TNP Tries: Making a vegan dessert

Going vegan sounded like a pain.

Asking me to give up meat sounded like asking me to give up my core identity - me, the reporter who loves Mookata and fried chicken.

So, when I heard that I would be making and trying a vegan dessert, I wasn't exactly the most excited kid on the block.

The dish

The Avocado Lime Mousse is part of an eight-course meal by Frunatics​, a local company focusing on food and nutrients.

I had the opportunity to dissect an avocado with a ceramic knife. 

Frunatic's Chef Eng said this would "help to reduce oxidation and loss of nutrients". The opportunity soon turned sour when I accidentally cut myself, after misjudging the sharpness of the blade.

Ouch.

Ingredients to create the Avocado Lime Mousse. From left, top row: avocadoes, cashew nuts, coconut oil, lime zest, lime juice. From left, bottom row: avocados, melted cacao butter, raw agave, himalayan salt, vanilla bean powder. TNP Photo: Christabel Chiang

Then, the cut avocado, cashew nuts, lime juice, lime zest, raw agave, vanilla bean powder and Himalayan salt were placed in a blender.

The chef, who was helping us prepare the dish, told us that the cashew nuts were soaked for four to six hours to ensure that it was soft enough to be blended into a mousse.

Then, we paused the blender for a short while to add the final ingredients: coconut oil and melted cacao butter.

Watch: How to make a vegan dessert

 

A bit more blending ensued, before the chef mixed in a pinch of electrolyte powder. She then spread the mousse over a pre-prepared crust, created using macadamia nuts, desiccated coconut, vanilla bean powder and dates.

The entire dish is then set in a refrigerator for at least four hours before it is ready to be garnished.

The result? A tangy light green mousse dressed atop a crumbly nutty crust.

Avocado Lime Mousse atop a macadamia nut crust with dates. Garnished with pistachios. TNP Photo: Christabel Chiang

The taste

When I took the first bite, the zesty, sour taste of the lime juice burst in my mouth. It reminded me of the sour lime based dishes often seen in Thai cuisine. But unlike the Thai dishes, which can sometimes leave you with a stinging aftertaste, the mousse's soft pastry-like texture left in my tongue a creamy aftertaste.

The crust - which I would prefer to call a crumble - was a complementary contrast to the mousse. The base of crushed dates and macadamia looked hard and crunchy at first glance, but was actually easily cut using a fork. When paired with the mousse, it offers a chewy crunch that goes alongside the smooth texture of the mousse.

It did surpass my own expectations of what a vegan dessert can taste like.

Would I have it again? My tongue and tummy seem to say so. 

Frunatics is offering 10 eight-course meals that start at $888. One meal per week will be delivered to the subscriber over the course of 10 weeks. The nutritionist will tailor meals based on health and wellness concerns of the subscriber.

Seven of the eight courses served in Frunatics' eight-course wellness meal. It costs $888 for ten of such meals. TNP Photo: Christabel Chiang