I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t smile a little when chocolate is offered to them, an enthusiastic ‘thanks!’ before greedy hands help themselves, the offering devoured. Left to melt away on your tongue, and fill your mouth with a sweet gooey stream of warmth, chocolate gives you pleasure unlike any other. I was one of those unusual children who would make a chocolate bar last as long as possible. Slowly sucking the golden caramel out of each square of a Caramello bar, savouring the moment and infuriating my less self controlled brothers.

Cacao is the purest form of chocolate you can consume, it is raw, unprocessed and contains a surprising amount of antioxidants. This recipe came to life after a greedy desire to incorporate chocolate into a breakfast dish, without skipping on goodness. This recipe is completely gluten free and vegan and makes for a wonderful decadent start to the day that will leave you feeling rather smug.

The cacao mousse will surprise you, free from the refined sugar and dairy laden ingredients you usually find in mousse, it is sweetened with maple syrup and dates and made lusciously thick with the addition of chia seeds. The buckwheat crepes create a cinnamon scented pillow for the mousse to sit in. The salted maple walnuts add satisfying crunch. 

INGREDIENTS

Buckwheat Crepes

Buckwheat flour, 4 cups
Cinnamon powder, 1 tsp
Maple syrup, ½ cup
Almond milk, 3 – 4 cups

Place the flour, cinnamon and maple syrup a bowl, slowly whisk in the almond milk until you have a runny crepe batter consistency. Add a little water to loosen if the mixture has thickened after refrigerating.

Cacao Mousse

Coconut cream, 500 ml
Dates (preferably medjool dates), 8
Cacao powder, 4 TBSP
Maple syrup, 2 TBS, optional, to sweeten
Chia seeds, 2 TBS

Place coconut cream, dates, cacao powder and maple if using into a food processor, blend until smooth.

Place mix into a bowl and fold in the chia seeds, refrigerate until you have a thick rich mousse. Best refrigerated over night but you can use it after a couple of hours.

Maple Salted Walnuts

Walnuts, ½ cup
Maple syrup, 2 TBS
Salt, a pinch or two

Heat a dry fry pan on a medium heat and lightly toast the walnuts until slightly golden. Add the maple syrup and salt to coat the walnuts and continue cooking for another couple of minute. Set aside to cool.

TO ASSEMBLE

Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little coconut oil and spoon over a thin layer of the crepe batter, let it cook on one side before flipping over and repeat the process.

Fill the crepes with as much of the cacao mousse as you like, top with the salted walnuts and devour.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

The cacao mousse is quite rich so I usually serve this dish with fresh seasonal fruit. Fresh berries work a treat, passion fruit is also lovely but whatever takes your fancy. They are perfectly delectable as they are too.