Vegan Cacao Mousse Slice

I am a huge chocolate lover. I would have to say at least 50% of the food I try to make chocolately whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

I created this recipe after attending a vegan lunch for a product launch where the dessert served used cashews to make a creamy cheesecake consistency. It was so delicious and tasted just like cream cheese with a mousse-like texture and I knew I had to try and recreate something similar.  

I used my favourite bliss ball recipe as a base and topped it with the creamy cashew mousse which is similar to my avocado chocolate mousse recipe. I created a slice which is a handy snack and it is the most delicious raw dessert I've made to date! So much so that I created another slice and freezed it to have as a treat for when I felt like indulging in dessert.  

VEGAN CACAO MOUSSE SLICE

INGREDIENTS

For the base
1 C almonds
½ C hazelnuts
1 C medjool dates, soaked overnight
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp cacao butter, melted

For the cacao mousse
1½ C cashews, soaked overnight
1 C almond milk
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
⅓ cacao powder
⅓ C coconut oil, melted
¼ C cacao butter, melted

To finish
Cacao or cocoa powder to dust
Crushed hazelnuts

LETS MAKE IT

For the base

Take hazelnuts and almonds and blend nuts for a few seconds - don't over blend so that they end up being powder. Add dates and blend together until well incorporated. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until the mixture is sticky and holding together, kinda like bliss balls. 

Take a slice dish and line it with baking paper. Take your base mixture and press it firmly into the slice dish to create the base. Allow this to set in your the fridge while you make the cacao mousse.

For the cacao mousse

Mix together your almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Take your cashews and drain any excess liquids and pat them dry. Place these into your blender (or food processor) and blend on a low speed. Slowly pour in your almond milk mixture until well incorporated.

Increase the speed of your blender and blitz until silky smooth. Keeping the high speed, slowly pour in your cacao butter and coconut oil followed by your cacao powder. You should be left with a silky smooth cacao mousse. 

Remove your slice dish from the fridge and layer on the cacao mousse being sure to spread evenly side to side. Place this back into the fridge until set, a minimum of 4 hours. 

To serve

Remove from slice dish, dust with cacao powder and sprinkle over crushed hazelnuts. Slice into rectangles or squares depending on preference and enjoy!