Carrie Vitt with Deliciously Organic once told me that she spent four years putting together her cookbook, and I believe it. Her book is so beautifully done that it honestly puts a lot of other cookbooks to shame! Plus it has such a wonderful personal touch and page after page it’s just obvious she’s poured her heart and soul into this publication. A lot of people ask if there is a “whole foods” cookbook I can recommend and here is your answer…Deliciously Organic!
Here are some of the things I adore about this cookbook…
- The pictures: Oh my gosh the pictures! Carrie takes amazing pictures herself (just check out her blog), but she hired a professional food stylist and photographer for her book and it shows.
- The resources: This is a great book for “real food” beginners because it is full of helpful resources on everything from understanding oils to reading food labels to making homemade mayo to navigating recommended websites.
- The personal touch: Carrie shares her own personal story, which includes her struggle with debilitating migraines that she eventually got under control with nothing other than organic food. Plus don’t miss the pictures of her adorable family right before the dessert section.
Today, I want to share a dessert recipe from Carrie’s book that is the perfect replacement for all those highly processed boxed chocolate pudding mixes. We made a batch of this chocolate mousse over the weekend and let me tell you what; my girls could not get enough! The flavor is just divine, but don’t take my word for it, you must try it yourself….
Chocolate Mousse from Deliciously Organic Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, plus 1 tablespoon extra
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 2 tablespoons extra (I used unsweetened dark cocoa powder)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee, I used espresso
- 3 eggs, yolks only
- 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 eggs, whites only
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
-
Combine butter, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup, cacao powder, vanilla, pinch of salt, coffee, and 3 tablespoons water in a medium heat-proof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan filled with 1 inch of simmering water. Whisk frequently until smooth and remove from heat.
- Whisk egg yolks, 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, for about 30 seconds, until it lightens in color. Add chocolate sauce and whisk until combined. Let cool until just above room temperature.
- In a bowl of a standing mixer or with an electric mixer, whisk egg whites on low until frothy. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup. Increase the speed to medium high and whisk until soft peaks form.
- Stir about 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate liquid, and then fold in the remaining whites by scooping the egg whites into the mixture gently, cutting down the bowl, across and up the other side, Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and keep folding until liquid and egg whites are combined.
- Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold all of the whipped cream into the chocolate liquid until no white streaks remain, using the folding technique above.
- Ladle mousse into individual bowls. Cover and refrigerate until set and firm, about 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
From Deliciously Organic
Used with permission from International Focus Press © 2011.
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Would this mousse work to put in between a 2 layer cake? I usually spread berry jelly in between the 2 layers for the birthday cakes I make my kids, but I would love to try a clean mousse to layer in between instead. Using the chocolate cake recipe Lisa has on her site.
I think it could act like a frosting for you, but it would probably be rather rich!
Wow- this is really good and really easy. And makes about a gallon of mousse! I split it among four giant wine glasses and no one could eat more then about a third (my son decided it would be “an ongoing project” as he put it back in the fridge). Could easily serve 8 it’s so rich. Thanks for another yummy recipe :)
PS: I also left out the coffee as my kids can always pick up the flavor. Tastes great w/o it.
This might be the best dessert ever. So good!
ok so does the recipee call for just a half cup plus one tbls of maple syrup or a half cup plus two tablespoons bc the ingredients says a half cup plus a tbls but the instructions says a half cup plus a tbls then it calls for two 1 1/2 tsp of syrup im just very confused about that
Has anyone subbed honey for the sweetener in this? Did it work. WA she honey overpowering? Have extra honey on hand but maple syrup is so expensive.
Hi, can this be made grating/chopping a block of organic dark chocolate instead of coco powder? If so how man ounces of chocolate should I use? Many thanks.
Hi. We’ve not tried this with solid chocolate.
Can these be made a day ahead? Just wondering if they will deflate a little because of the egg whites…Anyone tried it a day ahead?
Hi Erin. I think it should be fine.
This looks wonderful! I’m looking for a good dessert for Easter brunch. Is the nutrition information available? Specifically the sugar grams per serving? Thanks.
Hi Ann. We do not provide nutrition info on our recipes. This post helps explain why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
When a person has Type 1 Diabetes they MUST know the carb count in the food they eat. Having a child with Type 1 means I’ve been counting carbs for a long time, because there is a constantly changing ratio of required insulin to carbs. Your recipes are a privilege and I enjoy them. I can figure out, with lots of basic math, how many carbs per serving. Perhaps you haven’t studied about Type 1, but if you do, hopefully you’ll understand how this is different than a fad diet and reconsider? The pure foods are so much better, but when there are ANY carbs in the food, it becomes dangerous and potentially life-threatening to NOT have an accurate carb count. But this is how Diabetics live…and we just keep doing math, and trying to educate along the way. Thank you for your time!
Hi Sharon. Lisa’s focus has been on getting people off of processed foods and eating real foods without getting caught up in the numbers. We do understand the importance of details for you. I am uncertain as to whether those details will be added in the future but Lisa is certainly sensitive to it.
Sharon, I’m in a similar boat. I use My Fitness Pal to load the recipes and track my carbs. Maybe you can use it, or a similar tool to save you a little math.
Hi. I want to make a chocolate pie and have a recipe that calls for choclate pudding mix. I do not want to use the highly processed one. Would this recipe make enough to go straight into a 9inch graham cracker crust pie shell?
Hi there. I think it would. :)
I was disappointed with this. The consistency was nice but it wasn’t the flavor I liked. It was WAY to bitter. I’m thinking that it was the unsweetend cocoa and the coffee mixture… What would you recommend? Using sweetned cocoa?
Hi Stacia. It is likely not as sweet as mousse you may be accustomed to. You might try adding a bit more maple syrup to sweeten it a little more. ~Amy
I’m on the same page as lavedaercat99. I don’t drink coffee, nor do I have a coffee maker. I wonder if instant coffee would work.
Hi Melinda. I think it would work fine. :)
Hey, I was just wondering how much of a difference it would make if I were to leave out the coffee? I don’t make it too often (and when I do, it’s decaf), and I don’t really feel like making coffee just for a couple of tablespoons of it, lol. Could I leave it out? Thank you!
Hi there. You could certainly leave it out but the flavor won’t be as rich. ~Amy
Okay, great! Thanks so much!