01.06.2008 Thick Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Ribbons (Of Doom)

I’m beginning to think I need some sort of intervention as I find myself using beans too often for my own (or anyone else’s, for that matter) good. the beans in question here were leftover from making another recipe. more on that later.

This mousse is thick, not too bad for you, and I mean: chocolate and peanut butter? ’nuff said.
But what makes it truly ace are the chocolate ribbons in there: crisp-a-looza goodness of doom!

A few notes before jumping into the recipe:

I like my desserts to not be overly sweeten. if you like yours to be on the sweeter side, up the amount of agave nectar a bit so that you don’t feel robbed.

If adding beans to a chocolate mousse scares the, uhm, moo out of you, simply use soft silken tofu instead. or soy yogurt. Note that if the soy yogurt is already sweetened, you should ignore the suggestion of adding more agave in case of sweettoothitis.

1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1 medium ripe banana, peeled
1/4 cup (64 g) chunky natural peanut or any nut butter
1 1/4 cups (393 g) cannellini beans
1/4 cup (84 g) light agave nectar, 1 to 2 tablespoons (21 to 42 g) more in case of sweet tooth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (352 g) semisweet chocolate, gently melted and cooled

Place avocado, banana, peanut butter, beans, agave, cinnamon, and vanilla in a food processor. Blend until smooth, scraping sides once or twice to make sure no one gets out of there in one piece.
Add 2/3 of the melted chocolate, process some more until thoroughly mixed in.
Place in serving dishes. Scrape remaining melted chocolate from its container with a rubber spatula, gently swirl into the prepared mousse with a knife or small spoon.
Chill for at least a couple of hours.

Yield: 6 servings