Irish Liqueur-Chocolate Vegan Mousse

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I used Baileys Almande Almondmilk Liqueur and rich dark chocolate to make this sinfully delicious holiday dessert! With only four required ingredients and simple instructions, anyone is capable of creating this tasty treat!

It’s Thursday, a week and a half before Saint Patrick’s Day. Two days ago I was almost finished writing next week’s post, when it suddenly occurred to me — I can’t post Brussels sprouts, it’s the last Monday before St. Patty’s! That didn’t give me long to plan something, but luckily I had a couple ideas.

I knew I wanted to do a dessert. I knew this because I’ve been making the same dinner recipe on St. Patty’s Day for years, and I’m not interested in changing it. It’s that good. Last year I made a dessert I found online, something chocolate and mint, and I really wasn’t impressed. That’s why I wanted to create one myself.

I thought about the mint approach. I also played with the idea of something spicy using jalepeño. That dessert will definitely be in this blog’s future, however, jalapeño didn’t scream Irish to me, so I decided I’d save that one.

Then I thought about the Baileys. I remember how happy I was when they finally made their vegan, almond milk variety. It saved Christmas! Hahaha… saved might be an over exaggeration, but before going vegan, Baileys was always something I loved to add to my Christmas morning coffee, and now that’s again a possibility.

So once I decided on the liqueur, I needed to decide what I was going to do with it. My grandmother, I remember, would always make a green frosted cake for St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t remember how it tasted, but it was definitely beautiful and festive! The dinner I make is time consuming, and I really just wanted to make something simple for our dessert.

Finally, I decided a mousse was the way to go. Something like a vegan mousse is pretty simple, and I figured I could just replace the liquid with the Baileys.

I’d actually never used tofu for a mousse, or even a dessert, before. I did know that it was a “thing,” and I decided it’s what I wanted to try. Because I’m familiar with silken tofu, I knew it would have the right, smooth consistency. And since tofu by itself has such a bland flavor, I knew it wouldn’t be hard to hide.

That’s not to say I wasn’t worried I wouldn’t get it right on the first try. I’ve used tofu for cheeses and dressings, but like I said, never a dessert. It was getting too close to post day to have to do several test runs, so if I didn’t get this right, Irish Brussels sprouts it would be. I mean, they are green, that constitutes as Irish, right!?

To make the mousse, I first poured some of the liqueur into my double boiler with chunks of  non-dairy, 90 percent cocoa, chocolate bars. My husband had a bunch he got for Christmas and they were way too bitter to eat by themselves, so I’ve been using them for cooking. For that reason, I also added a little bit of 100 percent pure maple syrup.

I whisked these together until melted and smooth. I then tasted to check the flavor. I ended up adding a little more of both the Baileys and the maple. I needed more booze (LOL), and a little more sweet as well. If you end up using sweeter chocolate bars (something with a lower cocoa percentage), start with less maple syrup and add to taste.

Now, I say it needed more booze, but that’s not to say this isn’t a chocolaty, sweet dessert. The liqueur is very subtle, but I did want a hint of it in the flavor for sure. If you don’t know it’s there, however, you may not be able to tell. That might depend on how sensitive you are to an alcohol flavor. For me, I think I got it just right.

Once my chocolate was completely smooth and mixed up just the way I wanted, I added it to the food processor with the tofu. Silken tofu is very creamy, and unlike tofu that’s is packaged in water (the more common kind, found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store), it can be eaten raw, no problem. If you don’t know where to find silken tofu, I find mine at my health food store, in the aisle with the other Asian products. It comes in a small cardboard box.

I blended the tofu and the chocolate until completely combined, scraping at the sides as needed, and making sure there weren’t any lumps. After that, I scooped it into some stemless wine glasses and placed them in the refrigerator to cool. The mousse makes about 3 cups. Which is enough for four, 6-ounce servings. The ones shown in the picture are much larger servings, and you can double the batch, but remember, the base of these is tofu, which makes this a very filling treat. Its’s also a great source of protein. Yay!

The mousse really doesn’t need to “set” much, but it will be warm when it’s done, so you’ll want to keep it in the fridge for a couple hours. I made mine in the afternoon (about 3 o’clock) and we ate it after dinner.

Before serving, I did decide to make some whipped coconut cream to top the mousse with. You can make your own as I did, or buy vegan whipped cream in the store. In my health food store, they sell two different kinds. They have a coconut whipped topping by So Delicious, as well as a soy whipped cream. My friend, Paulina, has recently tried and loved Trader Joe’s new non-dairy whipped cream, also made from coconut milk.

I used to buy my whipped toppings, but since I’ve learned how to make it myself that’s mostly all I’ve been doing. Mainly because all the ingredients are staples in my home, so I really don’t need to buy anything extra from the store, and it’s so easy!

You have to make sure you have a can of full fat coconut milk, which has been refrigerated for at least 24 hours (I always keep at least one can in my fridge at all times). This helps separate the cream from the water. We will only be using the cream part, the water you can save to make smoothies with if desired.

To make the whipped cream, add the firm, cream part of the coconut milk Ito your mixing bowl with a quarter of a teaspoon vanilla extract and vegan powdered sugar to taste, I use 1 tablespoon. Using an electric mixer, whisk until peaks form and it looks like whipped cream, it’s that easy! Of course, a whipped topping isn’t necessarily needed to enjoy the mousse — it can be eaten as is and will still be 100 percent delicious!

Simply for presentation purposes only (because I’m artsy like that), over the whipped coconut cream I added shaved chocolate and a sprig of mint. I had half a chocolate bar left over so simply shaved off some of that, using a steak knife. You’re using such a small amount, it won’t matter if the chocolate is bitter.

I’ve yet to share this with any omni friends, but I plan on making a large batch and bringing them out to share after dinner on St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve already shared some photos with a couple of people who can’t wait to try! I hope if you make this, for St. Patty’s or just because, you enjoy it like my husband and I did (because, um, YUM!). Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to add a pic to Instagram and tag me, @veggiesattiffanis! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!