RECIPE: Raw Vegan Chocolate Gelato/Mousse

A naturopathic friend of mine once jokingly decreed ice cream to be almost the perfect food. Reasoning that being full of milk and egg yolks that it must be high in calcium and protein amongst other things. In fact she (jokingly) went so far as to say that the only thing it is really missing is fibre. Of course ice cream is not an ‘ideal’ food at all. But it did get me thinking…raw, velvety vegan gelato.

Once you this raw vegan chocolate gelato/mousse recipe you’ll wonder why you’ve been buying ice cream your whole life. It is richer, tastier and healthier and leaves you feeling satiated and energized in a way desserts rarely do! And of course it is in fact  high in magnesium, calcium, potassium and could you believe it…. fibre!

This fantastic recipe only takes about 10 minutes to make (plus freezing time) and leaves you feeling satiated and energized.

This recipe can also be served as a mousse if you serve it from the freezer slightly before it becomes frozen or let in thaw longer from the freezer. [separator][/separator]

Ingredients (serves one):

• 1 banana (large)
• 2 heaped tablespoons (40ml) virgin cold-pressed coconut oil
• 2 heaped tablespoons of ROAR cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons ROAR coconut sugar

These are the base ingredients of the recipe. If you just use these ingredients you will have a chocolate/banana tasting recipe. I also prefer to add a separate flavoured component. Here are some ideas. But you can come up with your own – think what makes flavours go well with chocolate and go crazy.

• Juice  of 1 orange or
• 2 tbsp mesquite powder (this is super yum!)
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 handful of berries
• 1 tablespoon of dessicated coconut
• A pinch of Chilli Powder
• A pinch of Chai Spices
• 2 tbsp ROAR sour cherries

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Method

Put the coconut oil, cacao powder and coconut sugar into a bain marie (i.e. a bowl over hot water) and mix together for two minutes.  The heat is only to melt the coconut oil and if you don’t want to heat the coconut oil too much keep the mixture over the hot water until the coconut oil melts (which will happen at 24°C) so do this process on a gently and slow heat.

In fact you are well advised to keep the mixture below 40°C. Cacao starts to burn between about 40°C-50°C which will make your chocolate sauce split and turn chalky. If this happens (you will know because the oil will separate from the cacao powder) then you can save it by whisking it with a kitchen hand on a high setting – otherwise you will need to throw the mixture away and start again. This is the same anytime you are melting chocolate.

Stir the ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Combine banana, melted chocolate sauce and any other flavourings (i.e. orange, mesquite, mint, berries, dessicated coconut, chilli powder or spices) in a blender and whizz for a couple of minutes until completely smooth.
Put into a container and freeze. For the consistency of mousse you will only need to freeze for an hour or two (depending on how much mixture you have. For ice cream you will have to freeze for five to six hours or over night.

Make sure you defrost it slightly before serving or completely defrost for mousse consistency.

Enjoy!

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