Place chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl above a simmering pot of water and stir slowly to melt. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, place the yoghurt in a bowl and whip using an electric beater. Add the coconut cream and beat until you achieve soft peaks, not stiff. Over whipping will result in a grainy texture.
A few quick whisks, and then you are ready to fold, which will take your cream to medium peaks. Transfer your chocolate into the whipped cream and yoghurt.
Fold gently until combined. Divide between small bowls or glasses. Place in the fridge for at least one hour to chill.
This mousse will keep for a few days, making it an ideal make-ahead dessert for dinner parties or part of your meal preparation routine.
Chocolate mousse is easy to modify. I had made several iterations over the years for work. All somewhat disappointing. And there is no shortage of chocolate mousse recipes—many with few ingredients. Still, the traditional method is worth learning because life is short, and you need to be eating ridiculously good mousse. Before discovering this method that was not vegan, I followed vegan recipes that called for almond milk and maple syrup. And they were not what I thought mousse should be. Utterly decadent.
For this coconut chocolate mousse, I am using chocolate from a client of mine—Flint Chocolate. It is a 65 per cent Peruvian and Ecuadorian cacao, sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar. All organic and fairly traded. I was photographing this recipe ahead of our Tuesday night house dinner, so I wanted to show the chocolate off. It worked out well, and it’s a recipe that you can prepare for when people come to yours. Or you just make it for yourself. Below is your guide to dreamy mousse, every time.
Traditionally, mousse is made of very few ingredients— the base, the aerator, the sweetener (which is usually added to the aerator), and the thickener. This reads dairy and eggs, also white sugar, neither of which we are using here. Here we are preparing mousse made by folding aerators into a base. Using coconut cream combined with coconut yoghurt, which is 35 per cent fat with quality dark chocolate removes the need for the sweetener and the setting agent.
While 200 grams seems like a lot of chocolate, this recipe serves many. The unsatisfactory mousse I had made previously, anything using cacao powder cannot produce a firm texture. Magic happens during cooling when the chocolate in within the mousse mixture crystallises. Using less chocolate creates a soft mousse.
The mousse base This is your main flavouring component. And for chocolate mousse, we are using melted, slightly cool chocolate. Therefore, the flavour profile of the chocolate you choose will ultimately provide tasting notes. As previously mentioned, using chocolate removes the need for adding a thickener as chocolate naturally sets up under refrigeration.
The mousse aerator Mousse recipes always contain an aerator, and they often include more than one. Here we are using coconut cream and coconut yoghurt. You begin with the most stable aerator. This is why we are working with the coconut yoghurt first, then the coconut cream. And always use cream with a maximum fat content of 35%. No cans of reduced fat!
Folding At this step, you are folding the aerators into the base. You are not mixing. Ideally, temper your mixture by adding a small amount—about 25 per cent of the coconut mixture to the chocolate and fold to combine. This approach lightens the base, making it easier to incorporate the remaining aerator. Work quickly and minimally. The more you mix, the more you’re deflating each aerator.
Setting Mousse requires refrigeration before it can be served, up to one hour. Eat with a teaspoon. It is rich.
