Antique English spoon dating from the late 1800s, on kind loan by The Collector
It’s Good Friday today, a day of strict fasting in Greece. It is really hard to believe this chocolate mousse is actually allowed. But it is. I, however, would make this any day of the year. Out of all the chocolate mousses I’ve tried, this might just be the best. And not a raw egg in sight!
I give you two versions and two methods of preparation. The original version, adapted from an insert in Ta Nea newspaper (Feb 2012), uses honey and a food processor. Honey is allowed during Lent even though it comes from bees; this is not the case with veganism. So, I thought I would make it again replacing the honey with golden syrup, making it suitable for vegans. This time I also ditched the processor, purely because I couldn’t be bothered to wash it. Surprisingly, this actually made a big difference in the texture of the mousse, and produced a much softer, lighter and well, mousse-ier result. The original is very smooth and dense, and might be better described as a chocolate pot de crème. Taste-wise they are very similar and I can’t choose which one I like more. But texture-wise, my own version wins hands down. You’ll just have to make a double batch, one of each, and decide for yourself!
Lenten Chocolate Mousse – The Original (with Honey)
Adapted from Ta Nea insert Feb 2012
Makes 4
Ingredients
1 c. coconut milk (not cream, not water)
100g dark chocolate, chopped
3-4 Tbs honey
2 Tbs tahini
1/8 tsp cinnamon
sesame seeds and slivered almonds to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the coconut milk in a small pan till just below boiling point.
- In a food processor, whiz the chocolate pieces with the cinnamon.
- Add the warm coconut milk to the processor, along with the honey and tahini, and whiz till it froths up. Be careful, the warm milk might make it froth up too much, or even overflow and make a mess everywhere. That might put you in a bad mood.
- Empty the mixture into 4 glasses or small bowls, let cool and refrigerate till set (at least 3 hours).
- Garnish with the sesame seeds and serve. To get the margarita effect in the photo, I put some golden syrup on a plate, twirled the rims of the glasses through it, and then twirled the rims round a plate sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Note: The recipe in the newspaper used almond milk instead of coconut. I haven’t tried this; if you try it please come back and let me know what it’s like!
Lenten and Vegan Chocolate Mousse – My Version
Adapted from the same recipe
Makes 2
Ingredients
1/2 c. coconut milk
40g dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbs golden syrup
1 Tbs tahini
a pinch of cinnamon
sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the coconut milk in a heat-resistant measuring jug in the microwave (in 15 second bursts, checking after each burst).
- When hot, add the chopped chocolate and stir till melted.
- Add the tahini and golden syrup and whisk till incorporated.
- Add the cinnamon and continue to whisk till smooth.
- Poor into glasses, let cool and refrigerate till set.
- Garnish and serve.
Other Chocolate Pot or Mousse Recipes
Instant Chocolate Mousse by Nigella Lawson (tried, tested and loved!)
Chestnut Chocolate Pots by Nigella Lawson
Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil and Sea Salt by The Kitchn (also tried and tested; gorgeously interesting and different)
This looks every bit as good as any mousse I’ve ever enjoyed, Eleni. Good to know that the food processor mousse was different than the hand whisked. Your use of sesame seeds on the glass’s rim was very clever, too.
I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Easter!
Thanks so much John. I surprised myself with the sesame idea, was kind of cool wasn’t it?! Happy Greek Easter to you too ;)
I like the idea of tahini in this. Haven’t had it with chocolate, but it has a good strong earthy flavor that would blend really well with it. Must try….
Oh I highly recommend the combination! Would love it if you come back and let me know how you like it! Thanks for dropping by!
WANTS!
Ha ha thanks! It’s dead easy and quick to make. Let me know if you try it!
Love those little sesame rimmed glasses. Very fun and delicious looking mousse. I like the concept of putting the coconut milk in the food processor. Did yours overflow?
It sure did! I think it was the heat of the mixture that did it (due to steam).. Luckily I stopped it in time and there wasn’t too much mess! It would be fine with a few short bursts at a time. Also the overflowing wouldn’t happen if you have a processor with an opening in the lid as the steam would be released from there. Having said all that, if you like a softer mousse, try the other method! Thanks for visiting!
What a stunningly simply treat- There’s no excuse not to try this right away! I even have all of the ingredients on hand. :)
Yay! Oh, please come back and let me know how it turned out! Thanks for visiting
Looks so delicious! Even I posted something about mousse but with some different ingredients!
http://bakistryblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/blackberry-cream-cheese-mousse/
Ooh, yours looks yummy! Thanks for visiting
what can one use instead of golden syrup?
Hi! The original recipe (first version above) is with honey, so you can definitely use that. If you are vegan and don’t eat honey you could try using something like corn syrup (γλυκόζη). I have no idea how that would work though, so if you try it please come back and let us know how it went!
many thanks! I will try with honey :)
Hope you like it!
Lovely to meet you at FBC5 :) This mousse looks incredible – and so lovely to see a mousse recipe which doesn’t contain gelatin! I’ll definitely be giving this a go.
Thank you so much! It was great to meet you too, sorry we didn’t get to chat longer! I’m looking forward to browsing your blog when I get back to Greece! Let me know how the mousse goes if you try it :)