Ho ho ho, welcome to the Christmas weekend! I hope you’ve began to decompress from all of the work stresses and began having fun with the trying ahead to Christmas (for me it’s in all probability the very best half) bit. I’m signing off with an impressive vegan chocolate mousse cake that may make all chocolate lovers, vegan or not, very completely happy certainly. That’s a promise.
This vegan chocolate mousse cake isn’t truly that onerous to make and tastes divine. In case you begin on it tomorrow afternoon, it is going to be able to wheel in by Christmas Day or, if you’re a continental like me, begin tonight and watch it getting demolished on Christmas Eve’s. Simple peasy.
This cake is ideal for anybody who’s scared of creating pastry as the bottom of this vegan chocolate mousse cake is a layer of delightfully fudgy and tremendous chocolatey brownies. They arrive collectively actually shortly and aside from folding – combining elements slowly and gently, utilizing a folding movement – no different pastry abilities are wanted right here. The mousse on this vegan chocolate mousse is a bit more superior, however so long as you don’t rush issues and observe my directions, it’s going to come out properly. I promise.
This cake is decadent, wealthy and tremendous chocolatey and it’ll storm, I’m certain. Whereas I embellished my cake with a cloud of Italian meringue, I’d not advocate doing the identical as this precipitated issues, which I didn’t realise till I got here to chop the cake. The moisture within the meringue and the act of torching it with a chef’s torch weakened the mousse and made it not possible for me to chop a neat slice 🙁 . As a substitute, I counsel a skinny sprinkling of cocoa powder on high – as is conventional for a tiramisu – and possibly some edible gold mud if you’re feeling additional exuberant.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
AQUAFABA – that’s proper, right here I’m going once more with my favorite bean juice (I like working with it as might you understand by now). I used canned aquafaba from a can (two cans truly) of Morrisons’ natural chickpeas. There isn’t a particular motive why I selected this model (my favorite is Biona however I can not get it regionally), I merely stay pretty near Morrisons in order that’s the best choice I had at my disposal. I sometimes use aquafaba from homecooked chickpeas, however I didn’t have the time to prepare dinner them. Be certain all of your utensils, bowl and palms are spotlessly clear as aquafaba and grease hate one another like cats and canines (that really isn’t true as exemplified by quite a few ‘my cat and my canine are BBFs’ movies however you understand what I imply 😉 ). To banish grease, use a glass or steel bowl and wash your whisk attachments in soapy sizzling water rigorously.
DARK CHOCOLATE – Each layers of this chocolate themed cake depend on high quality darkish chocolate. I used 72% darkish chocolate and I like to recommend one thing comparable, 70-74% is okay, any much less and the mousse might not set as firmly as you desire to.
COCOA – brownie advantages from some cocoa powder alongside melted chocolate. I used pure cocoa powder and I’d advocate steering away from Dutch-processed because it doesn’t react with baking soda, which is used on this recipe.
SUGAR – I used two several types of sugar on this dessert, however you may get away with one too. For the brownie base, I used a mixture of caster (superfine) sugar and darkish muscovado, the primary provides baked items their signature crispy shell and the latter provides depth of flavour and add to the fudginess of the brownie. The mousse half wants caster sugar, also referred to as superfine sugar, because it dissolves simply within the mousse and doesn’t trigger any grittiness. I used it to assist the mousse with its texture and likewise to sweeten it a contact.
VEGAN BUTTER – I used vegan butter each within the base and within the mousse. The explanation for utilizing butter (vegan on this case) in brownies is fairly apparent, however chances are you’ll be questioning why I’d add it to the mousse too. I added it to make the mousse firmer, agency sufficient to chop. It additionally stops the chocolate from seizing as it’s melted alongside the chocolate, in the identical bowl. What you want right here is vegan butter that is available in a block (usually known as vegan block, the truth is). I used Violife model. You possibly can substitute with coconut oil, I all the time advocate utilizing odourless one to maintain the flavour profile coconut-free.
FLOUR – I used plain flour to make the brownie base, however you may as well make this cake gluten-free if wanted. To try this merely use a properly balanced gluten-free flour combine and a smidge (quarter of a teaspoon) of xanthan gum to assist with binding.
BAKING SODA – A smidge of baking soda is required to offer these brownies a delicate elevate. It comes right into a chemical response with acidic cocoa powder and melted chocolate, which helps to lighten the batter a contact.
Whisk aquafaba in a spotlessly clear bowl till foamy, then add sugar till the combination turns pale (white if solely utilizing caster sugar) and many little bubbles type – see image on the left. Gently fold in melted chocolate and butter combination.
Fold in the entire dry elements till the combination is uniform and no lighter streaks stay. Switch to the ready baking tin, bake and funky down utterly.
Whip aquafaba till stiff (it doesn’t transfer when the bowl is inverted), progressively add sugar and melted chocolate combination. Fold slowly and gently till no streaks stay. High chilly brownie base with the mousse combination and refrigerate till set – no less than in a single day.
- 60 g / ¼ cup aquafaba*
- 125 g / ½ cup + 2 tbsp sugar (I used 50 % caster sugar, 50 % darkish muscovado)
- 50 g / 1.75 oz vegan butter
- 75 g / 2.6 oz darkish chocolate 70-74% cacao
- 25 g / 2 tbsp cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
- 65 g / ½ cup plain flour (or GF flour combine + ¼ tsp xanthan gum)
- ¼ tsp fantastic salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE LAYER
- 200 g / 7 oz darkish chocolate 70-74% cacao, damaged up
- 50 g / 1.75 oz vegan butter (I used Violife), cubed
- 240 g / 1 cup aquafaba (I used canned however selfmade works too)
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar OR ½ tsp lemon juice
- 50 g / ¼ cup caster sugar
METHOD
BROWNIE LAYER
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F (160° C / 320° F with a fan setting). Grease the perimeters of a 20 cm / 8 inch baking tin and line the underside – I used an adjustable baking body on a sturdy baking tray.
- Place damaged up chocolate and chopped vegan butter in a steel or glass bowl suspended over a water bathtub. Be certain the bowl doesn’t contact the water beneath and use low warmth. As soon as the water underneath the bowl begins to simmer, swap off the warmth and permit the contents of the bowl to soften gently into one another within the residual warmth. GENTLY and slowly combine them collectively.
- Whip aquafaba with an electrical whisk till you get a dense foam, filled with little bubbles (there isn’t any want to realize stiff peaks for this recipe).
- Steadily add sugar to the aquafaba, whisking properly after every addition.
- Slowly pour very heat (in any other case the batter will turn into too stiff so as to add the entire flour) chocolate and vegan butter combination into the aquafaba combination and gently fold in till uniform.
- Combine flour, salt, cocoa and baking soda in a small bowl. Fold them in two batches, till no dry pockets stay.
- Switch brownie batter into the ready baking tin, unfold it into the corners with a spatula. Bake for 17-18 minutes, enable to go chilly earlier than topping with the mousse.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE LAYER
- As soon as the bottom is chilly, gently take away it from the tin. Line the perimeters the the tin with baking paper and put the brownie base again in.
- Place chocolate and vegan butter in a steel or glass bowl suspended over a water bathtub. Be certain the bowl doesn’t contact the water beneath and use low warmth. Go to the following step when you wait.
- Place aquafaba and cream of tartar in a spotlessly clear bowl.
- Whisk on medium/excessive velocity till you attain stiff peaks (while you invert the bowl, whipped aquafaba ought to keep put). Relying in your tools, it might take round 8-10 minutes (it does for me and I’ve an previous handheld whisk).
- Add sugar in 1 tbsp increments whereas whipping and slowly counting to twenty after every addition.
- As soon as the chocolate and butter have melted, stir them GENTLY into one another.
- Add a big spoonful of whipped aquafaba to the melted chocolate and fold it in very gently.
- Now, add a few third of melted chocolate into the whipped aquafaba and fold gently utilizing a versatile spatula, when it’s roughly integrated add one other third after which the final third.
- While you’ve added the entire chocolate, keep it up folding gently till no white streaks stay. Be light and gradual or else you’ll knock an excessive amount of air out of the aquafaba.
- High chilly brownie with the mousse and place within the fridge till set – no less than in a single day. Enhance* with cocoa powder and reduce with a pointy knife.
NOTES
*DECORATION: Whereas I embellished my cake with a cloud of Italian meringue, I’d not advocate doing the identical as this precipitated issues, which I didn’t realise till I got here to chop the cake. The moisture within the meringue and the act of torching it with a chef’s torch weakened the mousse and made it not possible for me to chop a neat slice… As a substitute, I counsel a skinny sprinkling of cocoa powder on high – as is conventional for a tiramisu – and possibly some edible gold mud if you’re feeling additional exuberant.
