FLUFFY & AIRY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Hello dear readers, it’s Rita here. A chocolate mousse is nothing new, right? It’s one of those universally loved desserts, cherished by almost everyone. Nostalgic, simple, deeply comforting. It delivers exactly what it promises. And whether it’s store-bought, from a packet, ordered at a restaurant, or made at home, a good chocolate mousse always hits the spot.

Still, this version of ours has a few details that make it special. To begin with, it’s made with dark chocolate and very little added sugar (in our case, maple syrup), which gives it a more grown-up, intense and balanced flavour than the classic mousses of children’s birthday parties. Then — and perhaps more surprisingly — it’s a 100% vegan chocolate mousse, homemade, made with just a handful of ingredients… one of which is rather unexpected: aquafaba.

What is aquafaba, you ask? It’s simply the cooking (or preserving) liquid from chickpeas. You can make your own by cooking dried chickpeas and reducing the cooking water until it’s slightly thickened, but if convenience is your priority, all you need to do is open a can or jar of cooked chickpeas and save the liquid. That liquid behaves very much like egg whites: with a little apple cider vinegar and a powerful mixer, it whips up into a firm, white, voluminous foam. Magic. Chemistry. It never ceases to amaze me.

There are plenty of advantages to using aquafaba instead of egg whites in a chocolate mousse: it adds no cholesterol, eliminates the risks associated with raw eggs, and makes this dessert kinder to animals, all without compromising texture or flavour. Everyone wins.

Now for an honest warning: this isn’t a difficult recipe, but it does require attention. It’s quick and simple, yes, but it calls for some technical care, especially in how the chocolate is handled and combined with the aquafaba.

The chocolate should be melted slowly in a bain-marie over medium-low heat. The goal is to avoid overheating it: chocolate that gets too hot can seize, turn grainy, and become impossible to properly incorporate into a mousse. In those cases, it can still be used for sauces or hot chocolate, but it won’t work here.

Likewise, direct contact between melted chocolate and moist ingredients — such as aquafaba or maple syrup — can cause the same unwanted effect. That’s why, once melted, the chocolate should cool slightly off the heat. Start by adding a generous spoonful of aquafaba to the chocolate, stirring vigorously to incorporate it. Only then do you add more aquafaba, little by little. This process should be fairly quick: the cooler the chocolate gets, the harder it becomes to achieve a fluffy, airy mousse without chocolate grains. The maple syrup is added only once about half of the aquafaba has been incorporated and the chocolate remains smooth and stable.

Only then do we fold this mixture into the remaining whipped aquafaba, gently this time, using a spatula. Preserving those tiny air bubbles created during whipping is essential, as they’re what give the mousse its light, almost spongy texture, with those soft little crackling sounds when you dip in your spoon.

It’s a recipe that may test your patience… but I promise it’s worth it. Just look at these perfect little jars. Fair warning: they rarely last more than 24 hours before disappearing. You’ll see.