CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TART

I often come up with dessert ideas while I'm feeding Kyri. Who knows if it's the oxytocin or prolactin hormones but my mind is racing with great ideas, like this one! That is when my creative juices are flowing. I am not referring to my milk as the juice. haha

Our lifestyle is so healthy and I always love to treat Tod and I with a delicious dessert once in a while (more like every couple days). It's so nice because I had all these ingredients in the house already so I just go crazy with what I have. The base was simple, just nuts, dates and coconut oil - all added to my mini food processor/chopper. (Every person who bakes or cooks should have one. You can get one for around $25 at any kitchen store or Home Hardware, Canadian Tire, and I've seen them at London Drugs too. They are so easy to clean and they only come with one S-blade and they are the perfect size really. I use it every time I'm in the kitchen.)

The mousse was made in the blender. I have a plain ol' blender, no vita mix (I wish) and on high speed the cashews blend great. It contains 1 can of coconut cream, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1 tsp coconut oil, and 1/2 cup cashews, soaked. Then freeze. It comes out rich and thick. Sooo perfect in sooo many ways. It's raw, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Chocolate Mousse Tart 

Chocolate mousse...rich and decedent. Creamy and luxurious. Heavenly. 

Makes 2  4" tarts 

Prepare ahead - Place 1 can of coconut milk in the fridge the day before

- Soak cashews, covered in filtered water, for 4 hours

- Remove pits and soak 2 dates, covered in filtered water, for 20 minutes

Tart base 

·         1 cup raw nuts, I used pecans 

·         2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted

·         2 dates, pits removed and soaked

Chocolate Mousse 

·         1 400ml. can coconut milk, full fat

·         3 Tbsp. cacao powder 

·         1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

·         2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted 

·         2 Tbsp. unpasteurized honey or clear unpasteurized agave nectar

·         1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked

1. Place 1 can of coconut milk I the fridge the day before. Soak cashews for 4 hours. Rinse. Remove pits and soak dates for 20 minutes. Drain.

Base –Add coconut oil, soaked dates, and nuts to a food processor and blend until fully incorporated. Divided up the mixture into two parts. Scooped into the tart mold and pressed down firmly. Cover and freeze.
 

2. Mousse - Open a can of coconut milk and scoop out cream from the top of the can into a medium pan and let melt (save water for a smoothie). Add coconut oil to a pan and melt on low heat. Add cacao, vanilla, and honey/agave to the pan and stir to combine. Pour into a high speed blender, along with soaked cashews and blend on high until smooth. Add mixture to a freezer safe bowl, cover and freeze for half an hour. After it is cold and thickens, place into a piping bag with the flower tip and pipe into your frozen tart base. If you do not have a piping bag you can scoop out the mixture with a spoon like ice cream and fill your tart base.
 

3. Optional - For the chocolate pieces I melted 1/4 cup chocolate chips and poured it into a Ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the corner. I piped out U shape pieces on parchment paper. The parchment paper was slightly rounded which made the cool fold effect. I froze the parchment paper to harden the chocolate and then placed the U shaped chocolate pieces in the mousse. 

These chocolate mousse tarts were rich, flavorful, sweet, savory, melt in your mouth amazing. They would be perfect as a birthday dessert. Thinking of you Mom!