Avocado Chocolate Pudding Mousse

This avocado chocolate pudding mousse happened when my need to bring a dessert to dinner with friends coincided with my desire to use up leftovers. 

After offering to bring a dish to a party or dinner, I frequently ask my beloved what he would like as “our” contribution. If it is going to be a salad or a side, he doesn’t seem all that interested in helping decide. But when it’s dessert, the question gets an immediate response. And chocolate mousse is one of his favorites.

I often make chocolate mousse adapted from a tried-and-true New York Times recipe. Although that version is incredibly good, it wasn’t what I had in mind this past weekend. (I was low on eggs and that recipe requires six. Plus, it takes time to separate the eggs and make a sabayon sauce with the yolks. And much as I love mousse, that recipe makes a huge bowlful, way too much for our small party this time.) In short, I needed a quick prep, small batch mousse with big taste. 

Checking my refrigerator, I noticed an avocado lurking way off to the side. Overlooked for the better part of a week, it deserved a better fate. And then there was the small amount of heavy cream when I bought two cups worth for a recipe that only required a cup and a half. 

And so I turned chocolate pudding into avocado chocolate pudding mousse by adding whipped heavy cream. Still rich but lighter, still decadent but even creamier than when it was pudding.

There are just three simple steps to making this mousse.

1. Make the chocolate pudding by dumping everything but the cream into a bowl and mixing it. (I used my immersion blender with the ingredients in a medium-small bowl.)
2. Whip the cream. I prefer heavy over whipping cream. Here’s a brief explanation of the difference between them. If you freeze your beaters for a few minutes and put a pan of ice water below the bowl with the cream, the whipping is much faster and easier. 
3. Fold the cream into the chocolate pudding. 

Now, wasn’t that easy? 🙂

I served the avocado chocolate pudding mousse with a bowl of cut strawberries – a nice touch as my mom would say. 

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Avocado Chocolate Pudding Mousse

A simple and delicious mousse, rich from chocolate and creamy from an avocado.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 avocado ripe
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa I used a blend of natural and dutch processed.
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• 2 tablespoons high quality semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate melted
• 2/3 cup milk whole or 2%
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 pinches salt kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream

Instructions

1. Cut the avocado in half, take out the seed, and scoop all of the flesh into a medium-small bowl. Mash it up with a fork. Add the cocoa, light brown sugar, milk, vanilla, salt and melted semi-sweet chocolate. Mix those ingredients into a reasonably smooth, thick pudding. I used an immersion blender; a hand held mixer or an old fashioned egg beater will work too.
2. Whip the heavy or whipping cream in a separate bowl. Once stiff peaks form, gently fold it into the pudding, using a rubber spatula. Divide into cups or ramekins and serve immediately or chill.

Recipe Notes

The heavy or whipping cream will whip faster and better if you use cold beaters (I put mine - without the mixer part - in the freezer for about 10 minutes) and place the bowl in a pan of ice water.
This mousse goes well with berries, especially strawberries and/or raspberries.