Plum & Chocolate Mousse
We all love to have something sweet from time to time, don’t we? I don’t deny myself such small pleasures, but you know that I like it when it’s both tasty and healthy. That is why I use what is naturally good to create real goodies, such as this wonderful plum and chocolate mousse.
You can eat it as a snack on its own, add it to waffles or gluten-free pancakes, or freeze it and serve it in the form of homemade ice cream. There are numerous ways you can use it, especially because this mousse is suitable for those on a vegan, gluten-free or dairy-free diet.
Preparation
I soaked the prunes in boiling water and let them sit for about 20 minutes. In the meantime I melted the chocolate in a water bath. Then I blended the drained plums with avocado pulp, maple syrup, lemon juice and chocolate. I put the mixture into a bowl. That’s it.
Soaking the prunes is what makes it a mousse
Twenty minutes in boiling water turns dried plums soft enough to blend into a smooth cream. Skip the soak and the blender leaves you with dark specks in a grainy paste, and no amount of extra blending fixes it, because the pieces are simply too dry to break down.
Drain them properly before blending. The soaking water carries a lot of sweetness, so it is tempting to keep it, but adding it back gives you a mousse loose enough to run off a spoon. If the blender struggles, add the water back a teaspoon at a time rather than by the splash.
The avocado, and why you will not taste it
Avocado is here for texture, not flavour. Its fat is what makes the mousse smooth and glossy rather than sticky in the way a date-and-cocoa paste is, and cocoa is strong enough to cover it completely. What ruins that is an avocado that is not ripe: it stays fibrous, it will not blend out, and its grassy taste does come through.
Use one that gives under gentle pressure at the stem end. Brown strings running through the flesh mean the opposite problem, an avocado gone too far, and those threads survive the blender as well.
Melting chocolate in a water bath
Set the bowl over simmering water, not boiling, and make sure the base does not touch the water. Chocolate seizes into a stiff grainy lump around 50 degrees, and once that happens the batch is finished. Keep the heat low and stir until the last pieces melt off the heat.
The other way to seize it is steam. A drop of water from the lid or from a wet spoon is enough, which is the reason the prunes have to be drained rather than added dripping. Let the melted chocolate cool for a minute before it goes into the blender, because pouring it hot onto cold avocado sets it into flecks.
Sweetness, consistency and keeping
Prunes and maple syrup carry the sweetness, and how sweet the result is depends mostly on your chocolate. Blend first, taste, then add syrup, because it is the one thing you can still adjust at the end. The lemon juice is not there to be tasted either: it lifts the plums and stops the avocado browning.
The mousse keeps three days in the fridge, covered, and firms up as it chills. Frozen it makes the ice cream mentioned above, though it sets hard, so take it out 10 minutes before serving. If you would rather have desserts like this one planned into the week along with your meals, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
Plum and chocolate mousse
Ingredients
Method
- Soak the dried plums in boiling water and leave them for about 20 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate in a water bath over simmering water, keeping the bowl clear of the water itself.
- Drain the plums well and blend them with the avocado pulp, maple syrup, lemon juice and the melted chocolate.
- Put the mixture into a bowl and serve, or freeze it for homemade ice cream.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Twenty minutes in boiling water softens them enough to blend into a smooth cream. Without the soak the blender leaves dark specks in a grainy paste, because the pieces are too dry to break down however long you run it.
No, as long as it is ripe. The avocado is there for texture: its fat makes the mousse smooth and glossy rather than sticky, and the cocoa covers it completely. An underripe one stays fibrous and its grassy taste does come through.
Melt it over simmering rather than boiling water, keep the bowl clear of the water itself, and take it off the heat before the last pieces have gone. A drop of water or steam will seize it just as fast as too much heat, which is why the plums have to be drained rather than added dripping.
Any liquid sweetener, or nothing at all. The prunes carry most of the sweetness and how sweet the result turns out depends mostly on the chocolate you use, so blend first, taste, and add the syrup at the end when you can still judge it.
Three days in the fridge, covered, and it firms up as it chills. It also freezes into ice cream, though it sets hard, so take it out about 10 minutes before serving. Desserts like this one come planned into the week alongside your meals in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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