This vegan strawberry mousse cake is a beautiful ‘marriage’ of slightly crunchy hazelnut base and zingy velvety strawberry mousse topped with a thin layer of rich dark chocolate crust. It’s a delicious show stopper for any party. Free from gluten and refined sugar.
Without blowing my own trumpet, I must say that I’m rather proud of myself for having made this delicious strawberry mouse cake from the very first attempt. For those of you who like creating new recipes (I personally call it ‘playing in the kitchen with fun ingredients’), you know how frustrating it can be when your recipes epically fail. It’s happened to me so many times… However, I truly believe that every ‘fail’ is a learning curve and sometimes kitchen disasters give birth to some great creative ideas.
Talking about new ideas. If you’d read my vegan lasagna post, you know that I started ‘playing’ with a new ingredient in my kitchen, aka agar agar powder (vegetarian gelatin substitute). I know it’s been out there for years (or centuries perhaps?) but I’ve only recently discovered it for myself.
Having read up on the ‘science’ of using agar agar powder as a setting agent, I set off to create this strawberry mousse cake and I’m really pleased to share it with you now.
This recipe has also received a seal of approval from my beautiful mum-in-law (who also happens to be my best friend). She has been ‘summoned’ to pose as a hand model when she popped in for a cup of tea and I was in the middle of shooting this cake. Great timing, huh?!
When it comes to decorating the cake, feel free to use any fresh fruit of your choice. I used strawberries and cherries, as well as some little hearts that I made from the leftover strawberry mousse.
Without further ado, I’ll ‘pass you over’ to the recipe and I really hope you give it a try. It’s a good one not to make!
Have a wonderful day,
Healthfully yours,
Tania x
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VEGAN STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE (GF, NO REFINED SUGAR)
Ingredients
Base layer:
- 9 dates
- 1/3 cup GF oats
- 1 cup roasted hazelnuts , skins removed
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 6 tbsp plant milk
Strawberry mousse layer:
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 cup plant milk
- 1 cup tinned coconut milk (full fat)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup (use more if you prefer it sweeter)
- 4 tsp agar agar powder
- Optional: 1 tbsp beetroot powder
Chocolate drizzle layer:
- 50 g dairy free dark chocolate broken into small pieces
- ½ tbsp coconut oil
- Fresh strawberries, cherries & freeze dried strawberries for decorating
Instructions
- 1. Soak dates in hot boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, remove the pits and set aside.
- 2. In a food processor, combine soaked dates with roasted hazelnuts, cacao powder, maple syrup and plant milk and blitz until the mixture just starts coming together. Transfer the mixture into 9.5” (19cm) springform cake tin and spread it evenly around the base, making sure it’s packed very tightly. Place the tin the freezer whilst you’re making the mousse layer.
- 3. In the meantime, combine frozen strawberries, plant milk, coconut milk and maple syrup in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. You might want to taste it at this stage and add more maple syrup, if required.
- 4. Transfer the strawberry mixture into a pan. Heat the pan up until the mixture is just starting to bubble. Turn the heat to low simmer, add agar agar powder & beetroot powder (if using) and whisk. Simmer for around 3-5 minutes, whisking continuously, until the mixture is starting to thicken slightly. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool down for 5-10 minutes. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little runny at this stage, it’ll still set.
- 5. Take the cake tin out of the freezer and gently pour the strawberry mixture over the base layer. Transfer the cake tin back into the fridge and allow to set for at least 30 minutes.
- 6. Once the top layer is set (you can check by gently touching it with your finger, it’ll be firm and bounce back when it’s ready), take the cake out of the fridge. Very gently remove the sides of the springform pan.
- 7. Combine dark chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly in a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with 1/3 water and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl with chocolate and coconut oil on top of the pan, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir until melted.
- 8. Once the chocolate has melted, take the bowl off the heat and let it cool down slightly for 3-5 minutes. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the cake and gently spread with a back of a spoon, letting the chocolate drizzle over the sides a little. Place in the fridge for around 5 minutes to let the chocolate layer set.
Notes
What a stunning cake! I want to dive right into that berry layer!!
I’ve had my fair share of fails when it comes to working with agar-agar. It sometimes didn’t set as well as gelatine does. I’m still trying to figure out how to work with it and trying to not get frustrated in the process haha 🙂
Hi Natanja! I can totally relate to all the kitchen disasters! I must say, so far I’ve been very lucky with agar-agar but we are yet to see whether it behaves itself haha. PS I’m driving into the berry layer right with you! Thank you so much for your kind comment.
Your photos of this fabulous dessert look amazing. They just pop off the page at me. I definitely would love to try this.
Wow Heidy, I’m so chuffed – thank you so much for your compliment. I’m thrilled if you get to try the recipe. Keep me updated:)
You can blow your trumpet for as long and as loud as you like because – this is STUNNING! What a fantastic creation – and it GF and Vegan! Dang Delicious!
Awww Shashi, your super kind comment has turned me into a red beetroot! Thank you so much for such a lovely compliment:)
I agree to fail is definitely a learning curve ! Love your mousse cake and especially because it contains no refined sugar 🙂
Thank you so much Linda. Absolutely with you on the learning curve. I don’t think there’s one food blogger who hasn’t had an epic disaster in the kitchen yet!:)
What a delicious looking mousse cake! Looks so indulgent and I love that it doesn’t take too long to make either. Would just love a slice right now!
Thank you so much Bintu! I totally agree with you – thanks to the beauty of agar agar, there’s no need to wait for the cake to set overnight! I’m so impatient when it comes to things like these:)
Oh wow! This looks so beautiful and delicious.
OMG, this looks absolutely incredible!
Tania, this cake looks sooo beautiful and tasty! What a gorgeous job you did with this. The ingredients sound fantastic and I can’t wait till I have a special occasion to make this. Wait, do I even need a special occasion?! 😛 Also, I think it is so cool that your mom in law is your best friend. That is very sweet and a beautiful bond indeed.
What a beautiful dessert! I’m excited to try it since I can eat all the ingredients you used.
Oh Amy, thank you so much. I’m so humbled if you give it a go! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
What a beautiful cake! This looks so decadent and perfect for date night 🙂