2 ingredient Nutella Mousse

Recently I've been on a real Nutella craze. I baked Nutella Ferrero Brownies earlier in the month. On shrove Tuesday, I had pancakes with Nutella. I then saw a recipe for 2 ingredient Nutella mousse and 2 ingredient Nutella brownie. It's been a really long and busy week and I felt we needed a little treat. I definitely did not have the time or energy to bake anything so I decided to give the 2 ingredient Nutella mousse a try. J thought it was amazing. He kept smiling and saying "this is really good" after each spoonful. It was very creamy, rich and nutty. It was a little on the sweet side so it helped that we served it with blackberries which are a little tart. I wanted strawberries but there were none in the shop. The recipe says to chill for 6 hours or preferably overnight. I whipped these up and put them in the freezer for about an hour and it was perfect. It had a nice, smooth creamy texture as you would get with a normal mousse. 

 Nutella and double cream 

 I addeda sprinkling of grated chocolate on top and fresh blackberries 

 Lovely, smooth creamy texture 

Recipe adapted from kidspot kitchen
Makes 2 portions

150mls double cream
1/4 cup nutella

Beat the cream until it holds it shape.
Add in the nutella and continue beating until smooth.
Divide into 2 serving bowls.
Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight or if you just can't wait like me, pop them in the freezer for an hour and serve. 

Chocolate and Mint Tofu Mousse

It's been a weekend of birthday celebrations. The first was a small dinner party and I offered to make dessert. One of the guests is gluten intolerant so I thought about making Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake or her Lemon Polenta Cake. Unfortunately, I didn't have any ground almonds at home so I rushed out in the rain and would you believe that they were all sold out? I went to 3 supermarkets in the end, 1 large tesco extra and 2 smaller express stores but no luck. On to plan B then. Time was ticking and I suddenly remembered my chocolate tofu mousse which is gluten free and dairy free. I decided to jazz it up for the party by serving it in wine glasses and making it minty as chocolate and mint is one of the birthday girl's favourite combinations.

These were so quick and easy to put together and tasted really good. My gluten intolerant friend was very impressed and no one could guess that there was tofu in it. The mint flavour was definitely there and you can just about taste the bananas. The decoration was simple yet effective. 

I'm sending this to Dead Easy Desserts hosted by Sarah from Maison Cupcake. Total assembly and washing up time was less than 30 minutes. 

I'm also sending this to Calendar Cakes hosted by Laura from Laura Loves Cakes and Rachel from Dolly Bakes. The theme this month is puddings and I'd definitely class this as a chocolate pudding.

And to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to make everything from scratch.

 bananas, honey, cocoa powder, mint extract, vanilla paste, soft tofu 

 I bought this chocolate grater from Italy and wanted to try it out. It worked perfectly! 

 I decided to present them in wine and shot glasses as it looks more elegant 

 decorate with fresh berries and grated chocolate 

Makes 6 portions as shown 

2 boxes soft tofu

2 bananas

9 tablespoons honey (or to taste) 

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons mint extract

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 

To decorate
Fresh berries - I used raspberries and blueberries
Grated chocolate

• Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
• Spoon into glasses or ramekins and chill for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
• Just before serving, decorate with fresh berries and grated chocolate. 

Secret Recipe Club: Double Chocolate Mint Mousse Cookies

It's Secret Recipe Reveal Day again for Group D. This month I have been assigned Kudos Kitchen by Renee who loves baking and painting! Her blog header is really cool with a baker in the middle of paintbrushes and a great artistic feel to her blog.  Of course I headed straight for the baking section and I was not disappointed.  As usual, it's hard to pick one recipe to make as I would really have liked to have tried them all! Bookmarked on my list are lemon lavender summer fruit cake, homemade cinnamon rolls, incredibly moist chocolate chip zucchini bread, peanut butter and chocolate cookie bars. In the end I decided to make double chocolate mint mousse cookies as I love the combination of mint and chocolate and they looked irresistible!

Before I get to the recipe, I would encourage you to take a look around Renee's blog. She is a very talented person and her paintings and crafts are amazing. There is also a section called the dog bowl which is a must for any dog lover! I'm so pleased that I get a chance to 'meet' different bloggers each month through the Secret Recipe Club. It's a really great way to discover new blogs, new recipes and challenge yourself. If you are interested in joining, then click here but be forewarned that there is a waiting list!

Renee was on a strict, self imposed diet when she made these and didn't get to try them. I am impressed by her will power as these smelled so good baking in the oven, I couldn't wait to taste them! It's a really simple recipe to make with great results. It looks impressive and like you've spent more time that you actually did baking them. It's a definite must for chocolate and mint lovers out here. I couldn't get hold of any mint chocolate chips here so I melted plain chocolate and added peppermint extract. You can of course omit the peppermint if you prefer. I think these would be perfect for Christmas or any party. I'm already thinking about a peanut butter version :)

 fresh from the oven 

 make an indentation with the back of a teaspoon

 dust with icing sugar 

 pipe filling in the middle 

 yum! 

Recipe adapted from Kudos Kitchen
Makes approximately 45 cookies

For the cookies
160g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
113g butter
220g sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 eggs

For the filling
28g butter
150g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
• Add the vanilla extract and peppermint extract.
• Sift all the dry ingredients and mix to the batter.
• Scoop cookie dough on to the baking sheets spaced apart. 
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the top is dry and starting to crack.
• Grease the back of a teaspoon and working quickly and carefully ( be careful not to burn your fingers!), gently press the back of the teaspoon on top of each cookie to create an indentation.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely.
• Dust with icing sugar. 
• Prepare the filling by melting the butter,chocolate and peppermint extract. 
• Fill a piping bag with the filling and place a small dollop in the indentation created earlier. 
• Allow the filling to set before serving. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Tofu Mousse

Anna who blogs at Crunch Creamy Sweet has set up a new challenge called the blue ribbon challenge. The idea is simple - each month she sets a theme and everyone makes the same thing with their own twist and posts on the same day.  Readers will then be allowed to vote until the next day for their favourite and the winner gets awarded a blue ribbon badge.

This month the theme is mousse and the first thing I thought about was peanut butter mousse. At the last minute, I decided to make it slightly healthier and to give it more of a twist by using tofu. My first attempt at making tofu chocolate mousse was delicious. I added peanut butter then as a trial and unsurprisingly it was my favourite. So I present to you a sophisticated version of peanut butter chocolate tofu mousse served 2 ways. First in little chocolate cups and secondly as a layered dessert with crushed oreo cookies. These are really quick and easy to make and would be perfect when hosting guests.  It's also much healthier than a normal mousse so you can feel virtuous eating one or two of these :)  The texture of the mousse is soft and silky. Tofu on its own is tasteless so you can really taste the chocolate peanut butter. It pairs really well with even more chocolate or oreo cookie crumbs. Which of the 2 is your favourite?

PS If you like my recipe, please vote for me here. Thanks :)

 honey, chocolate peanut butter, dark chocolate, tofu

 I found this at Whole Foods - my favourite peanut butter blended with dark chocolate (my favourite type of chocolate!) 

 Make the chocolate cups by melting a few squares of dark chocolate and placing a thin, even layer in a silicone mini cupcake case and allow to set. 

 option 1 

 The texture is firm enough to hold its shape but still silky smooth and delicious. 

 Crushed oreos

  add the mousse on top

 then some chocolate shavings

 option 2

1 box soft, silky tofu

2 heaped tablespoons chocolate peanut butter (or plain peanut butter but make sure you use the smooth type)

Honey (optional if you prefer a sweeter dessert)

For the chocolate cups - few squares of dark chocolate

For the layered dessert - few oreo cookies, crushed.

In a food processor, blitz the tofu, chocolate peanut butter and honey (if using) until smooth and silky.

Make the chocolate cups by melting the dark chocolate and then coating a mini cupcake case. 

Allow to set in the fridge. You may need 2 or 3 layers depending on the thickness you require. 

Remove the chocolate cups from the cases.

Fill with tofu mousse.

Shave some chocolate on top as decoration. 

To make the layered dessert, place some crushed oreos on the bottom then add the mousse on top and finish with some chocolate shavings.

Chill the desserts for a few hours before serving for best results. 

Tofu Chocolate mousse

I'm sure you read the title and thought tofu and chocolate? Really? Yes really. I saw this recipe on tinned tomatoes and immediately bookmarked it. I've seen a few different variations on blogs and the internet but I prefer this recipe as it has bananas and there's no need to melt chocolate. It's really quick and easy to make and tastes great too!  Not quite what I expected in a good way. The tofu gives it the soft, silky texture without adding much flavour. It tastes predominantly of the banana and chocolate. 

It's also much healthier, gluten-free and dairy free so win win. 

Naturally, I had to add my own little twist to it. 3 guesses as to what I added.... well the picture gives it away but yes I added peanut butter!

It made the texture firmer and tasted absolutely AMAZING!! You get the rich, smooth, creamy taste of peanut butter with the banana and chocolate flavour. Plus I'm sure a little peanut butter is healthy for you :)  I am definitely making this again and again. I've been thinking of other flavours I can add in - perhaps a little espresso powder or malt powder (horlicks/ovaltine) Feel free to add your suggestions or thoughts if you've made something similar. 

I'm sending this to Javelin Warrior's Made with love Mondays where the motto is "Always fresh. Always from scratch" 

 And also to bookmarked recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes

 only 3 ingredients required (4 if you include the peanut butter!) I bought the tofu from a Chinese grocery store in Chinatown, London. 

 Left - peanut butter, Right - 'natural' 

 I don't know if you can see the difference in the textures. Either way they were both tasty but I definitely preferred the peanut butter one. 

Recipe adapted from tinned tomatoes

1 box soft tofu

2 bananas

3 heaped teaspoons cocoa powder

optional: splash of honey as I prefer my desserts on the sweet side

             1 tablespoon of smooth peanut butter 

• Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor.
• Divide into ramekin dishes.
• Chill for a few hours before serving. 
• Serve with a dusting of cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.