I was looking for a nutritious dessert to pack for a whale watching excursion and decided to make an avocado chocolate mousse.  Not only is this recipe gluten-free, it can also be vegan if you opt for a sweetener other than honey.

The secret to the recipe is to have perfectly ripe avocados – that point where they have just turned soft and are bright green in colour. A slightly underripe avocado will not give you the texture you need to make this creamy delight.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe avocados
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Frontier Organic Fair Trade Cocoa Powder)
• 2 tbsp honey – I used a local honey
• 4 tbsp agave nectar (or more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp strong brewed coffee (I opted to dissolve 2 tsp of Dandy Blend in the almond milk)
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
• sliced almonds and/or shredded coconut and/or any other toppings you would enjoy

1. Mix the honey, agave nectar, vanilla, coffee and almond milk in a glass measuring cup.
2. Peel and seed avocados and place them in the food processor. Pulse 4 to 6 times to break down the avocado.
3. Add in the cocoa powder and pulse a few additional times.
4. Add the liquid mixture to the food processor – pulse a few times and add in the melted chocolate chips if using.
5. Run the food processor on high until a creamy, mixture is formed – make sure there are no hidden avocado lumps and scrape down the mixture if necessary along the way. Taste the mousse at this point – you may need to add more agave nectar or honey to taste.
6. Place mousse in serving dishes and sprinkle with your toppings of choice – refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I packed our picnic mousse into small canning jars, topped them with sliced almonds and shredded coconut. As much as I was looking forward to having the mousse on the boat, seasickness got the better of me, so I’m having this yummy delight now as I type this blog post – better late than never :).