Vegan Rich Chocolate Mousse

Today I have a rich chocolate mousse recipe that is guilt free and sooo delicious. The secret ingredient in this mousse is soft silken tofu. I was initially skeptical about using tofu in a dessert because I've had some really bad experiences with tofu based desserts years ago and I have not gone back to it till now.

I saw this recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine and wanted to give it a second chance. I was pleasantly surprised how chocolaty and creamy this mousse turned out and there was no tell-tale sign of tofu. I made this last weekend to eat as a movie night treat and both my kids absolutely loved it.

Talking about movies, my son is a big fan of Angry Birds and he's very excited about the new Angry birds movie that is releasing today. He wants to watch at the theater, but I prefer to watch movies at home sitting cozily on the couch and eating some homemade movie night snacks.

I prefer sweet snacks over savory for movie nights. Don't ask me why?? But the family loves both -- sweet and savory. My personal favorites are caramel popcorn and ice cream. Family also loves these SkinnyPop Popcorn and the great thing about them is you could pick either sweet (some dusted chocolate??) or savory (jalapeno, yumm!!) and they are guilt free because they are made with few, clean and simple ingredients.

If you prefer homemade chocolate treat, then try this yummy mousse. It takes about 10 minutes to make this, so it's a great make-ahead dessert. I topped them with chopped strawberries and almonds.

Vegan Rich Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

• 4oz. Bittersweet or Dark Chocolate, broken into pieces (I used 60%cocoa bittersweet chocolate)
• 2tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 12oz. Soft Silken Tofu (about 2/3rd of 1lb. container), drained
• ¼cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1tbsp Raw Cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• Pinch Salt

Method:

1. Place chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for 1½~2 minutes or until melted. Whisk till smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Place the tofu in a blender or food process and process till completely smooth and creamy.
3. Add brown sugar, cacao powder, vanilla, salt and the melted chocolate and process till the mixture is thick and smooth, make sure to scrape the sides down.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual serving bowls and chill before serving.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: May -- Week 3'.