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Low-Fat Chocolate Mousse Cake

February 27, 2017 · Natalie 123 Comments

This insanely decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake may taste like a rich dessert indulgence but it’s made from just a few healthy whole-food ingredients right in the blender!

You are going to think I am exaggerating when I say this, but this cake tastes like chocolate frosting. On top of a crust. And it’s low fat. And I am not exaggerating at all, that was typed with a completely straight face. I even ate the last trial straight with a spoon like I used to do with frosting to be sure–it’s a perfect match!

And not just any chocolate frosting either, I’m talking about the chocolate fudge kind that comes in the plastic canister with the red lid and peel-back silver top. The kind that seems way too creamy and perfect to be true. And if by “true” you mean made from actual real naturally-occuring foods then it’s not. The kind with corn syrup as the first ingredient. Yep, that hate-to-love it stuff.

This cake has the same dreamy texture and decadent taste, but created with a completely different mix of ingredients. Not only are the ingredients leaps and bounds healthier, there are fewer of them too. The filling is actually made with just four simple ingredients: a fruit, a root, chocolate, and non-dairy milk. And just two for the crust, inspired by my favorite tart crust.

To turn this oddball mix of things into the dreamiest of creamiest frosting-like fillings requires some serious blending power. Which brings us to the other, non-edible part of what makes this recipe special: my Vitamix.

You may have noticed a slightly different blender starring in my recipe videos lately, the new clear plastic top is kind of a dead giveaway. That beautiful machine is the Vitamix A3500, part of Vitamix’s new Ascent Series.

After having the chance to get to know this new model over the past couple of months, I must say I love it. I love it all the way from its streamlined base to it clear snap-on lid that makes overhead blending shots 10 times more interesting to watch. And trust me the blades and blending power are as sharp and strong as ever!

Touch controls. Start, stop, faster, slower, pulse–it’s all done by touch. Except for the main dial, the entire control interface is touch screen (hello flat and easy to clean!) It took me less time to figure out the basics of how to operate the touch screen display than it did to unwrap the users manual. It is very intuitive especially if you are used to the controls on previous Vitamix models.

Built-in programs. In addition to the usual 1-10 dial, this blender comes with 5 different built-in blending programs as well as a timer that either shows you how long you’ve been blending (great for writing recipes!) or can be set to blend for a certain length of time.

Of the built-in program options, I definitely use the frozen dessert and smoothie ones the most. I usually stand by for a bit to add more liquid or use the tamper as needed with those, but once it gets going it comes out creamy and perfect every time. It is especially nice if you are like me and make the same go-to smoothie frequently so you know the amounts already. I can clean-up and put stuff away while it blends without having to worry about over-blending, which I love. It’s like smoothie autopilot! And the countdown timer is nice too so I’m not just guessing how much longer it has to go.

A quick note. Because of all these smarter features, the containers from previous models do not work interchangeably with this base. Only Self-Detect containers do. I was a little surprised by this at first as I used to use my smaller 32oz container most of the time. However, I’ve gotten used to using the 64oz container and this one has quickly become my go-to blender for pretty much everything. And supposedly more Self-Detect containers/sizes are coming soon, so that’s exciting!

The bubble button! I can’t even tell you how much I love this. If you are anything like me and too often give in to the rinsing-is-good-enough temptation, then this little feature will save your beautiful blender container from getting the dreaded cloudy-not-clean look. One button, walk away, and 35 seconds later it’s clean. The lid, the sticky stuff on the sides, the bothersome bits under the blades–all of them = gone.

In the past I would turn my blender on to clean, walk away, get sidetracked, and come back to bubbles overflowing out the top. The fact that it shuts itself off saves me from cleaning up the clean up. And makes it impossible to rationalize just rinsing.

In action. Like I said, this machine has already made it’s debut in a few of my videos.

You can see it…
-Here making an extra frothy matcha latte
-Or here making cupcakes
-And here turning breakfast into a piece of (pan)cake
-And in many more soon-to-be-posted recipes!

This post is not sponsored, but I was sent this product in exchange for my honest review. If you want to learn more about this smart little self-sufficient superstar of a kitchen appliance, you can check it out -> here

Now let’s get to the ~~elephant~~ moose in the room, this Chocolate Mousse Cake!

One bite…okay let’s be honest, I didn’t stop to ~~breathe~~ think about anything until the whole first slice was demolished. One slice in and I was already thinking that THIS is the sort of elegant-meets-decadent, always-appropriate dessert that I will be whipping up for any and every special occasion from now until chocolate goes out of style (which we both know will never actually happen!)

Happy frosting-by-the-slice eating!

Chocolate Mousse Cake

★★★★★ 4.8 from 16 reviews

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 65 minutes
Yield: 6 " round cake 1x

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Description

This insanely decadent Chocolate Mousse Cake may taste like fudge frosting but is made from just a few healthy whole food ingredients right in the blender!

Ingredients

Scale

Crust

2 cups almonds
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp water (if needed)

Mousse

1 cup baked and mashed sweet potato
1 cup Medjool dates
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
1/3 cup cacao powder

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Instructions

Grind the almonds in a blender until they resemble a fine meal.
Add the maple syrup and blend until you have a clumpy mixture. Add 1 tbsp of water if necessary so that it sticks together when pressed.
Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 6 inch spring-form pan. Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Combine all the mousse ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until very smooth and creamy.
Pour on top of the crust and smooth the top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350F.
Remove from the oven. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Serve chilled from the fridge with berries or whipped cream on top!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Oatmeal

February 23, 2017 · Natalie 27 Comments

Your favorite salty-sweet, un-baked indulgence in healthy breakfast form, this Cookie Dough Oatmeal is the ultimate easy dessert for breakfast!

One does not simply create cookie dough bits without a greater cookie dough end goal in mind. Actually one might. Okay one probably would. But in this case, one had a bigger breakfast plan involving more than just cookie dough bits + milk + a spoon.

And I promise I won’t use the word “one” again for the rest of this post, that was getting weird.

That bigger breakfast plan: Cookie Dough Oatmeal.

I’ve seen cookie dough oatmeal recipes before where the oatmeal is made to taste like cookie and then you stir in chocolate chips effectively making the oatmeal itself the dough.

But where’s the dough-y texture in that technique? Nowhere to be found.

If I asked for cookie dough ice cream and was handed ice cream with nothing but chocolate chips mixed in I would be disappointed no matter how much salty-sweet, buttery, vanilla flavor the ice cream had to it. I need the dough part of the cookie dough title to be represented somehow! The same logic applies to cookie dough oatmeal.

So I made the cookie dough bits. And stirred them into the cooking oatmeal. And it was delicious. And it satisfied all my cookie dough in a breakfast bowl standards.

Despite my ranting about how salty-sweet, buttery, vanilla flavor isn’t enough to call it cookie dough oatmeal, those things certainly don’t hurt. So I added them here too in the form of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and cashew butter. The first two are very familiar, but let’s talk about that last ~~one~~ ingredient (oops almost slipped!).

Cashew butter is quite possibly my favorite nut butter, especially the raw stuff. It’s sweet and rich and almost reminds me of…cocoa butter? That makes no sense, I know, but it does somehow. Melted into simmering oats it not only adds a buttery-delicious flavor but it also makes the end oatmeal product extra thick and creamy.

I actually opted not to sweeten this oatmeal at all because with the natural nutty sweetness of the raw cashew butter and the sprinkled-in sweetness of the date-based cookie dough bits, I don’t think you need it. You can taste and decide for yourself though–a tablespoon of maple syrup or date paste won’t hurt.

Right as those extra thick and creamy oats are almost done cooking, sprinkle in the star of the show–the cookie dough bits. Don’t add them too early or all the chocolate chips will melt and turn the whole pot into chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough oatmeal (hmmmm…?) Right as you take the pan off the heat, that’s the optimal time to add them. Then all the cookie dough flavor can meld in and the chips turn just the perfect degree of melty.

Happy breakfast cooki(e)ng!