This avocado mousse is everything a mousse should be: velvety smooth with a deep, rich chocolate flavor. And with every indulgent bite, you’ll tell yourself that you’ve had enough. Yet somehow, your fork keeps going back for more…
I can’t decide if it’s the fact that this recipe tastes like rich hot chocolate or that the crust is nutty and buttery without any butter actually being present, but I just couldn’t get enough of it.
Sure, the maple syrup and chocolate don’t hurt, but what I think I love most about this vegan treat is the texture. Unlike some desserts that I’ve had before, this mousse is somehow fluffy and dense at the same time.
After pondering how this happened over several bites, I’ve decided that it’s mostly due to the magic of avocados.
High in B vitamins, potassium, and lutein (an important antioxidant for eye health), avocados are a nutrient-dense food. But what they’re most known for, and why they make such a creamy mousse, is that they’re also high in fat.
However, unlike butter or coconut oil, which are both higher in saturated fats, avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats (aka MUFAs). These beneficial fatty acids have been found to be important for heart health by lowering LDL cholesterol, decreasing inflammation, and potentially helping with weight loss too.
Similar to butter or oil, the fat in the avocado provides that rich mouthfeel, but with fewer calories and more nutrition packed in every bite.
And while you may be all about this green fruit (yes, it’s technically a fruit, not a vegetable) in savory dishes, you just have to trust me when I tell you that that chocolate and avocado can be friends. Very creamy, indulgent-tasting friends.
So, as you scoop out the ripe, buttery avocado flesh, resist the urge to grab some fresh limes, cilantro, and salt. You may even find that you’re still questioning yourself as you pour maple syrup and cocoa powder on top of the avocado, but just keep going.
By the time you’re pouring melted chocolate into the already cocoa-filled mixture, you may have almost forgotten exactly why you now have a sweet, satiny-smooth mousse before you, somehow made with such little effort, and a novel blend of completely vegan ingredients.
And your guests? No need to disclaim the secret ingredient to them right away. Instead, let them savor each bite, thinking how impressive it is that you have the baking skills to make a restaurant-worthy dessert.
Meanwhile, you can smile to yourself knowing that all you had to do was combine raw ingredients in a food processor, freeze, and then slice. No stressing over whipping heavy cream or egg whites to stiff peaks, or having to wash multiple dishes.
Heck, you don’t even have to rinse the food processor in between making the crust and filling – it’s all just chocolate anyways.
And I haven’t even gotten to the best part. While you could wait for the leftovers to thaw slightly before digging in in the coming days, I discovered that the texture is similar to a fudgsicle when eaten immediately out of the freezer. I guess being impatient pays off sometimes.
So whether you have a party coming up, or you’re just feeling like treating yourself, go pick up some avocados and chocolate from the store. You’ll thank me for it in about two hours.
Print
No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Torte with Avocado Mousse
- Total Time: 2 hours, 15 miutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Velvety smooth with a deep, rich chocolate flavor, this no-bake avocado mousse torte tastes like a restaurant-worthy dessert.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups pecans
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup or sorghum syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Mousse:
- 3 cups of ripe avocado (about 4 small)
- ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or sorghum syrup
- 1 tablespoon smooth almond butter
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse pecans until crumbly. Add remaining crust ingredients and pulse until just combined.
- Scoop into prepared springform pan. Using a rubber spatula or wet fingers, press crust evenly into bottom of pan. Place in freezer while you prepare the chocolate mousse.
For the Mousse:
- In a food processor, add all the mousse ingredients except for the bittersweet chocolate. Pulse a few times until smooth.
- Using a double boiler, melt chocolate morsels. Add melted chocolate to mousse mixture, and pulse 2-3 more times to combine.
- Remove crust from freezer and spoon mousse on top, spreading evenly.
- Return to freezer, and freeze for 2 hours or until set.
- When ready to serve, remove from springform pan and slice into 8 equal pieces. Serve chilled. Store leftover slices in the freezer in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Keywords: avocado, chocolate, mousse, no-bake, dessert, vegan
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Measure Ingredients and Prepare Springform Pan
Measure out all of your ingredients and lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
For a taller torte, you can use a 7-inch pan instead. I don’t recommend using a pan larger than 9 inches as the layers, especially the crust, will be quite thin.
Using the springform pan as a stencil, cut out a circle of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of the greased pan.
Step 2 – Pulse Crust Ingredients
In a food processor, pulse pecans until crumbly. Note that pecans break down faster than other nuts, so you’ll only need a few pulses to achieve this.
Add the remaining crust ingredients and pulse until just combined. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor in between pulses.
Step 3 – Spread Crust and Freeze
Scoop the crust mixture into your prepared springform pan. Using a rubber spatula or wet fingers, spread the mixture out evenly across the bottom of the pan.
Place the pan in the freezer to chill while you prepare the mousse.
Step 4 – Make Mousse
Using the same food processor you used to make the crust, add the avocado, maple or sorghum syrup, almond butter, arrowroot powder, salt, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. Pulse until smooth.
To melt the chocolate, place a small pot of water on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, place a heatproof bowl over the pot and add the chocolate chips. Melt the chocolate, being careful not to let any water splash into the bowl.
Once melted, add the chocolate to the mousse mixture and pulse another 2-3 times, or until well-combined.
Step 5 – Pour Mousse Over Crust and Freeze
Remove the springform pan from the freezer and pour the mousse on top of the crust. Spread evenly and then place in the freezer for 2 hours, or until set.
Step 6 – Slice and Serve
When you’re ready to serve, remove the torte from the springform pan and slice into 8 equal pieces. Since the torte is quite rich, I recommend serving it with fresh strawberries or raspberries.
Store leftover slices in an airtight container in the freezer, to enjoy frozen or defrosted.
Getting Use Out of Your Springform Pan
Once I started cooking, I was quick to obtain a wok, cast iron pan, pizza stone, and cake pans. But it took me awhile before I was convinced that I needed a springform pan.
Instead, I spent far too much time struggling to get pretty slices of cheesecake and tortes out of cake or tart pans.
Trust me when I say that a springform pan is well worth the investment. While different recipes call for varying sizes of pans, I’ve found that I use my 9-inch pan the most.
Looking for more recipes to get use out of your pan? Check out these sweet treats from Foodal:
- Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Cashew Cream Raw Chocolate Cheesecake
- Gluten-Free Almond Cake
- Apple Tart Cake
Let us know what you think of this indulgent recipe by leaving a comment or rating below!
Photos by Kelli McGrane, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by Shanna Mallon on October 23, 2012. Last updated: July 14, 2021 at 12:24 pm.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
The written contents of this article have been reviewed and verified by a registered dietitian for informational purposes only. This article should not be construed as personalized or professional medical advice. Foodal and Ask the Experts, LLC assume no liability for the use or misuse of the material presented above. Always consult with a medical professional before changing your diet, or using supplements or manufactured or natural medications.
About Kelli McGrane, MS, RD
Kelli McGrane is a Denver-based registered dietitian with a lifelong love of food. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in nutrition science from Boston University. As a registered dietitian, she believes in the importance of food to nourish not only your body, but your soul as well. Nutrition is very personal, and you won’t find any food rules here, other than to simply enjoy what you eat.
I just woke up and these lovely pictures motivated me for whole day.! I have always admired your blog 🙂
This tart? It sounds just perfect. I’ve been thinking about a tart crust like this recently but not been able to quite get there myself. I can’t wait to make it.
Oh yum! I make a similar avocado based torte, so good.
The torte sounds amazing. I just recently found your blog and I’m really enjoying your writing, pics, and recipes.
Thanks, Amy!
Goodness. I do love me some avocado chocolate mousse. Those strawberries made me smile.
This cake it´s so interesting. I have to try this baking with avocado thing!
I have to try this fabulous recipe sounds so delish. Love that it’s gluten free too, thank you for sharing.
Uber excited about trying this recipe! I am going to use several different nuts in the crust, like …pistachios, almonds pecans and walnuts.
Looks delicious!
Would it be possible to use xylitol (plant based, low glycemic sweetener) instead of maple syrup? And another nut, say walnut, for the almond extract and butter in the crust and mousse?
Thanks!
I like how you think, Mya- take a great recipe, and make it your own!
First, for the extract- walnut has more of a strong, nutty flavor whereas almond extract has a very sweet flavor. I’d be more inclined to substitute with vanilla rather than walnut in the crust.
As for the nut butter, walnuts have a little more fat per serving than almonds. Swapping out the almond butter in the filling with walnut instead should work, but keep in mind that this substitution may change the texture slightly.
Xylitol can serve as a substitute for granulated sugar in a 1:1 ratio, but maple syrup is generally regarded as being sweeter than sugar. When substituting a granulated sweetener for a liquid one that’s called for in a recipe, you will also need to add additional liquid. We haven’t tried it, but a generous 1/4 cup of xylitol plus 1 tbsp water in the crust and 1 cup of xylitol plus 1/4 cup of water in the mousse to replace the maple syrup should work. Please let us know how it turns out!
Hi Kelli,
I’ve made this delicious recipe dozens of times, most recently last night, and decided it was time to thank you for sharing it. THANK YOU! I love to make this for guests – it is an impressive dessert that is several cuts above the usual coconut ice cream, and no one can believe it when I tell them it’s made with avocado and almost guilt-free. I make a half recipe for four people and have plenty for left-overs.
The recipe made exactly as directed is easy and delicious. I usually make a few modifications to suit my own tastes: The last step in making the mousse is easier if I keep aside the milk (usually soy) and stir it into the chocolate before pouring into the rest of the mousse ingredients. I use extra dark chocolate bars instead of chips, for less sugar and because there’s a better selection of bars than chips. I use vanilla instead of almond extract because I have a friend with almond allergies, and I also prefer that flavor, maybe because it’s more expected.
★★★★★
We’re so glad that you have enjoyed these over and over again, Donna. You’re so very welcome!
Delicious recipe, thank you. I just made a double quantity for my friend’s birthday, for our after spa treat. 🙂
A note on the avocado quantities, it perhaps needs adjusting in your recipe:
I used 8 med/large avos and it only gave me 4 cups when I was hoping for 6. I had to make 2/3rds of the filling instead. Not a biggie because I happened to have more avos in the house, it could be a pain though if you don’t have more to hand.
Also, sorry, I feel have to make a comment about your photo of the ingredients – why oh why have you used cheap ‘imitation vanilla’ in your recipe/photo. It looks awful. I would NEVER use this rubbish in any of my recipes. In my opinion it would ruin the beautiful flavours of all the other natural ingredients.
Thanks for your comments, Laura. We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
You’re right – produce like avocados can vary significantly in size, and the amount of flesh they contain depends on the cultivar as well- some have larger pits inside than others. It’s always best to go with the cup measurement, and the number of fruits recommended here is just a guideline.
As for the vanilla- just like you, many of our writers use what they have available on hand. I agree that natural vanilla does have a better flavor, but in some cases, it can be prohibitively expensive. You can read more about vanilla here.