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By Alisa Fleming on Dairy Free Desserts, Dairy-Free Recipes, In The News, News
Did you know that February is American Heart Month? I can certainly see the tie-in with Valentine’s Day and the heart, butcould this chocolate-rich time of year really be healthy? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I would love to enjoy these rich, vegan chocolate mousse cups in the name of heart health!And perhaps, we bothcan …
Some studies have praised chocolate for heart health. Seriously. Though there is still some uncertaintyregarding this bold claim most medical experts agree that cacao / cocoa is rich with a certain type of flavanols, or antioxidants,which may be particularly beneficial for cardiovascular health.
To increase the flavanols in these chocolate mousse cups, Gretchen Tseng combines cacao powder with So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage for about half of the chocolate punch. Using some dairy-free chocolate chips gives just enough cocoa butter goodness, but supplementing it with straight cacao powder and coconut milk beverage gives a higher ratio of unprocessed cocoa (particularly if you use the chocolate coconut milk beverage!), keeps the chocolate mousse cups lower in fat, and still provides a creamy component to the recipe. She uses coconut milk beverage because it is a bit richer in texture than most milk alternatives and is also soy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free.
Cacao Powderor Cocoa Powder? Though often used interchangeably in conversation and in recipes, products labeled as “cacao powder” are typically raw and unprocessed. Cocoa powder isvery often processed or alkalized to remove some of the bitterness that naturally occurs in cacao beans. Gretchen chooses cacao powder in this recipe for vegan chocolate mousse cups, because studies have shown that processing cacao beans can result in a dramatic loss of important flavanols.
Tofu? The jury is still out on soy for heart health. Though some studies lambast soy, others support it. Keep in mind that the negative studies on soy have beendone on soy protein isolates specifically– this is not how the age-old Okinawans eat their soy! For these chocolate mousse cups, look for tofu made with organic whole soybeans, and pretty much nothing else. This will ensure that you are avoiding GMO’s and will also give you the nutrition of the whole bean without the negative publicity of the soy extracts.
Special Diet Notes: Chocolate Mousse Cups
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.
For soy-free, dairy-free chocolate mousse cups,look no further than the ubiquitous coconut. Though not as low in fat as tofu, coconuts offer their own healthy powers and can thicken a vegan chocolate mousse beautifully. In place of the tofu, use about 1-1/2 to 2 cups of thick coconut cream. You can purchase coconut cream in a can or carton (I like Trader Joe’s coconut cream) or buy regular full fat canned coconut milk, let the can settle, and skim the thick cream from the top. You will need about two cans of coconut milk for a full batch of this recipe.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse Cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This healthy recipe was created by Gretchen Tseng of Veggie Grettie (I love that name!), and shared with us by So Delicious Dairy Free. You can also visit So Delicious on Facebook (they often have coupon offers!).
Author: Gretchen Tseng
Serves: 16 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup dairy-free, semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu, drained
- 2 cups vanilla or chocolate dairy-free milk alternative
- 6 tablespoons cacao powder
- 6 packets stevia (see below for other sweetener options)
- Dairy-free chocolate cups (see note below), for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler.
- While the chocolate is melting, blend the tofu, coconut milk beverage, cacao powder, and stevia in a blender or food processor until very smooth. You may need to stop the machine a few times and scrape down the sides.
- Once the chocolate has melted, add it to the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. The mixture will now be warm and the consistency of pudding.
- You can serve the dessert at this point as warm chocolate pudding, or you can chill it to make chocolate mousse. For mousse, pour the pudding into a glass container and store it in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight to firm up.
- Prior to piping, whip the mousse with a handheld mixer to whip air into it. Pipe the mousse into chocolate cups and serve.
Notes
Chocolate Cups: Dairy-free and vegan chocolate cups aren't an easy thing to find at stores, but you can easily make your own. Simply follow these instructions for How to Make Chocolate Cups. They use cupcakes liners, but if you have silicone muffin cups or candy molds, then you can use those to make other shapes and sizes.
Sweetener: Grettie keeps the sugar low with stevia (for another boost to heart health!). If you prefer a traditional sweetener, use about ¼ cup or to taste in place of the stevia packets.
