When I lived in Philadelphia I was fortunate enough to go to fancypants vegan restaurant Horizons* on more than one occasion, and the food totally blew my mind each time. This recipe for toasted coconut chocolate mousse comes from Horizons: New Vegan Cuisine, and it is absurdly delicious.
Rich, creamy and decadent, this is definitely a special occasion dessert. It makes a thick, dense chocolate mousse, rather than a light and fluffy one, so you could easily use it to make truffles. And it’s surprisingly simple to make.
Toasted Coconut Chocolate Mousse
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- ½ c flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ¾ Tbsp vegan butter
- 4 oz silken tofu
- ½ c unsweetened shredded coconut
- chocolate syrup, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a double-boiler or microwave, heat coconut milk and margarine until melted.
- Add chocolate chips and stir until completely smooth.
- In a blender, blend chocolate mixture and tofu until smooth.
- Add half the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture; beat until smooth.
- Add remaining chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.
- Pour into a covered dish or deep bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, in an ungreased frying pan over medium heat, lightly toast coconut, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing burns.
- Transfer coconut to a bowl to cool.
- When mousse is set, scoop into balls of whatever size you prefer and toss in coconut flakes.
- Plate with chocolate syrup, if desired.
*For the serious restaurant-goers out there, Horizons closed in 2011, but the owners opened a new restaurant in its stead called Vedge.
11 comments
Johanna says:
Feb 11, 2013
The uncooked flour doesn’t taste weird?
claryn says:
Feb 11, 2013
Nope! It doesn’t do anything to the texture, either, besides thickening everything. You’d never know it’s in there.
Johanna says:
Feb 11, 2013
Thanks for letting me know!!!
Emma says:
Feb 11, 2013
What an interesting recipe. The presentation looks super fancy. I think I’d go for a raspberry coulis instead of the choc syrup though
Thanks for sharing.
claryn says:
Feb 11, 2013
Hey, far be it from me to discourage anyone from pairing chocolate and raspberry!
Gina says:
Feb 18, 2014
I can’t do soy. Any ideas for a sub for the tofu? Think avocado might work?
claryn says:
Feb 19, 2014
I haven’t tried substituting avocado for the tofu, but I think it’s a good bet that it would work. My guess is that the final product would be a bit softer than what’s pictured, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Johanna says:
Feb 19, 2014
I went to Horizons once, too, and it was delicious, and I bought their cookbook. I own VEDGE now, too. I have to try this.
Selda says:
Mar 22, 2014
This looks incredible! Could I replace the regular flour for buckwheat flour though?
claryn says:
Mar 26, 2014
I don’t see why not, Selda. The flour is mostly just in there to thicken things up, so any neutral-tasting flour should be fine! Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Maddie says:
Sep 29, 2014
I made this last night and it was – hands down – the best chocolate mousse I have ever had in my life.
I chilled my glass-blender carafe before mixing (on the “whip” setting) for 5 minutes straight…. then, transferred it to a stainless steel bowl before refridgerating… then served it in chilled glass cups.
Topped with homemade coconut-cream “cool whip” and strawberries on top.
let’s just say, my boyfriend was into it