Dessert
An Easy 10-Minute Chocolate Mousse for When You Need Chocolate ASAP
Psst: It's vegan and no-cook.
It's no secret in our office that I'm powerless against chocolate desserts.
If I'm late for a 10 a.m. meeting, it's most likely because a batch of brownies has just come out of our test kitchen, and sheer proximity has led me to lose all sense of time, place, and what it'd be like to not eat four for breakfast. I am the proud creator of the five-minute "pudding"—aka, a means to achieve chocolate dessert bliss without turning on a single stove, in less time than it takes to sort your recycling. And I became so enthralled by Magnus Nilsson's five-ingredient, 20-minute kladdkaka (fudgy chocolate cake) that I started throwing dinner parties just for an excuse to make another one, with some newly conceived twist.
So the first thing I do whenever I receive a new cookbook—or, honestly, party invitation—is turn to the desserts section for a thorough investigation.
Enter Hannah Bronfman's Do What Feels Good, a tome detailing Bronfman's efforts to begin listening to her body and adjusting her lifestyle accordingly, as a DJ making her first foray into the health and wellness world.
"Moving out of my 20s and into my 30s, I wanted to share the knowledge I have amassed over the last 10 years of my wellness journey," she says. "I’ve been able to meet so many experts, and have learned so much, that this book really is my bible of the knowledge I rely on daily."
If it sounds like the type of book unlikely to proffer one of my new favorite chocolate dessert recipes, then please direct your attention to page 225—er, right across the spine from a recipe for "16-Hour Cannabis Butter"—where you'll find her chocolate-avocado mousse.
Yes, avocado. This no-cook version of mousse, a dessert that typically requires you to melt chocolate and beat it with cream until the whole thing gets aerated, relies on ripe avocados for a velvety, whipped texture. It sounds unlikely, especially because the whole process takes only 10 minutes, but it works brilliantly. As Bronfman notes, the key—after combining the ripe avocado flesh, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, and nut or dairy milk in the food processor—is to transfer the mixture to a bowl and whip by hand to get a fluffy texture.
As for serving the mousse, there is no key—do what feels good. You can serve it plain, or with whipped coconut cream and berries as she suggests in the book.
"Sometimes, I may throw some raspberries in right at the end, which is a little nod to my avocado cherry chunk ice cream," says Bronfman. "If you’re really in a mood, the mousse makes a great dip for a cookie—personally, my cookie preference is a salty chocolate chip cookie that I dip in some mousse."
By math, I'd be doubly powerless against that.
| 2 | ripe avocados, pitted and peeled |
| 1/4 | cup mild honey or agave nectar |
| 1/4 | cup unsweetened natural (not Dutch-process) cocoa powder |
| 2 | tablespoons milk of your choice (use a non-dairy milk if you'd like to keep this vegan) |
| 1 | teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1/8 | teaspoon sea salt |
| For Serving | |
| Coconut whipped cream | |
| Fresh berries |
| 2 | ripe avocados, pitted and peeled |
| 1/4 | cup mild honey or agave nectar |
| 1/4 | cup unsweetened natural (not Dutch-process) cocoa powder |
| 2 | tablespoons milk of your choice (use a non-dairy milk if you'd like to keep this vegan) |
| 1 | teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1/8 | teaspoon sea salt |
| For Serving | |
| Coconut whipped cream | |
| Fresh berries |
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