Easy, Egg-Free Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse

A rich, silky smooth chocolate mousse with the unmistakable fruity tones of olive oil. It comes together in minutes and hits the spot with all those chocolate cravings! Just switch out the honey for a plant based version.

We all need an easy chocolate mousse recipe in our arsenal. And this is a particularly sophisticated one (one might even say it’s fancy) while at the same time being ridiculously easy. It’s also egg-free (I mean who wants raw egg in their chocolate?), cook-free and all round hassle-free. Oh and it’s made with five ingredients only. How many wins is that now?

All you need is a good quality olive oil (I have you covered), dark chocolate, a bit of honey or agave syrup, coconut milk and flakey sea salt. Because salted chocolate is always better.

Let’s start with the olive oil, as this is what makes the mousse fancy. I must stress that we need extra virgin olive oil here, and please go for the best quality you can. The flavour of the oil in the mousse is discreet but it’s there, so you don’t want it overtaking or interfering in any way. It should complement the chocolate and give it those delicious fruity notes that good olive oil is famous for.

For me, it was a no brainer. I used the organic extra virgin olive oil by Ol-eve. Since I first tried it a few months ago, I have fallen in love with it so much that it has become my favourite snack, drizzled on fresh or toasted bread with a sprinkle of sea salt. It suits everything from salads to sweets.

The origin of this olive oil is quite fascinating. It is produced on the Greek island of Lesvos, an island famous for its olives, in a new state of the art olive mill. The olive mill is located in an area that was until fairly recently completely barren and abandoned. The nearby village of Sigri was losing its small population as there were no development or job opportunities in the area. Then the founder of the company behind the Ol-eve brand, who is from Sigri himself, decided to realise his dream and change all this. The huge barren area was transformed into a vibrant olive grove with 40 thousand olive trees plus more such as palm, fig, pomegranate, carob and pistachio trees, all growing side by side. What was once rock and dead dirt, is now a fertile area buzzing with life. The soil has been revived and wild animals and birds have returned to the area making it a rich paradise of biodiversity. No chemical fertilisers are used, only compost (which is made there), the product of pruning, animal by-products from local farms, and seaweed collected from the nearby coast – a truly sustainable resource that can be harvested without damage to the environment. The estate supports the local community and contributes to the socioeconomic development of the island. Find out more here about this worthwhile project that gives back to both the planet and the people!

Back to our mousse. Or should I call it a pot de creme? Anyway, whatever its name, it’s a delicious dessert that you can make easily with a handful of ingredients. Replace the honey with agave (or your sweetener of choice) to make it vegan, and enjoy with or without some red berries. To be completely honest I prefer it on its own. Can’t wait for you guys to try this, please let me know in the comments or on social media what you think of it!