Effortless Dessert: A Sexy Dairyless Chocolate Mousse

I saw this recipe in the Super Natural Cooking cookbook and the reason that I was drawn to it is because it's a versatile treat. Meaning you can make it for an easy snack or with a few presentation tricks, you can add a hint of elegance to it.

I try and stay away from cow's milk and in the cases that I do drink it, it's from Butter Patch Jerseys just down the road. But there are plenty of reasons to avoid it. Mickey wrote that "[t]he 9 million cows living on dairy farms in the United States spend most of their lives in large sheds or on feces-caked mud lots, where disease is rampant. Cows raised for their milk are repeatedly impregnated. Their babies are taken away so that humans can drink the milk intended for the calves."

That just doesn't seem appetizing to me. In fact, it's disgusting and the fact of the matter is that there are so many alternative nowadays, why do it? I'm not sure how you feel about your nondairy milk substitutes but here's my feeling on the subject. If I want to drink it, I like full fat soy milk. Full fat vanilla soy milk and rice milk is also good for desserts because it's a bit sweeter. If you're looking to save calories, you can try unsweetened almond milk. I'm not really a fan of almond milk by itself but it's pretty good in smoothies, tea, or coffee.

In this recipe I use a full fat chocolate soy milk so that the mousse will be thick and rich. You can use a pastry bag to pipe the mousse into all sorts of decorative glasses.

Dairyless Chocolate Mousse

½ cup chocolate soy milk

1 ½ cups dark chocolate discs (you'll find these at the health foods store)

12 ounces silken soft tofu

¼ cup amaretto

¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

Pinch sea salt

Method

1. Pour milk into a small saucepan and turn to low or simmer. Let cool for a bit.

2. Slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler.

3. Combine soy milk, chocolate, and tofu and puree with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender combine in a blender gradually.

4. Add in amaretto, vanilla extract, and a generous pinch of sea salt.

5. Chill in a large bowl for about 2 hours.

6. Pipe into chosen glass. You could also consider making a parfait with various toppings like seasonal fruit, nuts, chocolate shavings, or coconut shavings.