You could’ve knocked me over with a feather the first time I tried aquafaba meringue – “really? This is the liquid from a can of chickpeas?! No way!” Yes way. Aquafaba literally means ‘bean water’ and in some cases, it can expertly mimic the function of egg-white. There are only three ingredients in this recipe – dark chocolate, chickpea brine & vanilla. The mousse is light, foamy, soft, chocolatey airy & utterly moreish.
This recipe comes from an old friend of mine, Aaron Brunet. He won NZ Masterchef in 2013 and has now transformed his life & kitchen to become entirely plant-based. He’s an inspiration http://www.aaronbrunet.co.nz
A worthwhile kitchen note: I’ve tried making aquafaba with various appliances, with mixed success. I think my Nutribullet and my stick/immersion blender were simply too fast & grunty (it just staunchly remained liquid) while the machine that worked best was my mother-in-law’s old school stand mixer – the kind with the electric egg beaters in a deep bowl – on a swift but not too pumping setting. It took a good eight or ten minutes until the mixture formed meringue-like stiff peaks.
Ingredients
100g good quality dark chocolate (50% cocoa works well)
3 tsp vanilla extract or essence
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp of aquafaba – the brine drained from a tin of chickpeas
Break the chocolate into pieces and add to a bowl with vanilla essence and 1 Tbsp aquafaba. Place the bowl over a pot with a little bit of water simmering in the bottom. Stir until fully melted, then remove from heat and allow to cool while you whip the aquafaba.
Use an electric egg beater or equivalent (see my note above) to whisk the ½ cup of aqufaba until it forms stiff peaks and looks like whipped egg white. This will take several minutes.
Add quarter of the whipped aquafaba to the melted chocolate and mix through evenly. This lightens the chocolate so it doesn’t flatten the foam as much in the next step.
Now tip the melted chocolate on to the remaining whipped aquafaba and very gently fold through until it becomes an even colour. The less folding you do the lighter the mousse will be.
Pour into serving glasses or ramekins and chill in the fridge before serving. I’ve decorated my mousse with fresh strawberries and a little banana ‘nice cream’ (blend frozen banana with a few dashes of coconut milk until a smooth soft-serve icy treat emerges)
So you know that thing where you’ve never heard of something in your life and then suddenly you read about it several times in a matter of days?! That is totally me right now with Aquafaba! My mum just gave me a recipe for vegan meringue which uses it, spotted on another blog and now here it is on yours too! I must try. Thanks for the tip on how to mix!
Hey Vicky! I know that thing, it’s weirdly wonderful when the universe insists that you take notice! I do hope you try it – I know many people have had epic fails with aquafaba (me included! One meringue attempt resulted in brown puddles dripping into the bottom of the oven…) but once you find the right utensil/method, it’s ridiculously easy. Thanks so much for touching base x