Chocolate Tofu Mousse

Chocolate mousse, the dessert that I hardly resist and my weakness! Everytime I feel guilty after I eat it as most of the traditional chocolate mousse recipes would contain lots of cream and egg yolks. Somehow, there was a genius who used tofu to replace the cream and egg yolks for the chocolate mousse and that really cheer me up. Tofu! yes it's tofu which I never think that can be used to replace cream for making desserts. There are plenty of tofu chocolate mousse recipes and here I followed my favorite nutritionist Ellie's recipe.

The chocolate mousse took no time to prepare, just ignore the pictures shown with the shortcrust pastry cases and the cake base. The chocolate mousse could actually simply serve in cups or any serving dish but I just made a little bit extra for weekend. Simply blitz all the chocolate mousse ingredients in a food processor and pour into a serving dish and set in the fridge for couple of hours, job done!

I like the sourly of raspberries in the chocolate mousse as I think they go very well. So, I used raspberry puree to replace the water from the recipe as well as using the puree for the toppings. For the cake base, I was quite lazy to make the sponge cake so I simply blend together 60g egg whites, 25g ground almond, 50g sugar powder and 30g melted butter in the food processor then bake in a 180'C preheated oven for 20 minutes, simple! I find the cake is slightly thick which suppose to be in very thin layer.

As for the shortcrust pastry, I used some left over pastry in the fridge to roll it into a few chef rings and bake blind until golden brown. Here I've got a broken one and it's such a waste.

The pastry and almond cake go very well with the chocolate mousse whereas the mousse is really smooth, soft, light and my other half hardly taste the tofu until I told him. Other than using tofu for the chocolate mousse, a good quality at least 70% chocolate and cocoa powder is needed. It would definitely gives you a scrumptious dessert.

Recipe for the chocolate mousse:

10 oz silken tofu

3 oz 70% dark chocolate

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup water (I used raspberry puree, drained & seeded)

1 tbsp brandy (optional)

1/2 cup sugar (I reduced 2 tbsp for 1/2 cup)

1. In a blender or food processor, puree the tofu until it is smooth.
2. Put the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, water and brandy (this is quite optional) in a saucepan or heat-proof bowl fitted over a pot containing 1-inch barely simmering water. Stir frequently, until melted and smooth.
3. Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu and puree until smooth and well blended. Spoon the mousse into serving dishes, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or 2.

Crispy Bread Cups with vegetable filling

There are enormous ways to serve bread. Here the bread is converted into a crisp snack with little effort. Bread slice is shaped into a cup and baked till crisp and golden. It is filled with cooked vegetables. This make an ideal snack/starter for any party. This is a very versatile recipe. With the bread cups as base, you can try out different filling, both sweet and savory. For making it more healthier, use whole wheat bread. When using whole wheat bread you might need to steam the slice before placing in the muffin. Else it might be difficult to get the shape.

You need

For cups

Bread slices - 8 nos

Butter - 3 teaspoons

For Filling

There is no specific recipe for the filling. I am listing the ingredients with approximation.

Finely chopped vegetables - 2 cups (I used potato,carrot and cabbage)

Onion -1

Crumbled paneer - 2 tblspn

Green chily - 2nos

salt

1 tspn of mixed herbs

tomato sauce - 2

chilli sauce -1 tspn

oil - 1 tblspn

Trim the crust from the bread. Flatten the bread with a rolling pin. This makes it easier to place in the muffin tray. Spread little butter on the slice. Place the bread in the greased cavities of muffin tray with the buttered side up. When you place adjust the slice so as to resemble a cup.
Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes or till the cups are crisp.

Meanwhile, you can prepare the filling. Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions till pink. Add the vegetables and saute till it is half cooked. Add salt, chilly sauce and tomato sauce. Mix well. Continue cooking till veggies are cooked and firm. Finally stir in crumbled paneer.

Spoon the filling into the bread cups. You can top it with grated cheese if you wish. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Serve with ketchup or any dip of your choice. The bread cups and the filling can be prepared before and assembling can be done prior to serve. It tasted good when served warm.

Being a perfect starter for any party, this goes to Rachana's Healthy Bites.

The Kitchen Masterpiece - event round up!

The Kitchen Masterpiece - event round up!
Are those flowers? So many types!
Look at that bird! Where is my pouch?
Grab those balloons, sit on my rug.
Fly away, with my tiny friend mouse

Sheep graze and teddys dance
I drop into a boat; start rolling the dice
Octopus is happy, I am in a trance
What’s that light that’s getting bigger?

Angry faces are angry no more
Heart burst with joy;Roses fill the sky
Om Ganeshaya namaha!
That is my mother land!

VONGONS MAKE WAY – here I come. This is what happens when you get into blogging, watch 6 Disney movies in a week, and run events like the Kitchen Masterpiece!!

Without further ado, here are the amazing Masterpieces!

Carrot couldn't get more appealing! Presenting Carrot Flowers by Sita Kiran of Andhra Flavours ...

Get into a holiday mood! Here is Mangala Bhat’s tropical capsicum and strawberry flower!

Rekha of Plantainleaf sends in these Club Sandwhiches, tranformed with decorative Carrot Flowers!

Valentine day florists have another place to source roses from! Priya Suresh sends in Red Roses made of tomatoes!

Asha sends in Aroma-tic rice cake (tattae idli flower). Anyone game for a flowery breakfast?

If idli is around, can dosa be far behind? Here is Madhu’s Dosa Flower. She sent in a Lentils Rug (is it a magic carpet?) and a cereal heart as well!

Lakshmi sends a flower made of tea spices from her Cooking Station. Her entry from Taste of Mysore, are delicious jackfruit flowers and a traditional betel leaf pouch!

Usha Nandini sends in these lovely Curry Leaves made out of …….Curry Leaf Powder!

Jayasree’s Experiments in Kailas’s Kitchen has got us a microwaved chocolate pudding flower!

Nazarina the Giddy Gastronome, has sent in these fantastic butter scotch almond thumbprints. Big Hugs all around!

Esther J Pragasam shares this pretty ‘gFrame’ or 'Groceries/Greenery Frame' from her handwork blog - My Passion.

Did you know Srivalli - the queen of blog events, has a 7 year old daughter following her footsteps? Talented Anjana sends in her rangolis made of rice flour ! She has also uploaded and posted these herself!

Gayathri Gopinath has sent this colourful and festive Rangoli made out of Raw Rice and Sooji/Rava from her Adigemane.

The Jugalbandits, Bee and Jai have sent in Mooli Mouse, one of the many constructive uses for those who find, radish overpowering their olfactory neurons!

Transformed in Lubna's hands! Lubna from Yummy Food, has sent in these festive grape balloon cluster and the jolly banana octopus.

Row, Row, Row your boat ....Swapna has sent in these boats made of zucchini and cheese.

Ivy of Kopiaste made these amazing fruit faces! One can never look at fruits in the same way again! Hey, in case you don’t already know, Ivy is one of the three bloggers who began BloggerAid, a community of Food Bloggers who have come together to help fight world hunger. A BloggerAid Cookbook is on the cards this year, and you can help in a number of ways. Check this site for more details.

Shoba Shrinivasan from Anubhavati - Tastes from my Kitchen, sends us these colourful appetising sandwhich hearts.

Cham from Spice Club is giving Brittania a run for its money with these savory palmiers!

Priyanka sent in a heart made of fried green peas. We can literally eat out hearts out!

Archy has sent this colourful Elekosu (Cabbage/Pattagobi) Rotti. The art is in patting this rotti!

Want to play your game and eat it too? Ankita has sent in these Kaju Dice!

Sanika from Spicy & Tangy.....Sweet & Yummy blog, sent in the maximum number of entries, with Gem flowers, cauliflower sheep, a happy face, Ganapati Bappa and the Indian Flag!

Om Ganeshay Namah!! Sharmistha from Cooke-a-doodle-do has sent this Ganesha inspired by her 3-year old daugther’s creativity with atta dough!

Mahimaa, has sent this '108 channa dal kuthu vilaku' from Indian Vegetarian Kitchen. Kudos to her patience!

Our entry from Chitra Amma's Kitchen, are these jaggery and flour lamps or maavillakkus or tambitus

Yosee’s heart warming entry from Jalan-Jalan! Jai Hind!

Now for the lucky draw... chits were made, and my husband picked the lots, with sound effects by me. .. PAPARAPPPAA.....dabadabadadaba...phee...pheeee...

....and the Lucky Draw winners are: Sita Kiran, Sanika, Lubna and Anjana! ...clap...clap...Congratulations to you all! You will be contacted on mail for your gifts!

We've included entries which were received by mail, as well as informed through comments. In case any were missed, please let us know, and we will surely update the post.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of you for your Masterpieces! Your wonderful entries are sure a break away from the mundane, and triggered us into a fantasy world!