Raw Chocolate Mousse Tart

This tart is a varourite of ours to take to parites. The mousse is silky smooth and packed full of flavour and the base is crunchy and sweet. It’s ridiculously easy to make and also egg free, dairy and gluten free. It can also be made suitable for vegetarians. You would never know it though,

TO MAKE THE BASE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds (you could also use macadamia nuts)
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (you could also simply use cashew or almonds)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or raw sugar)

Method:

• Blend the almonds until they resemble breadcrumbs
• Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until mixture begins to come together.
• Grease a spring form cake tin with olive oil or butter.
• Take some of the mixture and start to lay on the base of the cake tin – 1/2 centimetre thick is a good thickness and continue until the base is completely covered and even. You can go up the sides of the tin also if you wish, although I like to keep the sides free so that when you take the pan off you can see the delicious filling.
• Place in the fridge to set while you make the filling.

TO MAKE THE FILLING

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut cream (place in freezer for 1 hour to solidify)
• 1 cup cashew pieces soaked overnight in water
• Honey or rice malt syrup (vegan alternative)
  to taste.
• 2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 4tbp water for at least 15 mins.
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (extra)
• 1 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or sugar of your choice). The mousse is also delicious using only 1/4 cup sugar.

To prepare:

• If using whole cashews, place in a ziplock bag and break nuts down using a rolling pin to hit the nuts.
• Place cashews in 3 cups water, and allow to soak for at least 12 hours. Soaking the nuts makes them soft and will easily blend to a smooth paste.
• Place can of coconut cream either in the fridge overnight, or if short on time in the freezer for 1 hour. This thickens the cream and gives body to the mousse.

To make:

• When ready to make the mousse, drain the water from the cashews and blend on high speed until a smooth paste forms. You may need to continuously turn off the blender to scrape down the sides and stir the mixture. This may take several minutes.
• If the nuts don’t completely break down, add a tablespoon of coconut cream at a time and blend (see step below). The nuts should break down with the addition of the cream.
• Open the canned coconut cream and carefully scoop the solidified cream from the top of the can (the water sinks to the bottom) into the blender with the cashews and blend to combine until smooth. (Underneath with be milky water. Set this aside for using in smoothies or curries)
• Continue to stop the blender and scrape down the sides of the container and stir to ensure a silky smooth mixture.
• Add the soaked chia and blend to combine
• Add the cocoa powder and coconut sugar to the mixture and blend to combine.
• Finally, sprinkle the extra 1tbsp of chia seeds on top of the mixture and blend to combine.
• Continue to blend for approximately 3 minutes. The longer you blend, the smoother and fluffier the mousse becomes.
• Pour the mousse into the tart shell and place in the freezer to set quickly for 2 hours.
• To serve, sprinkle with any of the following:  sifted cocoa, cacao, cacao nibs, goji berries, coconut flakes, orange zest.

Got some of the base left over? No problem! You can make it into little bites

Got some of the mousse left over? You can serve in some delicious glasses

THE NUTRITION
It’s not calorie or fat free but it is packed with a powerful nutrient punch.

The base:

• Leave the mixture with a slight ‘chunk factor’. Your body has to then work harder to digest the nuts and seeds.
• Coconut sugar is low GI. It still contains the same amount of calories as white sugar, though won’t give your blood sugars the large peaks and troughs. It also has a delightful caramel flavour.
• Sultanas contain fibre for a healthy digestive system.
• Almonds are our heart’s best friend. They are packed full of heart healthy monounsaturated fats which have proven to help lower our cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. They also contain vitamins, minerals and fibre. Vitamin E is particularly high in almonds, which is an important antioxidant to prevent cell damage, reduce inflammation and even enhance the immune system. The protein helps build bone and muscle, repair tissue and help to keep us full.
• Sunflower kernels are also fabulous sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, fibre and Vitamin E and have anti inflammatory effects. Like almonds, sunflower kernels are also high in protein. My favourite nutrient in the world, tryptophan is found in high levels in sunflower kernels. This amino acid can help to make us feel happy, as once it enters the body it is converted to the happy hormone serotonin.

The Mousse:

Normally mousse contains melted chocolate containing fat and loads of sugar. It also contains whipped cream. Although this mousse is not by any means calorie free, though it does contain MORE nutrition than normal every day chocolate mousse.

• Chia – fibre, protein, iron and omega 3’s. The chia is used to set and thicken the mousse.
• Coconut cream: Delicious flavour. It contains sarated fat, and half of this saturated fat is still the bad fat for our heart, though half is actually good. (I still only recommend coconut in moderation, you can read my article here).
• Cocoa: Contains fibre, vitamins and minerals and gives that super chocolate hit, without the fat and sugar normally added to chocolate.
• Coconut Sugar: Has a delightful caramel flavour and a GI of only 35, making it a low GI sugar. This means, it does not give your blood sugar levels the high and low peaks and troughs.
• Cashews: Packed full of fibre and wonderful heart healthy unsaturated fats. They are also high in minerals such as iron, potassium, manganese and copper as well as phytochemicals to protect against cancers and disease.