Have you seen the Marshmallow Experiment video? Researchers plop a single marshmallow down in front of a child in a closed room and explain, “You can eat the marshmallow now, or wait to eat it and I will bring you another one.”A hidden video camera records the hilarious results. A few kids stoically wait, face glazed over with determination, masters of delayed gratification. Others succumb to the temptation and lick, nibble, or gulp the treat.
I’ve always had strong willpower, and I can imagine little six-year-old me sitting fiercely motionless until I earned the second marshmallow. But this recipe crushed my patience.
After blending the ingredients together, I stuck a spoon in the food processor bowl and scooped out a generous taste of the unset mousse. My tastebuds jumped into happy dance mode! I poured the mixture into a bowl and set it in the fridge to set. The mousse did not rest peacefully, however, because I kept prodding, poking, and tasting it–just like the kids from the marshmallow video. Finally, four hours later, I was rewarded with a creamy mousse theoretically equal to many, many delayed-gratification marshmallows.
Grassfed gelatin for a simple mousse
Traditional mousses rely on an arduous process of whipping and heating eggs for a stabilized base. Many alternative mousse recipes use pureed nuts or even thyroid-supressing, infertility-promoting tofu. Gelatin, creamed coconut, and coconut milk provide a sturdy yet fluffy base for this mousse.
This recipe took a lot of experimentation to perfect (yeah, poor me–having to eat all of those mistakes). I am beyond pleased with the final result, which tastes like a bite of whipped strawberry shortcake! The texture perfectly balances light, rich, creamy, and sweet.
Creamed Coconut is pureed coconut meat. I like this brand because it is the most economical, but you could also substitute coconut butter.
Why grassfed gelatin? I discuss some of the health benefits of gelatin in my Gelatin Coconut Flour Pancakes post.
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 Tbs. grassfed gelatin
- 1 cup whole strawberries (I used thawed frozen, organic ones)
- 2 Tbs. creamed coconut or coconut butter, liquified (optional)
- About 2 Tbs. raw honey, to taste
- Pinch of salt
- In a saucepan, whisk together coconut milk and gelatin. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then turn on the burner and whisk over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved. Let cool.
- Puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Add the cooled coconut milk mixture, creamed coconut, honey and salt. Blend, then taste and adjust honey, if necessary. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.
- Before serving, transfer the chilled mixture to a food processor. Puree until creamy and serve. If the mousse is too thick, add more coconut milk, a teaspoon at a time. You can store leftover whipped mousse in the fridge, but for best results re-whip it in in a food processor after letting it sit in the fridge.
I made strawberry mousse with dairy for a dinner party and wanted some for those of us (me) who cannot have dairy, so I made this, too. The recipe for dairy was from America’s Test Kitchens. It had twice as much strawberries and the same amount of cream. That recipe used 1 3/4 teaspoons of gelatin. When I made this, based on the comments of those who made it, I used only 2 teaspoons of gelatin and it was perfect. Do not use 2 Tablespoons!