If you read my previous post documenting my wedding and honeymoon, you probably had a good idea that this post was coming.
While Ben and I were on our honeymoon in Maui, we found a really fantastic Italian restaurant named Matteo’s Osteria. Matteo’s was an incredible dining find with an absolutely AMAZING variety of gluten free, dairy free and vegan menu options. Finding a restaurant that has gluten free options alone is a challenge in itself, but finding an Italian restaurant with the trifecta is absolutely insane. It is so rare, it’s almost like spotting a unicorn.
Matteo’s was so good that Ben and I went on three (yes, three!) separate occasions during our 7 day stay. The close proximity to our resort didn’t hurt, but it was the food that brought us back for more.
While I am not much of a dessert person, I was intrigued by Matteo’s Raw Superfood Chocolate Mousse, especially given its’ dairy free, gluten free and vegan friendly ingredients, plus, being a food blogger and all, I have to do my research 😉 Needless to say, the Raw Superfood Chocolate Mousse at Matteo’s was so good that we had it 2 out of the 3 times we visited, and we were still craving it when got back home.
While the original contains a blend of cashews, hemp hearts, maca, coconut sugar, cacao and hazelnut essence, I only had cashews, hemp hearts, maca and baking cocoa on hand, so I worked with what I had and improvised where needed.
The end result? It turned out just as good as I remember it tasting, and I may or may not have patted myself on the back for a successful re-creation of this creamy, decadent dish.
This Raw Superfood Chocolate Mousse is creamy, rich and tastes downright sinful, but its’ ingredients provide a whole host of superfoods that make this recipe a fairly healthy indulgence.
**This recipe is one you need to plan ahead on as you will need to soak your raw cashews for a minimum of 6 hours to soften. The 6 hours is listed in the prep time for the recipe, but the actually recipe only takes about 5-10 minutes to make.**
- 2 cups raw, unsalted cashew halves; soaked for at least 6 hours then drained
- 3 Tbsp. organic coconut nectar
- 3 Tbsp. organic baking cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp. hemp hearts
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp. organic, unrefined coconut oil; melted
- 4 Tbsp. So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tsp. maca root powder
- Pinch of Himalayan salt
- In a small bowl, cover your cashews with cool water until fully submerged, and soak for at least 6 hours or until softened.
- When finished, drain cashews and pour into a high speed blender (I use my Vitamix).
- Add in coconut nectar, baking cocoa, hemp hearts, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk, and blend on high until ingredients are fully blended together.
- Turn blender to low speed if possible, and while running, add in the rest of the coconut milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once finished, do the same with the melted coconut oil.
- The mousse should be turning very smooth at this point, with no visible chunks of cashews.
- If necessary, use a plastic spatula to remove mousse from the sides of the blender to ensure total smoothness.
- When mousse is completely smooth, pour mousse into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Place mousse in the refrigerator for about an hour, or until totally chilled, removing only when you are ready to serve.
dina
August 8, 2014 at 12:01 pm (10 years ago)it looks delicious!
Sonal
December 29, 2014 at 6:19 pm (9 years ago)i cannot believe I’m finding this recipe! I went to Matteo’s last night & was so impressed by this mouses! I’ve been frantically looking for a recipe to recreate it & then I come across your post! Ha! Serendipity! Thanks so much! Mahalo!
Danielle
January 2, 2015 at 4:19 pm (9 years ago)What an awesome coincidence! Hope you enjoy!!