Merry Christmas! It’s probably too late for you to make this for holiday dessert tonight, but maybe bookmark it for your next special occasion? Once again (as with these chocolate peanut butter krispies), I’m making a dairy free dessert for family so that everyone can enjoy it. Today’s inspiration is from one of my favorite special treats, French Silk Pie. But as my favorite recipe includes a boatload of butter and whipped cream, I needed an option B. Enter a recipe for chocolate mousse made with whipped egg whites instead of cream and inspiration follows! As a sidenote, I was surprised to learn that Oreos are vegan(1) and most commercial types of semisweet chocolate are dairy free and vegan as well, so choose the type you enjoy the flavor of the most, since it will be the dominant flavor of the mousse.
Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse Pie
one. Make a cookie crust by blitzing together in a food processor:
18 Oreos (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbs. melted dairy free stick margarine(2)
two. Press the crust into a glass pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes at 350oF, just until set. Set aside to cool while you make the rest of the pie.
three. To make the chocolate mousse(3), gently melt together and stir until smooth:
6 oz. nondairy semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 Tbs. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
6 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla
four. Set chocolate mixture aside to cool slightly. Put in a saucepan and bring to a boil:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
five. Boil the sugar mixture vigorously until slightly thickened and large bubbles rise to the top, about 5 minutes.
six. In an electric mixture, beat on low speed until frothy, about 1 minute:
3 large egg whites
seven. Add to the eggs and beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form:
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
eight. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the eggs. Increase mixer to high speed and beat until it forms stiff peaks and the meringue has cooled and become shiny, 3-4 minutes.
nine. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture. Then gently fold in the rest, trying to keep as much of the volume as possible.
ten. Pour the mousse into the cookie crust. Spread evenly and press plastic wrap over the top. Place in the fridge overnight, or at least several hours, to chill and set.
eleven. Before serving, remove plastic and top with a nondairy whipped topping. I chose So Delicious coconut topping, since it seemed slightly less fake than the usual stuff, and I like the taste of coconut.
twelve. Decorate with some crumbled Oreos or shavings of chocolate.
Yields 6-8 servings, depending on how big you slice them!
(1) Although in my digging for ideas, I did learn that some vegans don’t consider Oreos to be truly vegan since the package carries with it one of those “made in a facility that processes milk” warnings. So, if that’s an issue for you, use something else for the crust.
(2)Stick margarine tends to have a higher fat content and less water or whipped air than tub margarine, making it a better substitute in baking where recipes call for butter. I only had one option at my store, Imperial brand, so that’s what I went with.
(3) This recipe started out as a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated America’s Test Kitchen for Low Fat Chocolate Mousse. I made a few alterations, but I want to make sure to give them credit for the original recipe.
Progressive Strength 