Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cups (vegan, grain-free, nut-free)

Special thank you to Amore di Mona for sponsoring this post.

As promised I have another chocolate Valentine’s day recipe for you today, really lovely Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cups. Chocolate and raspberries couldn’t be more perfect for each other, the sharpness of raspberries against the bitterness of dark chocolate works just so well.

To make the chocolate cases I’ve used Amore di Mona dark chocolate which I filled with vegan raspberry mousse made with raspberries, agar flakes and aquafaba. The chickpea brine referred to as aquafaba makes this mousse really fluffy and agar helps to stabilise it creating an unusually delicious dessert.

If you haven’t whipped aquafaba before, it’s just like whipping egg whites, it only takes little longer and ideally you will need a stand-up mixer for the task. Just leave it whisking on high speed for 10-15 minutes until it forms stiff peaks, then add 1/4tsp cream of tartar for stability and you are done.

Agar is a jelling agent made from seaweed and it comes in form of powder and flakes. In this recipe I’ve used agar flakes, you can also use agar powder, just reduce the quantity in the recipe according to the package instructions. It’s very easy to work with, you just have to get the consistency right by experimenting with the right amount as it often varies. Once you make the raspberry mixture, leave it to cool down and then gently fold in to the whipped aquafaba, you will have beautiful raspberry mousse.

You can use a sweetener of your choice, add some to the raspberry mix together with the agar. I haven’t add any sweetener the second time making it and I really liked it that way. If you’re avoiding sugar it’s perfectly fine to leave it out, you will have some sweetness coming from the chocolate that off sets the sharpness of the raspberries.

The chocolate cases are so simple to make and look so effective in this dessert. I’ve used strong silver paper cupcake liners and I swirled the chocolate around to coat them. I think it would be even easier using silicone ones.

You can get really creative with the toppings, I’ve made few chocolate hearts and sprinkled some freeze dried raspberries and chocolate shards on top. Enjoy:)

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Yield: 8 cups

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cups (vegan, grain-free, nut-free)

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Ingredients

Chocolate cups:

• 150g bulk chocolate (2 1/2 cubes) or dark vegan chocolate (5.2 oz)
• 8 silicone or strong paper cupcake liners

Raspberry mousse:

• 300g frozen raspberries (3 cups)
• 60ml water (1/4 cup)
• 2tbsp agar flakes
• 1-2tbsp raw sugar or your favourite sweetener
• 60ml aquafaba (1/4 cup)
• 1/4tsp cream of tartar

Topping:

• chocolate hearts
• freeze dried raspberries
• chocolate shards

Instructions

1. To make the chocolate cups finely chop the chocolate, place into a bowl and gently melt in a double boiler or microwave. Stir until completely smooth.
2. Spoon about 1tbsp of chocolate into a case and swirl around until completely coated, tip the rest back into the bowl. Repeat with all of the cases. Another way you can do this is by brushing the cases with a pastry brush until evenly coated all around.
3. Place all of the cases into fridge for about 10 minutes until set. Once set check if the chocolate layer is thick enough to be able to peel the case without breaking. If not re melt the leftover chocolate and brush the areas where it looks too thin. Place into fridge until set.
4. Now gently peel away the cupcake cases and set the chocolate cups aside. If any break, you can simply re melt the chocolate and start again.
5. To make the raspberry mousse filling place the raspberries with water into a medium pot and bring to a boil, gently simmer for 5-10 minutes until broken down and mushy.
6. Press the mixture through a mesh sieve discarding all the seeds. You should have about 360ml (1 1/2 cup) liquid. Now pour it back into the pot.
7. Stir in agar flakes and sugar and bring back to a boil. Leave to simmer for about 15 minutes stirring frequently until the flakes have dissolved. This takes less time if you're using agar powder.
8. Take off the heat and leave to cool down while whisking the aquafaba.
9. Place the aquafaba into a bowl of your stand up mixer and whisk for about 10-15 minutes until it forms stiff peaks. Add cream of tartar and whisk for another minute. If you like more sweetness you can add some powdered sugar with the cream of tartar at this stage.
10. Gently fold in cooled raspberry mixture.
11. Dollop spoonfuls into each of the chocolate cases and decorate with some chocolate hearts, raspberries and chocolate shards.
12. Place into a fridge until ready to serve.
13. They will keep well until the next day.

Notes

I've made the chocolate hearts for the top using a heart shaped silicone mould with the leftover melted chocolate.
I've used frozen raspberries, because raspberries are not in season at the moment, but you can use fresh raspberries if you prefer instead.