After publishing my easy lactose free chocolate mousse (and developing my Ninja Creami vegan vanilla ice cream) I knew I wanted to publish this dairy free chocolate mousse recipe. It combines the egg free simplicity of my mousse recipe and my new obsession with vegan cream. The result is an airy light yet undetectably dairy free, vegan chocolate mousse.
Dairy free chocolate mousse
This mousse recipe is dairy free, egg free, vegan and gluten free. It uses dark chocolate that is dairy free (more on this below) icing sugar and dairy free cream (more on this below, too).
The process of making the mousse is simple. First, we finely chop the chocolate. Half of the cream is heated over a medium flame until it is hot to the touch but not bubbling. The hot cream is poured over the chopped chocolate, melting it perfectly.
To finish, the dairy free cream is whipped with the icing sugar before adding in the melted chocolate. After setting in the fridge, you have a delightfully chocolatey and rich chocolate mousse that is completely dairy free.
Notes on the dairy free chocolate
Because this mousse is dairy free, we obviously need to use dairy free chocolate. In Australia, there are a number of supermarket chocolate brands that are naturally dairy free. They are the darker varieties of chocolate, normally 70% cocoa or beyond.
I have tested Lindt 70% and Whittakers Dark Ghana for this recipe. Both brands are also readily available at supermarkets here. They are both made without milk solids, which means they are dairy free, with caveats.
Both packages mention that they ‘may contain milk’ likely meaning that they are manufactured somewhere where cross contamination may occur. If you have a dairy allergy, you will need to ascertain with the manufacturer or use a certified dairy free brand.
If you can’t find these brands where you live, look for 70% cocoa style chocolate and read the labels.
Because we need to use a dark variety of chocolate which is generally not super sweet, we’re adding icing sugar to compensate. If the chocolate you are using is sweet, use less icing sugar.
Notes on the dairy free cream
Like in my vegan vanilla ice cream, I used Flora plant cream in this recipe. This isn’t sponsored, just genuine appreciation for a useful product. The plant cream here in Australia contains 30g fat per 100ml. This is roughly on par with regular thickened cream, which is generally around 35g fat per 100ml.
The Australian version uses the following ingredients: ‘Lentil milk (water, lentil Protein (1%)), vegetable oils (coconut, canola),sugar, modified corn starch, emulsifiers (sunflower lecithin, sugar esters of fatty acids, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids), stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum), natural flavourings, salt, colour (beta-carotene).’
If you’re based overseas, use a vegan with similar ingredients and proportions to the above for best results. Although I haven’t tested the versions overseas, they do seem to be very similar to the variety sold here in Australia. More on this below.
International readers
In the UK, there are two varieties of Flora plant cream – regular and double. You want to stay as close to 30g per 100ml fat as possible, so choose the double cream variety.
In researching, I came across Elmlea brand plant cream which also has a very similar ingredients list to Flora Plant cream. Make sure you choose the 100% plant cream version, though, as there seems to be a buttermilk version with a confusing name – ‘alternative to double cream.’
In America, it seems as though there is some Flora plant cream available in a limited capacity. However, it also appears that there is a variety from Country Crock that has similar ingredients to the Flora plant cream I used. It contains 30g fat per 100ml. I couldn’t tell if Canada has Country Crock or Flora plant cream available because their supermarkets have blocked international users from browsing.
I couldn’t find much information on the availability of vegan cream in Europe. Flora plant cream is made in Germany but I actually couldn’t determine whether it is available for sale there. I suspect that is to do with the fact that I live in Australia and I end up getting more local search results.
Either way, make sure your cream is at least 30% fat and has a similar ingredients list to the cream I have used. I can’t guarantee results that use something different.
Tips for your dairy free chocolate mousse
- The great thing about dairy free cream (and mousse) is that it’s very hard to over-whip. The result is an airy light mousse that is very hard to mess up.
- Personally, I think this mousse needs a higher amount of chocolate and a lower volume or sugar relative to my lactose free chocolate mousse recipe. Using more chocolate helps disguise the subtle dairy free cream taste, but it seems to carry sweetness more easily.
- I recommend leaning on a few teaspoons of fresh espresso, salt and vanilla bean extract to help disguise the dairy free cream and add flavour complexity to this mousse. You could also experiment with adding more chocolate if you’re looking for an ultra rich dairy free chocolate mousse.
More dairy free chocolate recipes
- Gluten free vegan chocolate mug cake
- Gluten free dairy free chocolate cake
- Gluten free vegan chocolate cake
- Gluten free vegan brownie cookies
- Gluten free vegan Hedgehog slice
Dairy free chocolate mousse (egg free)
Ingredients
For the dairy free chocolate mousse:
- 150 g dairy free dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%) see notes
- 75 g icing sugar, sieved
- 400 g Flora Plant Cream (see body of post for extensive notes) Comes in a 500ml box, reserve the remainder to top the mousse
Optional flavour enhancers
- 1-4 teaspoons fresh espresso
- fine salt, to taste
- vanilla bean paste or extract, to taste
To finish:
- Remaining Flora Plant Cream (approximately 85g)
- 10 g icing sugar, sieved
Instructions
To make the dairy free chocolate mousse:
- Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium/large heatproof mixing bowl.
- Measure 200g cream into a small saucepan and place it over a low/medium heat. Cook until the cream is hot to the touch but not bubbling furiously, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and place the chopping board on top to act as a lid. Allow this to sit for 1-2 minutes to completely melt the chocolate.
- Remove the chopping board and stir the mixture to combine. It should be a lovely medium chocolate brown in colour and a smooth, pourable consistency. Set aside to cool a little.
- In another mixing bowl, use hand beaters to whip the cream and icing sugar together. If you're not sure how sweet you would like the mousse, add a lesser amount of sugar. You can add more after you mix in the chocolate.
- Once the cream is whipped, it should look light and fluffy. It won't whip to firm peaks the way that regular cream does, but it should have faint beater tracks on the surface. This brand of vegan cream is very hard to over-whip.
- Add the slightly cooled chocolate mixture with the beaters still going. Continue to beat on a medium speed until the mixture is combined and chocolate brown in colour.
- Add any optional flavour enhancers here. Test to see that the mousse is sweet enough for your liking and add more sieved icing sugar if necessary. Mix to combine.
- Decant the chocolate mousse into your serving vessel/s of choice. I have used 6 X 180ml capacity (3/4 cup) serving glasses. You can also put the mousse in a bowl and serve it in scoops, but I find individual glasses look more generous and also make for the airiest mousse.
To finish:
- Whip the remaining cream together with the small amount of icing sugar. Serve each glass of mousse topped with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Some fresh berries are also a great addition.
Notes
- I recommend using a chocolate that just happens to be dairy free, rather than a coconut oil based or other specialty vegan chocolate. I have only tested this recipe with chocolate that uses cocoa butter solids. I have tested Lindt 70% and Whittakers Dark Ghana which are both available at Australian supermarkets.
- See the body of the post for information on Flora Plant Cream. This is not a sponsored post, I just really like the product for ease and it’s similar profile to cream. It (or a very similar product) is available in number of countries – see the body of the post for details.
- I find this mousse needs more chocolate and less sugar compared to my lactose free mousse recipe. I think it is nice and chocolatey as the recipe stands, but I daresay you could use up to 200g dark chocolate if you want a very rich mousse. You may need to add a bit of extra sugar.
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