Chocolate Aquafaba Mousse
This mousse is one of those recipes that genuinely blows people's minds when you tell them what's in it. Rich, dark, intensely chocolatey, and impossibly light and airy, it's everything a proper chocolate mousse should be, and it just happens to be completely plant-based. We've served this at dinner parties and watched people go back for seconds before they've even finished their firsts. If you need a showstopper dessert that looks and tastes like you really went for it, this is the one to make tonight.
Before You Start
- Electric beater or stand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Heatproof bowl
- Large metal spoon or spatula
- Microplane or box grater
- Aquafaba chilled for 2 hours before serving
Ingredients
- 200g dark chocolate
- liquid from 1 x 400g can of chickpeas - aquafaba, around 130ml
- 2 ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 handful of blueberries to serve
Method
Melt the chococlate
- Pour hot water into the pan until it's about 3cm deep and bring to the boil
- Reduce the heat to a simmer
- Put a heatproof bowl on top of the pan, ensuring the water doesn't touch the bottom
- Break 85g of the dark chocolate into the bowl and leave it to melt
- Remove and leave to cool a little
Whisk the aquafaba
- Pour the aquafaba into a large bowl and use the electric beater (a hand whisk won't cut it this time) to whisk the liquid for 10-15 minutes, it will gradually firm up, as if by magic
- Stop when the mixture makes stiff peaks if you lift out the beaters
- Gently fold in the melted chocolate, sugar, vanilla and salt using a large metal spoon or spatula, making sure you don't beat out too much air
Chill the mousse
- Spoon the mousse into serving glasses or bowls and chill for 2 hours
Time to serve
- Grate the remaining 15g chocolate
- Dress the individual mousses with a handful of blueberries and a touch of grated chocolate just before serving
Tips & Variations
- Use good quality chocolate: This mousse lives or dies by the chocolate you pick. We always go for a dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids; the deeper the flavour, the better the mousse.
- Cool the chocolate properly: Make sure your melted chocolate has cooled to room temperature before folding it into the aquafaba. If it's too warm it'll knock all the air out of those beautiful stiff peaks. Give it at least 10 minutes.
- Chill before serving: Once you've poured the mousse into glasses or ramekins, pop them in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Overnight is even better; the texture firms up and the flavour deepens. Trust us on this one.
Why This Works
The magic here is all in the aquafaba, that humble liquid from a tin of chickpeas that whips up into stiff, glossy peaks just like egg whites. It gives the mousse that classic light-as-air texture without any dairy or eggs. The trick is to be patient with the whipping and make sure your chocolate has cooled enough before you fold it in; otherwise, the whole thing collapses and you're left with chocolate soup, which we may or may not have experienced firsthand.