At the conclusion of the seventh and last session of my Designed for Health series, I was able to share with the participants a little magic secret: Two (or three) Ingredient Chocolate Mousse!

With the Halloween season upon us, it’s only fitting to add some magic to the scene. Knowing that chocolate is a very allowable whole food fat source, this is a tasty, satisfying, and potentially elegant way to enjoy all of the goodness that chocolate can impart. The best part, this is so rich that one recipe will go a long way—I seriously wanted to use demitasse spoons to serve this, but I didn’t have any.

Anyway, there are a few versions of this floating around cyberspace, but this one does it for me and proved to be a real crowd-pleaser. Follow me as we journey through the land of Magic Mousse!

Recipe for Magic Mousse

4 oz. dark chocolate

3 oz. water **

Pinch of salt

Recipe for Magic Whipped Topping

Coconut cream from one can full fat coconut milk

Vanilla or almond extract

½ tsp. sugar- optional

Method

While higher concentrations of cocoa are desirable– because a big hit of sweetness is not the goal of eating chocolate that is good for you as opposed to sugary concoctions disguised as chocolate that are not good for you—I settled on a bar that’s 60% cocoa and is also flavored with mint. This is a good level of cocoa especially for palate’s not accustomed to higher concentrations.

I actually doubled the recipe for the mousse, so these chocolate pictures reflect double ingredients. Place the chocolate and water in a sauce pan and slowly melt, stirring with a whisk. Being someone who does not waste a drop of chocolate, I used the whisk

attachment from the electric beater I will use in a few moments.

**Note: the fluid amount of 3 ounces could be a combination of 2 oz. water and 1 oz. of spirits! I have used brandy in the past, and the results are superb!

Once the chocolate is melted and the fluid incorporated, remove from the heat. Transfer the melted chocolate mixture into a small bowl and place that bowl in an ice bath (ice cubes and water).

I am blessed to own these flexible silicone bowls (thank you Pampered Chef!) and the flexibility really comes in handy here. I pinch the bowl top together during the first few minutes of whipping to avoid chocolate spray going everywhere! What you do here is beat, beat, beat….

This double recipe took me every bit of 12 minutes! I remember the single recipe taking over five minutes. But this is where the MAGIC is! You think nothing is ever going to happen. You check. Nope. You check again. Nope. Then you think you noticed a slight change in the texture…was it real? Then, BLAM! It’s mousse! It can actually be easy to over-beat this and get something much firmer than mouse– which would require re-heating and re-beating. My mousse has turned out a little on the firmer side, but it is still nice!

So now, you dish this Magic Mousse into the desired serving dishes. I was taking this batch to class, so I used 2 ounce condiment containers with snap lids, but at home I would use 2 ounce soufflé cups. For extra fanciness, one could use a pastry bag and prettily pipe the mousse into the cups!

For the Magic Whipped Topping, chill the can of full fat coconut milk for 2 hours in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer so when you open the can, you are greeted with beautiful, white coconut cream.

Carefully spoon the coconut cream into (the same) small bowl—again, I just do not want to waste a drop of the chocolate, so if there is left-over chocolate on the whip or in the bowl—fine by me! Save the rest of the coconut milk for a smoothie, a gravy, or cook in some rice for added lusciousness.

With the coconut cream bowl in the ice bath, whip, whip, whip… when things start looking like whipped cream, add the vanilla or almond extract and dab of sugar, if desired, and keep beating away until it looks like this:

Then put a dollop of the whipped cream on the mouse, and voila!

 

You have yourself an amazing creation that looks and tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen— but that can be our little secret!

Seriously, this is rich! I prefer to savor this using a tiny spoon we used to feed our babies, so I am definitely in the market for demitasse spoons now!

My next blog will be a summary of what was covered during our Designed for Health Series and will also include some recipes the class participants shared as they are eating foods that are naturally healthful.

Happy Halloween and enjoy some MAGIC!

Deidre