Frozen Strawberry Mousse

This tastes just like regular strawberry mousse, but it is not made with the usual egg whites or whipped cream (or Rich’s Whip). If you haven’t already heard about aquafaba, you won’t believe what aerates the mousse. Here are the three ingredients in this mousse: strawberries, sugar and–this is the part that makes the mousse fluffy–the water from a can of chickpeas.

Yes, really.

If you take the liquid that beans were cooked in and whip it, it turns into meringue. If you want the story behind all this, take a look at this interview with Goose Wholt. There is a Facebook page dedicated to this topic: Vegan Meringue–Hits and Misses.

If you want to see a video of how to make this, look at this youtube video by Tivonika:

I ended up using different proportions of strawberry, sugar and chickpea liquid, but the basic methodology is the same.

Bonus: If you want to know how to make the crunchy bits sprinkled on top of the strawberry mousse, take a look at this Passover recipe by Estee Kafra.

Frozen Strawberry Mousse
For the original source for chickpea meringue, take a look at Jöel Roessel’s blog Revolution Vegetale and  go to aquafaba.com and the Facebook page Vegan Meringue–Hits and Misses.

3 oz. liquid drained from can chickpeas
2.5 oz. sugar (1/3 cup)
9 oz. strawberries (weight after trimming off tops–use a large box of berries if using fresh instead of frozen)

Puree the strawberries and set aside.

Whip the chickpea liquid until it forms a stiff meringue (can take about 15 minutes). Slowly add the sugar, while continuing to whip.  Add a third of the strawberry puree to the meringue and whip some more. Add another third and whip some more. Add the final third of berry puree and whip until everything is evenly mixed together. You should have a very light mixture that can be spooned into individual cups or spooned into quart containers. Will fill almost completely fill two quart containers.

Freeze overnight before serving.

Note: this tastes bests when you give it an overnight rest in the freezer. There might be a slightly salty taste right after the mousse is prepared, but this dissipates after the mousse has had plenty of time in the freezer.

Another note: I have made this a few times with fresh berries, each time using a large box (bigger than the pint, maybe the quart size?). By the time I have finished discarding the bad berries and cutting off the tops, I am usually left with 9-10 oz. of cut up berries.

Tags: aquafaba, Mousse, pareve ice cream, strawberry, vegan