Chocolate Mousse Crumble

This is a semi-raw, rich & creamy mousse that’s dairy, gluten and egg free! There’s a hint of coconut flavour from the coconut milk, but you can’t taste the avocadoes at all, I promise. The tartness of raspberries cuts through the richness of this nicely – I recommend serving with fresh or defrosted raspberries (or any other berry), or a berry coulis.

I made this on a whim tonight, with a list on ingredients but no guidance on quantities. A huge thanks goes out to my friend Jodie for the inspiration.

Serves 10

Mousse:
3 Haas Avocadoes
270ml Coconut Milk*
2 TBSP Raw Cacao Powder
1/4 C + 2 TBSP Agave Nectar

Crumble:
1/4 C Almonds
2 Pinches Cinnamon Powder

• Blend together all mousse ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
• Divide mixture in a couple of silicone muffin trays. Your mixture will make 10 serves of mousse.
• Pulse together crumble ingredients, sprinkle onto mousse and freeze for at least 3 hours. If you choose to freeze longer, remove individual serves from silicone tray and defrost in fridge for approx an hour before serving.

*I recommend choosing a full fat coconut milk that doesn’t contain emulsifier. In Australia, the Ayam brand is good! It has a clear definition between the milk and the solid cream layer on top.

Coconut-Cashew Vanilla Ice-Cream

I’ve been in the mood for a sweet treat this week and banana soft serve simply wasn’t cutting it. I wanted something creamier, richer and fattier. Thus, I’ve come up with a coconut-cashew vanilla ice-cream recipe for you! It’s quick to throw together, but you’ll need to devote about 6 hours to being close to your freezer unless you use an ice-cream maker (don’t worry, most of it is inactive, so you can go about your business doing whatever you need to get done at home). The texture of this is smooth and creamy. Many cashew based ice-creams use water and this causes them to form icicles as they begin to freeze – you won’t have that problem here.

Yields approx 750ml

2 C Coconut Milk (use a good quality one without preservatives if possible)
1 1/2 C Raw Unsalted Cashews
1/4 – 1/2 C Agave Nectar (to your taste – 1/2 C will be VERY sweet)
2 t Vanilla Extract

• Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until smooth. I normally give it about a minute.
• Pour into a 1 litre air tight, freezer friendly container and place in the freezer with lid on.
• Stir/mix/agitate every 2 hours for 6 hours with a miniature whisk. You could also use a fork if need be.
• Leave in the freezer overnight/8 hours, then dig in when you’re ready! Serve with some dessicated coconut if you’re feeling fancy.

Recipe Notes
If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can use a food processor – but only a top notch food processor will work. I would make the following recommendations to make sure your ice-cream isn’t grainy:

• Soak the cashews in the coconut milk for an hour or two before doing any blending.
• Start by grinding only the cashews in the food processor, then slowly adding in the wet ingredients. This will encourage your food processor to create a smooth paste and will avoid grainy bits.
• Follow the remainder of the instructions as written above. You may need to process a few more times as it starts to freeze.

Sweet Coconut Rice

Serves 4 as a side dish.

1.5 C Basmati Rice
1.5 C Water or Veg Stock
1 C Coconut Milk
2 TBSP Palm Sugar or Raw Sugar
5-6 Fresh or Frozen Kaffir Lime Leaves*

• Combine all ingredients in a pot or rice cooker and simmer on low heat with lid on for approximately 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
• Discard kaffir lime leaves, fluff rice with a fork and serve with some toasted sesame seeds and fresh coriander.

This rice is mild and sweet. Don’t serve it with a curry or a heavy stiry fry, or the flavours will just be drowned out! I like this best with Luke Nguyen’s crisp silken tofu.

*Kaffir lime leaves are primarily used in south east Asian cuisine; you can generally purchase them at Asian grocers and some health food stores.