Chocolate Mousse Cake (Secretly Healthy)

This no bake Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free and paleo! You will love this lower calorie, light and fluffy mousse cake recipe! It’s so easy to whip together in your food processor too. NO ONE WILL KNOW IT’S SECRETLY HEALTHY!

No Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake!

The Vegan Raspberry Brownies I made for Valentine’s Day, inspired me to make another indulgent, but healthy, chocolate treat. If you know anything about the shh kitchen, it’s that no-bake treats are very much welcomed!

For instance, my chocolate peanut butter protein balls, healthy almond joy protein bites, sugar cookie dessert hummus, and homemade healthy marshmallows are just a few examples of delicious healthy treats you can make without having to turn on your oven! This Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake is now a valued member of the no-bake family here in the Secretly Healthy Home and I think it will be in your home too. 

3 Layers to Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

Let’s break down each layer of this decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake:

1. Chocolate Crust: This crust is made with pitted dates and almond flour to create the perfect gluten-free, paleo and vegan crust!

2. Healthy Chocolate Mousse: It was important for me to find a dairy-free alternative to mousse because I know a lot of people with dairy intolerance. The beautiful thing about this chocolate mousse is that it’s made with avocados and cashews! Trust me, the chocolate flavor is so powerful no one will know it’s made from these superfoods!

3. Coconut Whipped Cream: Adding coconut whipped cream on top of this chocolate mousse cake is totally optional, but highly recommended!

What to love about this Healthy Chocolate Mousse?

Instead of using coconut cream to make vegan chocolate mousse, I wanted to take a different approach. EVERYONE and their grandma has a dairy-free chocolate mousse recipe using coconut cream. While researching, I found that coconut cream isn’t that much lower in calories or fat than the heavy whipping cream used in traditional mousse recipes.

I was determined to create a healthier, lower fat chocolate mousse! If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I failed miserably at my first attempt of this. However, my mission was very much accomplished the second try and everyone swooned over this secretly healthy chocolate mousse cake!

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

I was sooooo scared to make avocado mousse. I’ve always heard of it, but I thought it would taste like avocado, so I never ventured into trying it. Avocado is just not something you want to taste in a dessert. 

At first, I made this vegan mousse using just avocados and it turned out okay. There was a slight avocado aftertaste. Then a light bulb went off in my head! CASHEWS! Adding soft, raw cashews to the mousse, made it absolutely perfect! This dairy-free avocado mousse is AMAZING! I’ve had numerous people tell me that they can’t taste the avocado, even when I tell them it’s in there! PEWWWWW *Mind Blown*

How to make Dairy-free Chocolate Mousse? Easy!

What I love about this chocolate mousse is that you make it all in a food processor or high speed blender! Just like my sugar cookie dessert hummus recipe!

There are few important steps in making this vegan chocolate mousse:

1. First, heat the cacao powder, water, espresso powder, and salt on the stove over low heat until everything is smooth and dissolved. 
2. Next, scoop out the flesh the avocado and place in a food processor, along with the soaked cashews. Blend up until smooth! 
3. Last, add the chocolate mixture to the food processor and blend again. The mousse will become light and fluffy!

HOW MUCH HEALTHIER is this Chocolate Mousse Cake?

I used to make a 3 layer chocolate mousse cake recipe that was definitely NOT healthy. It was basically melted chocolate and heavy whipping cream. I didn’t realize how high in calories and fat it was! (Not saying you shouldn’t have an indulgent treat every now and then. I’m all for balance, people) I brought this unhealthy chocolate mousse cake to a family gathering once and everyone loved it! They of course asked me if it was secretly healthy and I ashamedly said no. 

BUT NOW, I have created THE BEST secretly healthy Mousse Cake! I’m so excited share it with you! I already had some of my family members try it (they’re very honest people) and they said they would NEVER think it was healthy. AND when I told them it was made from avocados and cashews, their minds were blown! 

Here’s the breakdown of how much healthier THIS Chocolate Mousse Cake is for you:

Does Chocolate Mousse Cake need to be refrigerated?

Yes! Keeping this vegan chocolate mousse cake in the fridge is the best way to keep it fresh. It will last up to two weeks in the fridge. It’s also best served cold, topped with coconut whipped cream and berries! Just like my banana bread recipe, your guests won’t even know this chocolate mousse cake is secretly healthy.

More Healthy Chocolate Recipes:

• Vegan Raspberry Fudge Brownies (Gluten-Free)
• Secretly Healthy Fudge Brownies (Paleo + One Bowl)
• The Best Chocolate Granola (Vegan)
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls (No-Bake)

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Yield: 10 slices

Chocolate Mousse Cake (Secretly Healthy)

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Light, fluffy, chocolate heaven! This chocolate mousse cake is low calorie, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and paleo! No one will know it's secretly healthy, it tastes that good!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Fridge Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Chocolate No-Bake Crust

• 1¼ Cups Blanched Almond Flour
• ¾ Cup Packed Pitted Dates (About 16 Deglet Dates or 8 Medjool)
• ¼ Cup Raw Cacao Powder (can sub cocoa powder)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Opt: ¼ tsp Instant Espresso Powder, leftover date water if needed

For the Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

• ½ Cup Water (Can use leftover date water)
• ¼ Cup Raw Cacao Powder (can sub cocoa powder)
• ½ Cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips/Bar (See Note 4)
• 2 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup (See Note 3)
• ⅛ tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
• 1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder (or instant coffee)
• 1 Cup Raw Cashews (See Note 1)
• 1 Medium Ripe Avocado (not overripe)

For the Whipped Topping

• 1 (9 oz) Container Coconut Whip Cream, Truwhip, or Homemade Cocowhip

Instructions

1. In two small bowls, soak the cashews and dates separately in boiling water for at least 15 minutes (or longer).

2. Make the Crust: Grease a 9 inch springform pan with a little coconut oil. Drain the soaked dates, but save the date water. In a food processor or high speed blender (I used my Vitamix), combine the soaked dates and the rest of the crust ingredients. Blend, scraping down the sides 2-3 times until everything is combined and a crumbly but sticky dough forms. If too crumbly, add a little leftover date water. Press dough into bottom of springform pan in an even layer. Use parchment paper if the crust is sticking to your hands. You can also spread it up the sides. Place in the fridge to cool. (Don’t wash your food processor or blender)

3. Make the Chocolate Mousse: In a small saucepan over low heat, add the water, cacao powder, chocolate chips, maple syrup, salt, espresso powder and stir. Heat for about 2-3 minutes until everything is dissolved. 

4. Scoop out flesh of avocado and place in blender along with the softened cashews. Carefully add the warm chocolate mixture. Blend for 5-7 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides until everything is well combined and very smooth. 

5. Pull the crust from the fridge and pour chocolate mousse on top, smoothing evenly. Then, top with coconut whipped cream, berries, chopped chocolate or desired toppings. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least an hour or longer before serving! (See Note 2)

Notes

1. We soak the dates and cashews to ensure they are soft, blend easily, and create a smooth texture. 
2. Make Ahead! The beauty of this no-bake chocolate mousse cake is you can make it a day or two in advance, store it in the fridge and serve when you’re ready!
3. Sweetness: If needed add ½ Tbs more of Pure Maple Syrup at a time and blend until you get your desired sweetness. 
4. Chocolate: You can use any chocolate of choice here! Here are my favorite clean chocolate brands. Paleo chocolate, dairy-free chocolate, and keto chocolate.

Use code "shh20" for FREE SHIPPING off your online nut-butter orders at Georgia Grinders! 

Be sure to tag @secretlyhealthyhome on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest with a picture of your recipe! I love seeing your kitchen creations so please leave a comment and rate the recipe if you make it! It really helps support me!

Recommended Products

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• 
  Coconut Sugar
• 
  Pitted Deglet Noor Dates
• 
  Food Processor 
• 
  Springform Pan
• 
  Almond Flour
• 
  Cacao Powder
• 
  Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10-15

Serving Size:

1/10 of mousse cake with SoDelicious CocoWhip
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 351Total Fat: 20.7gCarbohydrates: 32.7gNet Carbohydrates: 27.7gFiber: 5gSugar: 12.4gProtein: 7.1g

Did you make this recipe?

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