The other night we went out to a friends place for dinner and we were to bring the dessert for the night – I wanted to try a chocolate mousse without cream, butter or gelatin. I looked through a vegan cookbook that I bought ages ago and found a recipe for Chocolate Dream Mousse – I messed with it a little as I had only half the tofu and I used real dark chocolate which was so decadent though still light. Of course this can be vegan by using nondairy chocolate chips. 

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup water

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate or your favourite chocolate

Two (12.3-ounce) packages firm silken tofu

2 teaspoons vanilla

6 tablespoons Maple syrup

6 tablespoons dutch cocoa (or to taste, depending on the richness of  the chocolate used) 

Fresh strawberries

Pomegranate seeds

Puree the cashews and water in a food processor until thick, white and absolutely smooth and creamy. Remove the mixture from the blender, and set it aside in a bowl. Place the chocolate in a dry metallic bowl, and place the bowl over low heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted completely. The chocolate should not be allowed to become too hot, or they can become grainy; they just need to warm to melt. Be sure not to get even a drop of water in the chocolate, as this will also make the melted chocolate grainy. 

Combine the tofu, melted chocolate, vanilla, maple syrup and cocoa to taste in the food processor (no need to wash it out after the cashews), and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Pour this chocolate mixture into the cashew puree, and fold with a whisk until combined thoroughly. Pour into mason jars, add strawberries and pomegranate seeds and chill for several hours before serving.