip in one corner) onto parchment and refrigerated. A toothpick comes in handy for perfecting the shape.

NOTES: Agar agar is a vegetable “gelatin” derived from a number of seaweeds which are processed by boiling and drying. It is a clear, tasteless alternative to animal or chemical-based gelatin.

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19 comments

Katy T July 3, 2010 - 10:59 am

mmmmmmm……..chocolate…..my kryptonite! *wipes drool off chin & keyboard*

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Ricki July 3, 2010 - 2:20 pm

Such a nice change from the chocolate-and-tofu "mousse"! I don’t have a true ice cream maker, so I’m going to see if I can make it work some other way. 🙂

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Jane Ko July 5, 2010 - 2:11 pm

That looks so yummy! I can probably use that as a filling for my chocolate meringues 🙂

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YES! It would wourk great!!

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gfe--gluten free easily July 5, 2010 - 8:36 pm

It’s knocking my socks off just looking at it, Lexie! I’m not sure if I can use agar agar products though. I’m hypothyroid and I’ve read they can affect thyroid function. I’ll have to ask my doctor. And, bummer I’m out of coconut oil, but I have everything else. Oh, wait, not chocolate Stevia … that’s new to me!

I love how you make this in your ice cream maker though! Thanks, Lexie … I’ll definitely have to make some tweaks and make this mousse in the future. Chocolate mousse was after all the best part of high school French and a fine French restaurant in our downtown area in college. My roommates and I would often go JUST for a mid-afternoon chocolate mousse. 🙂

Shirley

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Lexie July 6, 2010 - 3:19 am

Hi Katy! Love ya!

Hi Ricki, I tried the chill, whip, chill, whip method (2-3 rounds of it) and it came out close to what I got out of the ice cream maker.

Hi Jane! Took a look at your site. LOVE IT! And yes, this would worked well piped into a crust. I decorated cupcakes with them over the weekend : ) Thanks for commenting and visiting!

And finally, HELLO Shirley. Queen of GF! Thanks for your comment on agar-agar. Let me know what you find out. Probably not recommended for those with thyroid conditions because it contains iodine? Hmm. But for the average person it is fine … in my recipes I use so little of it. In large amounts it can surpress the appetite because it absorbs water and causes a "full feeling." Reading food labels, it’s in a lot of food … including So Delicious yogurts. Hugs to ya Shirley! French class sounded great!

-Lexie

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Michelle July 6, 2010 - 2:10 pm

Love your photo. The mousse sounds so wonderfully refreshing.

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Kim @ Cook It Allergy Free July 6, 2010 - 11:39 pm

This looks so awesome! I will have to make it when we get back to AZ! Do not have my ice cream maker here in CA! So great talking to you on the 4th! I will totally keep you posted this week about what I find out!
xoxo

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Kirsten July 8, 2010 - 1:42 am

I can’t believe you made those stars… Seriously that is incredible. There is soooo much to be said for presentation- it really does make a difference. Yum.
Kirsten

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Nancy @ The Sensitive Pantry July 9, 2010 - 2:16 am

Wow!! It looks like…well, like chocolate mousse! With cool chocolate stars. Awesome, Lexie!

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Rebecca July 9, 2010 - 2:49 am

Mmm, looks & sounds delicious! I love using Agar agar in desserts…So would this be more of a mousse Ice cream? Or do you stop it before it gets too frozen? Thanks 🙂

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Lexie July 9, 2010 - 4:02 am

Michelle – Thanks! I was tickled with the stars, sometimes a photo comes together and then sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t.

Kim – This one might be good for your iPhone App (Cook IT Allergy Free)! Feel free to use it ; )

Kirsten – Those stars took a little time, but really weren’t difficult. At the same time I made the stars I made some spiders, some squiggles, and some hearts (just melted chocolate chips piped out of a ziplock onto parchment then refrigerated). Thanks for taking the time to tell me that you liked ’em : )

Nancy – Yes, it looks AND tastes like chocolate mousse. It surprised me the first time I made it. I like nice surprises like that.

And hello Rebecca – Yay, another agar fan : ) I’d love to know how you use it. So the funny thing with this recipe is I started out attempting a chocolate ice cream but mistakenly forgot an extra cup of water. The "paddle" in my automatic ice cream maker stops churning when the concoction firms to a certain point (about 20 minutes). And that’s what happened in this case. It got thick and looked like ice cream but the texture was NOT that of ice cream. It was moussey rather than icey. Hard to put into words. I would LOVE to know if you try it and what you think.

*** Tip to everyone: For a smooth mousse, blend the liquid mixture real good so it’s super smooth ***

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Xiaolu (6 Bittersweets) July 16, 2010 - 3:00 am

Such a pretty dessert. I keep thinking I need to make something cooler that doesn’t involve the oven and this looks like just the ticket :).

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Ari @ The Frugally Rich Life (+GF/DF/sugar-free) July 25, 2010 - 6:40 pm

Wow! This looks amazing! I love your photos and hope someday mine can come out that well—–starting with a new camera purchase soon I hope! 🙂
I love how some recipes don’t come out like we originally intended but they end up coming out great anyway! 🙂
Can you sub regular unflavored gelatin for this recipe?? And how much, if so? Agar agar is really hard to find around here and expensive. Thanks!
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Hello Ari! Thanks for dropping by 🙂 I use an ancient (well 7 year old Canon Powershot — only 5 megapixels) camera. I, too hope to upgrade. But that upgrade will have to wait a bit. Just bought my husband a handy dandy pocket camera for all of is Rocky Mountain hiking adventures. This thing even records the location you shoot a photo using GPS. Whoa! Anyway I think you can do a lot with a good older camera. A tripod is a must. Good lighting, too : ) Oh and working with the program mode vs. just relying on Auto.

About the gelatin … I am still experimenting here and there with using agar in place of gelatin and vice versa. Trying to understand the qualities of both. So I cannot say for sure. The next time I make this mousse I will try it with gelatin and will update this post if it works the same as agar.

Cheers!
Lexie

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kathy July 25, 2010 - 11:51 pm

wow! This looks fabulous!! Beautiful photos. I hope you will submit this recipe to my new "vegan finds" website:

http://www.FindingVegan.com

~Kathy

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Jessica July 31, 2010 - 5:39 am

The mousse looks so delicious and tasty I’ll bet it’s hard to tell the difference!
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Jessica,

My thoughts exactly … the texture is pretty spot on! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

-Lexie

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veggie wedgie August 16, 2010 - 11:23 pm

This looks amazingly airy!

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Rachel Ramey January 7, 2011 - 3:31 pm

I would think that for someone who is hypOthyroid, the agar would, if anything, be beneficial. If not, I would definitely try subbing gelatin, dissolving it in cold water as one usually does for gelatin. I would also guess that it might take a little longer to reach the proper consistency during the freezing process, since gelatin needs to be chilled and agar sets at room temperature.

Can the hemp seed be substituted with anything? I think I have everything else on hand, but I don't know where to find hemp seed around here.

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Joan February 4, 2013 - 7:30 pm

I love the look if this and want to make it for my MIL, but she's allergic to any nut but almond. Any chance you know of a substitute for that in this?? Thanks!

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Lexie February 4, 2013 - 7:58 pm

Joan, you could go with just hemp. Worth a try 🙂 Hopefully she is okay with coconut. It truly is NOT a nut although the FDA says it is. They've got to take a look at that ruling. xoLexie

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