Marbled Cheesecake Mousse Cups (vegan, gluten free, soy free)
12:10 PMValentine's Day is coming and I know what I'm making...do you? I am kind of in love with this easy-to-make Marble Cheesecak...
12:10 PM
Valentine's Day is coming and I know what I'm making...do you?
I am kind of in love with this easy-to-make Marble Cheesecake dessert. It's super creamy and delicious, but also fairly low in sugar, and manages to conceal 6 cups of sweet potato! I'm so in love with it that I have been making it every weekend for several WEEKS -- sometimes twice! Not kidding.
When I say this dessert is easy, I mean it. It's no-bake and comes together in less than half an hour, then sets in the fridge or freezer in 1-3 hours (depending on how you want to serve it). If you can boil water and operate a blender, you can make this. Unlike most no-bake vegan desserts, there are no cashews in this. I don't eat tree nuts (I have a food sensitivity) so I use coconut milk and coconut oil instead, and before you yell at me --> coconuts are not tree-nuts, they're drupes, and most people who are sensitive to tree nuts can tolerate coconut.
The secret ingredient for this dessert is Japanese sweet potato. It's pretty much my favourite root vegetable of all time. If you've never encountered it, it looks like a normal sweet potato, but it has purple-ish skin and is white on the inside. It's more dense than regular sweet potatoes and has a sweeter flavour. If you don't know where to find them, check your local Asian grocery store or Whole Foods (if there's one nearby) as they will likely have them in stock. If you can't find them, you could use butternut squash or regular sweet potatoes or purple sweet potatoes instead, BUT the colour of this dessert will be different and you will potentially need more sweetener. I chose to use this type of sweet potato because the flesh is white -- it makes the mousse look like marbled white and milk chocolate.
If you're wondering if this dessert could possibly taste good (due to the secret ingredient), trust me, it's awesome. My normal-food-loving husband actually says it's almost too rich for him! If you're wondering why it tastes like cheesecake, I can't totally explain it. For some magical reason, white sweet potato + coconut + sweetener + acidity = cheesecake.
To make this sweet treat, all you need to do is peel, chop and boil 6 cups of white sweet potato, then blend it with a bit of cooking water and the ingredients listed below for a few minutes in a high speed blender. Then pour 1/2 of it into cups or glasses, then blend what's left with chocolate. Then swirl in the chocolate mixture with the original mixture to make a marble look in the glasses. Then freeze or chill and serve! Super easy, super tasty.
Marbled Cheesecake Mousse Cups
(vegan, gluten free, soy free)
- 6 cups loosely packed white sweet potato, boiled until soft, 1 cup cooking water reserved
- Cream skimmed from 1 chilled can of full fat coconut milk
- 4 tbsp liquid sweetener (like maple syrup or agave nectar or raw honey (honey is not vegan))
- Stevia (to taste)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 5 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- A few cranks of a salt mill (or a big pinch)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Blend all of the above ingredients together in a blender until super smooth. Transfer 1/2 of the mixture to a glass or plastic freezer-safe tupperware container with a tight fitting lid (best option if you want this to be like ice cream) OR if you want to be fancy, transfer 1/2 of the mixture to nice looking glasses, dividing it between 4-6 of them (if you want it to be like mousse).
To the remaining 1/2 of the mixture that's still in the blender add:
- 3/4 cup chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp of honey
- A little stevia
- A tiny pinch of salt
Puree mixture until super smooth.
*If you used glasses:
Add the chocolate mixture to the glasses, spooning it in a little at a time while you swirl the two mixtures together with a fork to create a marble look. Places glasses in the fridge to chill for at least 2-3 hours. I don't recommend freezing your glasses as they might break. Enjoy or save for later.
Add the chocolate mixture to the center of the container of the white mixture, then swirl the two mixtures together with a fork or spoon to create a marble pattern. Seal the tupperware container and chill in freezer for at least 1.5 hours. If you freeze for two hours it will be like ice cream, if you transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes after freezing for an hour it will be like mousse. When ready to eat, scoop and serve.
