I get so excited every month when my Vegetarian Times magazine comes in the mail. The most recent issue had a great section on easy raw cooking and when I saw that there was a recipe for Live Chocolate Mousse I had to make it immediately. The main ingredient is shocking and a little bit off putting but that just made me all the more interested:
3 Hass avocados (neither underripe nor overripe)
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbs raw agave nectar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs raw cocoa powder
3 Tbs raw almond butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg or cardamom
1/2 tsp flavored extract such as hazelnut, orange, almond, mint, coffee, or cherry (optional)
Puree all ingredients in food processor 3 to 4 minutes, or until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Transfer to bowls and serve immediately.
Some of the raw ingredients can be difficult to find and very expensive at some stores when not sold in bulk so if this is the case for you then you can use them in their non-raw form and still make a really tasty vegan mousse. I used Green & Black brand cocoa powder, nutmeg rather than cardamom, and a hazelnut flavored extract. The result... completely INCREDIBLE! I was expecting a strong avocado flavor but once blended all that remained of the avocado was its creaminess. The cocoa is so strong that it covers up what you expect to be a sweet guacamole flavor and leaves an exquisite and insanely rich chocolate creation. I had a lot left over and I was weary of how the mixture would react to sitting in the fridge for a day. It probably would have been fine but just to be safe I split the remainder into four small glass Pyrex dishes and put them in the freezer so that I could have a serving each night for the rest of the week. The next night I put a container in the fridge for a bit then had it after dinner. It was so amazing frozen, just like ice cream. I'm already planning out creative ideas for my next batch like maybe a spicy chile chocolate flavor.
In addition to its severe chocolaty goodness this moose only took me about 15 min to make. Don't let the avocado freak you out. It works perfectly.
