No one will believe that this mousse is made from chickpeas water!
Do you know what aquafaba is?? I have no idea who found this, but it is a great vegan substitute for egg whites- yes, you read it right: Egg whites! It is the juice that is present in a can of chickpeas, and if you whip that juice long enough it will form stiff peaks like meringue does. Isn't this amazing? Who would have thought, chickpeas water in a dessert! So, next time when you get yourself a can of chickpeas save the juice and make yourself vegan meringue. This vegan meringue, can be used to make macarons, pavlova, etc. Anything that non vegan meringue is used for. Another great substitute used in vegan mousse are soaked and drained cashews, which give the mousse the creamy texture. With the cashews for creamy finish and aquafaba for fluffiness, what else do we need! And if the mousse is not creamy enough for you, then just use coconut cream, which will also add into the flavour of the mousse.
For this easy vegan strawberry mousse, I wanted to take no risks, so I used all three ingredients. Sometimes, people use silken tofu as well but I din't want to try that in my first vegan mousse attempt- but next time maybe😊 There are few things you need to get right in order for the mousse to take its shape. Firstly, soak the cashews for minimum 4-6 hours, so it becomes soft enough that when blended it becomes creamy. Secondly, and the most important one- whipping aquafaba! Whip it till it forms stiff peaks. Now some can take 5-10 mins while others take longer. Do not give up thinking the juice is not whipping. It may take quite some time but it will form peaks, unless the chickpeas can is very old or the juice has been refrigerated for more than 4-5 days.
And last one is to refrigerate the mousse for atleast an hour or so, for it to take shape and stay. I may have scared you with these details but trust me it won't be scary. Once you get a hang of it, you will love making vegan mousse.
Just try it, and let me know! If you do have any questions and/or are stuck somewhere, don't forget to leave comments below or just reach out to me via my Instagram page The Whisk Journal and I will be more than happy to answer all your questions.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Vegan Strawberry Mousse
¾ Cups Cashews, soaked in hot water for 4-6 hours
250 gm Strawberries, chopped(save some for garnishing)
½ Cup Coconut Cream
¼ Cup Aquafaba
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Maple syrup
Salt, as per taste
Directions
Vegan Strawberry Mousse
Blend the drained cashews, strawberries, coconut cream, salt and maple syrup in a blender to smooth creamy texture.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip the aquafaba and vanilla together for 10-15 minutes, or until stiff peaks are created. Aquafaba is the juice from a can of chickpeas.
Fold this mixture into the strawberry-cashew cream gently.
Add in some chopped strawberries, and fold gently.
Place this in serving jars, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Top it with half cut strawberries when serving
