Chocolate Coffee Mousse Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free)

chocolate mocha mousse bars vegan gluten free

Ingredients

Chocolate cake base layer

3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
6 tablespoons organic cane sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup +1 tablespoon almond milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seed
3 tablespoons water (to mix with the ground flax)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate mousse layer

1 package silken tofu (300 grams)
2 tablepsoons almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch sea salt
1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate (150 grams)

Coffee cream layer

1 can coconut whip cream (400ml), *see notes
1/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee, cooled, *see notes

Coconut cream topping

1 can coconut whip cream (400ml), *see notes
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line an 8" square pan with a removeable bottom with parchment paper.
Make the flax egg by mixing the ground flax and the water. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl add the dry ingredients - Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, instant coffee, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
In a liquid measuring cup add the wet ingredients - almond milk, vegetable oil, flax egg and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Add it to the dry ingredients and mix. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will be thick and slightly clumpy. Spread it evenly in the pan. It may seem very thin but it will rise when baking. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan, then place it in the fridge for faster cooling. The cake must be completely cooled before adding the next layer on top.

Chocolate Mousse

In a food processor add the tofu, almond milk, maple syrup and sea salt. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
Next, melt the chocolate. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Fill a small pot with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl of chocolate on top of the pot, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl (double boiler method). Stir the chocolate occasionally until it's melted, about 7-10 minutes. Alternatively it can be melted in a microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring at each one.
Add the melted chocolate to the tofu mixture and process until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.
Spread the mousse evenly on top of the cooled cake. Place into the fridge. This layer only needs about half an hour to set in the fridge since it is already quite thick and firm.

Coffee Cream

Place the coconut whipping cream into a small bowl and use a hand mixer to whip it. Once it has thickened add the icing sugar and cooled coffee, and whip again until it is incorporated.
Spread the mixture evenly on top of the chocolate mousse layer. Put it in the fridge to set, about 3 hours.

Coconut cream

Place the coconut whipping cream into a small bowl and use a hand mixer to whip it. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whip again until it is incorporated.
Spread the mixture evenly over the coffee cream layer. The coffee cream layer may still be a bit soft so try to spread it gently. Place it back into the fridge for at least another 3-4 hours or preferably over night so that it can firm up really well. If it's still slightly soft the layers won't be as defined when it's cut.
After it has chilled use a large knife to cut it into 10 bars, wiping the knife after each cut. Place the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Notes

*I use Cha's Organic Coconut Whipping Cream. It needs to be a coconut cream that sets firm when it cools. Other brands of whipping cream may not have the same results.

*The strong brewed coffee can either be freshly brewed or instant coffee. I prefer using instant coffee because it gives a stronger coffee flavor. Dissolve 3 tablespoons of instant coffee into 2 tablespoons of hot water and let cool.

*This recipe works best using a deep pan with a removeable bottom. I use an 8" pan that is 3" deep. It can also be made in a 8" round, deep pan with a removeable bottom. Be careful when transferring the pan as it's easy to forget that the bottom can move. You can place the pan on a baking tray to prevent that from happening.

Nutrition