Chocolate Mousse

Do you love chickpeas? If so then I have an amazing and easy dessert for you. Yes, you heard that right! The next time you cook chickpeas, don’t throw out the liquid left over because you can whip up an amazing chocolate mousse from it.What’s more you only need two or a maximum of three ingredients to whip it up. Mousse is generally made with whipped egg whites but we are going to be making this all vegan by using the wonderful Aquafaba instead.

Aquafaba – The vegan alternative to egg whites

Aquafaba or “bean juice” is the viscous liquid which is leftover when you cook chickpeas or any beans in fact. You could also use the liquid found in canned chickpeas.However, I promise its so much better when you can cook the chickpeas yourself and keep aside the liquid. This way, you can control what goes into making it and also you get a lot more aquafaba. If you do want to use the canned liquid, I would suggest using non-salted version.

Like I mentioned earlier, you can use the liquid from any of the beans but I prefer chickpeas. This is because liquids from other beans might end up taking on the color of the beans like rajma(red kidney beans) or black beans. If the end color of the aquafaba has no bearing on the recipe, then go ahead and you use the liquid from any of the beans.

I usually find aquafaba keeps well in the fridge for up to a week. Beyond that it can take on a sour taste and would not recommend waiting too long to use it up. If the aquafaba is too thin, you can also try reducing it on the stove. I would also suggest passing it through a sieve to remove any bean skin or bits leftover. You can also freeze it in small containers or ice cube trays so that you can pull out and use exactly what you need later.

If you need another incentive to make it at home, chickpeas and other beans freeze really well. So just put the extra beans in the freezer and you will always have some on your hand for any quick recipes.If you are looking for more information,I found some very useful articles. Please find the links for some of them here -> America’s Test Kitchen , Godairyfree or Wikipedia.

Ingredients for the chocolate mousse

We spoke about aquafaba which forms the base of the chocolate mousse and then there is chocolate! So that’s it, we just need 2 ingredients – aquafaba and dark chocolate. These two come together to form a decadent plant based dessert.If you like your’s a little extra sweet, feel free to add sugar as well. The chocolate mousse comes together in less than 20 mins and then let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving.

I need to mention that the quality of the chocolate that you use is very important. I usually use 72% dark chocolate and it adds the creaminess and flavor to the dessert. If you were wary of using aquafaba and how it tastes, you don’t need to. This is because the chocolate really brings in the rich flavor and the mousse won’t be left tasting anything like beans. That’s why its important to use a good quality chocolate.

How to make the mousse?

There are 2 parts to making the mousse. First we cut the chocolate into small pieces and place it a heat resistant bowl. We will then place this bowl over a water bath or a bain-marie.This helps the chocolate melt gently without burning. Once the chocolate has melted, place it aside and now we will get to whipping the aquafaba.

You can whip the aquafaba either in a stand mixer or a hand held mixer. I used the latter and it took me around 15 minutes to reach the required consistency. If using sugar, then add it to the liquid aquafaba before starting. Now the most important thing is the aquafaba is either the same temperature as the melted chocolate or slightly warmer. This is because if the aquafaba is colder, the chocolate will seize. We don’t want that because the chocolate won’t blend well with the whipped aquafaba and we will see specks of chocolate instead of it being incorporated well. You can warm up the aquafaba a little bit before whipping to ensure its not cold.

You will see the aquafaba start getting creamier once you hit the 4-5 minute mark. I usually start with the low setting and then switch to the medium setting at this point. As we keep going it starts getting creamier and fluffier. I usually reach the desired consistency at 15 mins or so. Depending on how concentrated the liquid was before you started, you might need to go on longer as well. Stop once you can see stiff peaks. Now its time to fold in the melted chocolate.

Mixing in the chocolate

Slowly spoon in the liquid chocolate in to the whipped aquafaba and mix until it is well incorporated. Do this until all of the chocolate has been mixed in without taking away too much of the air within the whipped mixture. Once this is done, its time to spoon this mixture in the serving bowls or glasses. Place them in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving. My favorite way to serve this chocolate mousse is topped with pomegranate seeds and chocolate shavings because for me that is a pair made in heaven! Of course go ahead and top with anything that catches your fancy and enjoy!