Chocolate Mousse Tart

Posted 2014-02-18 by The Messy Vegan ⇒ follow

I recently came across a photo of a tart that looked glossy, creamy and oh so yummy. When I finally stumbled upon the recipe, it wasn't vegan, so I set out to create my own! This is so delicious. It is just the right combination of sweet with a hint of coconut. If you're not a sweet tooth, you can always replace the milk chocolate with dark chocolate or even add more agave to make it sweeter. I am so happy with how it turned out. The pastry is crumbly, the ganache is glossy and the mousse is creamy and light. Perfect!

Preparation Time: 40-50 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
Makes: 4x 12cm tarts

Ingredients
Pastry
120g Vegan Butter (I use Nuttelex)
200g Plain Flour
40g Icing Sugar
20g Cocoa or Cacao Powder

Mousse Layer
400g tin Full Fat Coconut Milk, set in the fridge overnight
120g Vegan Milk Chocolate, melted

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup full fat Coconut Milk
1/3 - 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1-2 tbsp Agave
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
Pinch of Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Prepare pastry by combining flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. Add in butter and massage with hands until it forms a soft crumb.

Bring together into a ball. If it doesn't come together easily, add more butter. It should be soft but not tacky/sticking to your hands and bowl. Cover and place in fridge to rest for 20 minutes.

Once dough is finished resting, divide pastry into four equal sections and roll into thin layers.

Place rolled out dough onto tart tins, making sure to press tightly into the corners. Prick the base with a fork to avoid the base from bubbling. Add pastry weights, if desired (I just use rice), to prevent base from rising.

Bake for 20-30 minutes (mine is usually done around 25minutes, but it depends on your oven) until firm and crispy.

While tart crusts are baking, prepare the chocolate ganache. Heat the coconut milk and cocoa/cacao powder over the stove in a saucepan or double boiler.

Take off heat and whisk in sugar, vanilla essence and salt. Transfer into container and place in fridge. It will thicken slightly as it cools.

To prepare the mousse layer, take the tinned coconut milk out of the fridge and open upside down. You can then pour out the coconut water and left behind will be coconut cream. Do not use the coconut cream that is found in the supermarket.

Place the coconut cream in a bowl and give it a quick beat to make it light. Add in melted chocolate and give a good stir.

By now your tart shells should be finished and cooled. Remove the tin and fill the shells with the mousse. Place in fridge for half an hour to allow the mousse to set slightly.